Is this normal? S&W 629 4.2"

That S&W is not timed properly. Cylinder stop is dragging acrros the cylinder face all of the time. That is incorect it should touch cylinder only at 1/3 the distance between two notches. I would love to see detailed pic of the cylinder stop protruding from the frame and firing pin hole.

Dang, it's gone, otherwise I'd take more pics. But I do recall that the drag marks were definitely non-stop continuous.
It is a test of patience, but I feel I will get a much better revolver in the end.

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Epps, I agree, they should have said "Send it in, we'll take care of it" and they could still be firm on their no-refunds policy, but it would have looked great.
Had Epps received the gun, they then could have informed me that they were sending it to S&W for repair and I'd have thought "Awesome! They take care of their customers."

The funny thing, it'd have been much slower for Epps to do all this rather than me doing the work myself, but, it sure as hell would have saved them some customer-relation points. Big time.
They chose to ignore the problem, calling it normal. I won't even get into the $35 offer :confused: That was bizarre and actually insulting.
 
It's unfortunate for you G37 but this should teach us all a lesson about buying "new" guns (unseen) online from dealers. I want high quality pictures of new firearms from now on and an accurate description of the item before I submit payment. You have to wonder if the ones with known irregularities or visual issues get sent out in the mail unseen to the new buyer rather than sitting in the store. Well, that is a pretty stupid assumption on my part because we all know how business is run today....
 
It's unfortunate for you G37 but this should teach us all a lesson about buying "new" guns (unseen) online from dealers. I want high quality pictures of new firearms from now on and an accurate description of the item before I submit payment. You have to wonder if the ones with known irregularities or visual issues get sent out in the mail unseen to the new buyer rather than sitting in the store. Well, that is a pretty stupid assumption on my part because we all know how business is run today....

That is a interesting idea you have there armorman. I had never thought of that, you may be on to something there. If that is indeed the case it would make it a lot easier for them, as the customer would have to deal with everything instead of them doing it. The way I have saw in posts like this one how EPPS deals with problems I can well beleive that they would surely do this.

Graydog
 
You can't always catch this at the dealer. MY 686 non fluted 7 shot, was fine, in fact I ordered it and opened it myself, dealer never opened it. the peening happened first day at the range, mine was twice as bad as G37's. The dealer could not fix it and had to return it to MD. They (dealer)offered to return it, but said it would be quicker and I would get better service if I did. They did call MD, gave them a heads up and then gave me the info to send it away. I paid shipping to MD, and they took care of the rest. They had to replace parts, adjust the timing, replace the cylinder even. Smith Warranty was excellent, dealer could do very little. They did help the process along. Epps should have at the very least set up the return to MD. This is not a little deal, timing on revolvers is not insignificant. bullet fragment shaving off and flying out between the cylinder and barrel is a bit of a finger cutter offer, or blinder in unfortunate situations. Epps is negligent in how they handled this, in the End the OP will have a good pistol, unfortunately it will take a little time.
 
It looks like we got a bad batch up here with these 629s. I found the same peening on the cylinder as the OP's:

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It's also quite dirty from the test firing as well. In itself that's not a big deal to me, although I don't see why they wouldn't clean it up for sale. But mine also came with what looks to be some corrosion on the frame and under the firing pin. Has anyone else seen this on theirs?

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I guess I'll be testing the S&W reputation for good customer service...
 
The QC on these 629's are very unfortunate. You may expect it from a "cheaper" brand but not from S&W especially for the $$ they want.
 
Definitely a bad batch.

Garonimus, I didn't have that red stuff on mine (Rust?) but I did have the 1/4-circle of fresh peened steel you see at the bottom. I thought that was really terrible if it was intended, does anyone know if that it normal or not. It looks terrible as it is off-centre and whatever part of the hammer is striking it, it's barely catching.

Whoever put these together should get fired. Immediately.



Hmmmmmm I wonder.

S&W-Tech "Hey Boss, we got that box of rejects ready for disposal."
S&W-Sales "Wait... I've got an idea. I just got off the phone with North Sylvia Co. up in Canada..."

To be continued.
 
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Other then the slight extractor wobble, mine looks good. Ya smith is definitely gone downhill now a days. Dont make them like they used to.
 
If this is normal now for S&W I am glad I bought the Ruger GP-100. Although we haven't seen what Ruger is doing now with QC given they are selling everything they make now. Obama should be made man of the year by the gun manufacturers in the US.

Take Care

Bob
 
S&W-Tech "Hey Boss, we got that box of rejects ready for disposal."
S&W-Sales "Wait... I've got an idea. I just got off the phone with North Sylvia Co. up in Canada..."

This^^^^.

Anyway, they (the dealer and distributor) have your money so sadly it's your problem now. That's how it works today. I've been in business long enough and have dealt with issues similar to this on what seems like a weekly basis at times (albeit in a different industry) to know exactly what's going on. Stuff like this just makes us smarter, savvy, and more aware. Slowly they're teaching us.....
 
It seems to me a dealer would check the gun before shipping out to the customer. I don't believe for a minute Freedom Ventires would ship, what appear to me to be a well handled if not used gun, out to a customer. I have bought from Dianne at P&D and would not expect her to ship me a gun in that condition. She values her business reputation more than that. Apparently Epps doesn't. If you want internet sales what Epps did was wrong, period. It is this kind of BS that leads to Consumer Protection Laws and the red tape that goes with it. Sorry but in my view it is wrong and in defense of the OP let Epps know by sending them an email everytime we buy product from another dealer. With the price of guns these days wallets talk.

Take Care

Bob
 
I've just been in contact with Murray at the S&W warranty centre, and will be sending it in. I'm most concerned with the apparent corrosion on the frame. It makes me wonder if there's any more inside where I can't see it. It'll be interesting to see the results when all is said and done with the warranty work.

I also just got a Ruger Redhawk and the fit and finish on it is excellent. It looks like it's either a bad batch from S&W, or the tables have turned and the Rugers are the better finished guns now.
 
Something odd is going on over at S&W. My Serial Number is "48xx" and I see Garonimus is "28xx." Strange? Maybe not, but I'd have thought they'd been closer... I can't imagine 2000 making it up to Canada if indeed they were a "special run."

This entire experience is terrible, so much for having the privilege of being first.


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BTW, this is an odd marking. A torch that was too hot?

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G37: It looks like rust to me. Would there be a need for a torch there? I don't know enough about how these are made to know that. There's no corresponding blemish on the crane, but that could be a part that was changed out later. I'm definitely going to be more wary about ordering sight unseen over the internet in the future.

Bollox: I wasn't aware of any troubles with the Rugers. My best guess, and hope, is that there are more bad apples getting past QC due to the volume of orders recently, and the situation will improve once things get back to normal.
 
This business of passing returned, demo, open box, defective guns to the customers as new, is quiet upsetting. Unfortunately, I see it more and more these days. In my opinion, if known, this practice borders on dishonesty. Just because everybody does it, doesn't make it OK. Whether done by a dealer or the distributor (more likely), the buck stops with the dealer. "Take it to the manufacturer under the warranty" is an unacceptable answer for a "new" gun in this condition.

I first came across this when Cabelas shipped to me an obviously well fired (a few boxes of ammo) rifle as new. I followed it all the way up to the sales manager who sheepishly resorted to the "well....it is factory test fired" crap, followed by an apologetic "what if I send you a $50 gift card! I hung up and I don't order from Cabelas anymore.

It is a fact, guns are test fired at the factory and yes, it is very hard to prove how many rounds are fired from a gun or whether the dents and drag marks are due to testing or use, But that is no excuse to sell returned, demo, re-packages, repaired....guns to the customers as "new". And yes, once you have owned your first dozen guns, you can tell.

To OP, I own only one revolver so no expert in that area. It is a large frame S&W with a few hundred rounds through. It neither has any peening issues nor the rattling ejector problem you are having. In fact, after 200-300 rounds through it, it barely shows any drag lines at all.
 
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