Opinions Wanted: S&W 686 Canted Barrel

B

Blondesdoitbetter69

Member
Joined
Oct 28, 2021
Messages
35
Location
Raleigh
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Preface: I'm not a huge wheelgun guy, those of you who have interacted with me will know modern tactical guns are my zone. That being said, I love a classic revolver. I carried a J-frame for quiet some time, and have owned a Dan Wesson, a Ruger GP-100, a K frame, a performance center 629 V-Comp and aspire to one day possess a S&W in 460.
That being said, I recently sold my classic Model 19 to fund a more modern S&W. Finally brought it home, showed it off to my significant other (who by no means is a "gun" person) and the first thing she says is "is it supposed to be like that?" As you can see from my included picture, my brand new, S&W 686 Plus, had a heavily biased barrel. What the picture doesn't show is that if you run your finger along the right side, you can physically feels the drop from the frame to the barrel, and if you do so with the opposite side on the opppsoite directions, you can feel the shoulder of the barrel before the frame!
I have reached out to S&W customer service and sent it to them for correction (they actually forgot about me for 9 days before I reached out to them a second time). Normally, I am a shooter first and a cosmetic issues second, but when you buy a S&W you expect a degree of quality for a brand that is such a household name.
What is the opinions of the forum? Is this something you have experienced before with your Smiths? How did S&W handle it (if they did)? or is it really not that big a deal?
 

Attachments

  • 20211129_132459 (1).jpg
    20211129_132459 (1).jpg
    64.4 KB · Views: 149
  • 20211129_132123.jpg
    20211129_132123.jpg
    131.1 KB · Views: 147
I have a 642 that is noticeably canted to the right. It shoots significantly left because of this.

I called SW and he basically said that it is a difficult gun to shoot and it was probably me. Strange that my 640 is dead nuts on.

I was pissed and just haven’t gotten around to trying again. I’ve been told it depends on who you get, but my SW CS experiences have not been positive. They also told me that the 642 stocks that disintegrated in less than a year weren’t covered. 🙄
 
The last year that I worked at a gun shop (2019) it was becoming less unusual to get a S&W with a canted barrel. Even on the ones they now stamp "Performance Center".

Most folks reported positive results sending it back to Smith. Shouldn't have to go through that. But seems to be the way things happen nowadays.
 
I'll keep this post updated with what S&W tells me. I reached out to them the day I brought it home (NOV 29) and they said they were sending me a return label for them to "examine" it, but on Dec 09 I hadn't heard back from them and had to double up with them. If they honor their namesake, fix it and send it back, I'll consider it a lemon and brush it under the rug (start saving up to order a MODEL 460XVR). My biggest fear is they say something along the lines of "it doesn't effect performance," and send it back without fixing it.
 
I realized I’d bought one with the same issue about ten minutes after I got home with it. It was a PC model that I’d saved for a while. I was let down, to say the least. I took it back to the LGS I’d bought it from, they sent it back, and about two months later I got it back straightened up. Unfortunately I’ve read of quite a few others who experienced the same. I‘d expect they’ll make it right for you, but it’s sad and all too common that you have to call them on such a sloppy assembly error.
 
Admittedly firearm quality generally isn't what it used to be, but even back in the day bad guns slipped out of the factories. I worked at a gun shop in the mid 70s where I encountered a brand new snub SW .38 that was missing the pin for the barrel and the barrel could be rotated by hand. How was that one test fired at the factory?
 
depositphotos_58648133-stock-illustration-flat-design-red-pipe-wrench.jpg
 
Very common. If I were serious about any modern Smith I would allocate an extra 3-500$ for Pinnacle or Mojo to finish the gun. I would expect to do that before ever buying one.

And if I didn't have to have it fixed I'd feel lucky.
 
When i was searching for a 986, I had a check list of items to look for. I went to Mace and Fuquay Gun. Looked at 7-8 revolvers over the course of a couple months. Finally bought one and sent it to Mojo Custom. It had the least number of issues. Notice that I said least...not no issues.

