Posted on 12/09/2017 5:28:44 AM PST by Oshkalaboomboom
Edited on 12/09/2017 8:16:27 AM PST by Sidebar Moderator. [history]
The company that owns gun maker Smith & Wesson got hammered by investors Friday after it revealed its earnings plunged 90 percent in the most recent quarter.
With President Trump and a Republican-led Congress firmly behind Second Amendment rights, the panic-driven buying that had boosted business during the Obama Administration is no longer goosing sales, according to analysts.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
...is an example of the bean counters running the business.
Change an iconic brand name to something stupid, and mess up the design and manufacturing of all those cool revolvers.
How soon people forget...
http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2013/07/robert-farago/smith-wesson-forgets-to-remember/
“In 2000 the Clinton administration reached an agreement with Smith & Wesson, to end federal and state lawsuits, in exchange for marketing and design changes by the company. Some of the items Smith & Wesson agreed to were; to sell guns with locks, to build the locks in the weapons within two years, implement smart gun technology, and take ballistic fingerprints of its guns. Clinton called the deal a “major victory for America’s families.” The NRA and other gun rights groups heavily criticized the settlement calling Smith & Wesson’s actions “a sell-out”, with the NRA calling the agreement “”tantamount to back door blackmail”. Smith & Wesson’s ownership changed in 2001 and the agreement fell apart after George W. Bush came to office and supported lawsuit protection for gun manufactures. However, Smith & Wesson continues to sell guns with internal locks.”
I have one S&W with internal lock, I won’t carry it after hearing a few horror stories of the snubbies locking themselves up while using .357 loads. The internal lock is keeping me from buying a model 686 now. I’ve been checking internet for a used one, no lock. I just may give up and go with the Ruger SP101- 3” .357.
Change name, kill company. Got to be one of the stupidest moves in business history.
Outstanding!
People better keep buying. Trump’s army will need to be well armed.
The Sigma pistols were poor replacements, but I don't mind the M&P series; I am not a big fan of them despite their fitting my hand better than any Glock. The M2.0 versions are perfectly competent polymer-framed, striker fired handguns... in a world that is awash with polymer-framed, striker fired handguns. They were the gold standard of revolvers, but I just don't see that ever being the case with semiautos.
The "gold standard" isn't what it used to be either. I know a lot of new shooters who have decided that they like revolvers better for SD/HD, and the sad truth is that they are being poorly catered to by the manufacturers. Way too many new revolvers come with problems, and letting Joe and Jane Newshooter be the manufacturers' beta testers/QC department isn't going to help their bottom lines in the long run. Lots of us can remember when sending a new S&W revolver back for repair was rare, but that is no longer the case. Aside from arguments about the desirability of Saf-T-Hammer internal locks, multi-piece barrels, MIM components, or whatever, the supposed improvement due to advanced manufacturing techniques and modern CNC equipment are not resulting in better guns... regardless of the MSRP.
“I just may give up and go with the Ruger SP101- 3” .357.”
I have one with the 1-1/2” barrel. It barks with .357 loads and from my work with a chronograph the velocity loss isn’t worth it. With +P .38 Spl loads, however, it’s quite manageable.
It’s rock solid, reliable to a fault, tho a bit heavy to carry. But if you’re going to carry a revolver, and I do sometimes, it’s certainly worth a look.
Best,
L
Right. I think when Bangor punta owned it they also owned Beretta and Taurus and when split Taurus held the rights to make authentic clones of both Berettas and S&W firearms.
In 2005 I bought a SP-101 for about $325. The same weapon cost more than double that. It is the same weapon. Many revolvers cost way north of $1000...seriously? Seriously. Prices have risen substantially, but quality has not. I own more than a couple of $1000 weapons that are unfit for duty due to reliability, but dang, they sure are pretty. Weapons are massed produced with questionable quality, yet prices rise and rise and rise. Pump action shot guns jamming...revolvers hanging internally...pistols with ejection failures....and manufactures only willing to stand behind their products if you pay them more and more and more money and send your weapon back to them. But dang, they sure look cool look at that SQUIRREL!
“The “gold standard” isn’t what it used to be either.“
Ain’t that the truth. I have a Colt Python, 4” and nickel plated. Now THAT was a gold standard.
Had an S&W Model 19 that in a moment of poor judgement I sold. One of a custom run for the Illinois State Police before they went to that piece of crap Model 59. Paid $250 for it.
Adjustable sights, combat trigger, custom hammer...just gorgeous.
Man, I miss that gun. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
They don’t make them like that anymore.
L
For me, S&W started downhill (maybe under Bangor Punta) when they did away with `pinned & recessed’ in their revolvers. Wood probably changed from Goncalo Alves, too.
Steel frame P&R’s are the only Smithies I own. Composite? Yuk!
“Stupid company, you had the best name in firearms, Smith & Wesson and you changed it to, no one knows the new name. Dumb, dumb,”
Stupid in more ways than one. The only Smith & Wessons I’m intersted in are pre 1982 pinned and recessed revolvers.
Figuratively and literally.
Now that I no longer hunt or even think about formal competition, I don't really care about the beauty of a firearm or even basic fit and finish beyond a certain point, but nobody wants to lay out money for a brand new firearm that exhibits all the fine craftsmanship of something churned out in 1945 for the Volkssturm.
As for b/c gap, timing, indexing, etc- acceptable standards for such things on revolvers predates my great-grandfather... and I am an old guy by societal standards. So why is there so much sloppily-made crap being turned out nowadays? I used to dismiss those who said that in these days of improved metallurgy and machine tools, there needed to be a certain amount of skilled hand work to produce a reliable, pleasant gun... apparently, I was wrong.
As you said, they don't make them like that anymore.
Mr. niteowl77
Not exactly. Black Friday broke all previous records for NICS background checks.
I'll bet some jail inmates with access to the internet would print out that picture, reverse it to obtain the second side, glue it to something and attempt a jail break. LOL
That said, I have a sample of one, a recent 629-6 which, from an engineering standpoint I can appreciate: radiused studs in the lockwork, larger cylinder bolts than in the original model 29, and an easily replaced firing pin. Although the ILS (”hillary hole”) is an aesthetic abomination, when I examine it, it is hard to see how it can malfunction. Perhaps it can; in any event it can be easily removed. As for MIM parts... I've had no failures. With no work but shooting and dry fire, the trigger pull has cleaned up to be smooth as silk.
I can't complain. The barrel is on straight, the sight adjustment is very close to center as mounted, and it likes 429421 bullets.
Okay. A sample of one. But an example that good product is still out there if QA does its part in manufacturing. If there are specific horror stories out there, I'd like to hear them though. I have a hankering for a 617...
C.W.
My favorite dealer is able to get new models w/o trigger lock.
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