Things coming from Smith these days are suspect as they can be. If you have a checkout guide and a feeler gauge, you might be able to find a decent one. I'd send it back for sure.
 
Studentofthegun said:
When i was searching for a 986, I had a check list of items to look for. I went to Mace and Fuquay Gun. Looked at 7-8 revolvers over the course of a couple months. Finally bought one and sent it to Mojo Custom. It had the least number of issues. Notice that I said least...not no issues.

Things coming from Smith these days are suspect as they can be. If you have a checkout guide and a feeler gauge, you might be able to find a decent one. I'd send it back for sure.
Click to expand...

This is the dude ^^^ I'd bring if I were buying any revolver. Him or Slacker.

Don't trust myself to find all the flaws! Love them wheel guns but there is a lot to look for and an expert I am not!
 
NKD said:
This is the dude ^^^ I'd bring if I were buying any revolver. Him or Slacker.

Don't trust myself to find all the flaws! Love them wheel guns but there is a lot to look for and an expert I am not!
Click to expand...

Ehh I’d say Slacker knows a bit more than I do regarding wheel guns. There is an old revolver checkout guide I saved on my blog. It wasn’t me that wrote it but I should probably add some things to it with regard to the new Smiths. I was afraid it would go down the internet memory hole so I saved a copy. It can be helpful when shopping for any revolver.

 
Absolutely unacceptable.

I had a similar experience with a GunBroker purchase of a S&W model 66 - the seller took it back saying, "That's how I got it from the factory." I didn't think that was possible before reading this thread.

66-3 1.jpg66-3 2.jpg66-3 4.jpg66-3 5.jpg
 
Very very very common on new smiths. I still refuse to buy their new stuff until the Hillary hole is 100% gone. It's cheaper for them have the customer be qc and hope they don't notice. Functionally it's fine.
 
Last edited:
rufrdr said:
Admittedly firearm quality generally isn't what it used to be, but even back in the day bad guns slipped out of the factories. I worked at a gun shop in the mid 70s where I encountered a brand new snub SW .38 that was missing the pin for the barrel and the barrel could be rotated by hand. How was that one test fired at the factory?
Click to expand...
Old guns are always better beacuse the lemons have died off. Kinda how the exploding Springfield problem has mostly been sorted out by now
 
I just got through tweaking the canted barrel on one of my new acquisitions. I have bought 5 or 6 S&Ws and all of them but one show very minimal signs of being out of perfect alignment...none nearly as bad as the OPs. This particular gun was canted left (overclocked) and was hitting right as a result. I had to invest in a special wrench and make some blocks for the vise. I think the grooves in the top of the barrel are machined about a 32nd to 64th to the left also which doesn't help. I still need to get out and test fire to make sure it achieved the intended result.

It seems like the crew at S&W could take the extra 5 minutes to do this and avoid a lot of unhappy customers. I hope Smith will make it right for you.
 
My first 629 developed a cant to the left, if I remember correctly, after years of being shot on a regular basis. It got so that the ejector rod would not click into place. I sent it back to S&W to have it fixed. I have others and have not shot that particular revolver very much in recent years. The barrel on it is just a bit longer than I prefer.
 
To me, it more than cosmetic. Because, we're also talking about cylinder gap. I suspect someone's just setting the gap without regard to barrel index. That's where the skill part comes in, indexing the barrel and then setting the gap.
 
Still looks canted to me. Maybe it isn't as bad, but it isn't centered. I guess I'll shoot it and send it back if it still shoots left.
@jdataco
IMG_20220202_153631780.jpg
IMG_20220202_153552061.jpg
 
Last edited:
Did they test fire it?
 
This has been going on for a long time. I've owned three Smiths in my life and two were canted, went back.
 
Saw a before pic, what does it look like now? I had to send a 627 back a couple years ago for the same thing. Never fired a shot when I realized it was over tightened. When I looked at it some more it was evident it hadn’t been test fired at the factory at all Before sending it out.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom