S&W Model 629 PC 2 5/8

Rob_Mob

Rob_Mob

Joined
Oct 16, 2013
Messages
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Hey Guys,

I was super excited when I picked this up and took it home. Only to find that there’s something very aesthetically off! The front sight is off center by a good amount to the right.

Now I’m not trying to be a diva here, but you would think a Performance Center Model goes through more QC than other models. This shouldn’t happen period, let alone a PC model. I’m concerned that if I send this back and they center the front sight — it won’t be properly aligned and may be worse off than it is now.

It’s simple, I want it to shoot straight and sit straight — is that too much to ask? Someone please chime in and let me know if I’m looking at this all wrong.

Best,

Rob Abyane
 
Wow, that sucks donkee ballz. :thumbsdown::mad::thumbsdown:

You think it happened during shipping?

-OR-

May look like the barrel is canted from the one pic, but it's hard to tell, is it? If it is do you think they're building in some onboard Kentucky windage :rolleyes: on your front sight to compensate?
 
PeteyTwoPointOne said:
Wow, that sucks donkee ballz. :thumbsdown::mad::thumbsdown:

You think it happened during shipping?

-OR-

May look like the barrel is canted from the one pic, but it's hard to tell, is it? If it is do you think they're building in some onboard Kentucky windage :rolleyes: on your front sight to compensate?
Click to expand...

Hey Pete,

Not sure how it happened. I suspect they sent it this way. The only plausible reasons I can think of to allow the front sight to be shifted in any one direction is if the barrel is canted or if it’s been lined up with the rear sights in that way. I am not in the mood to fight with S&W about this. Something tells me they’re going to avoid giving me a new one (which they damn well should if the barrel is canted). I’m sure they’d rather avoid the cost and labor of getting me a new one and basically shelving mine (or worse, selling it to someone else without saying anything).
 
Have you shot it yet?

It could have been banged to the side like that after production. I'd say you need to shoot it to see if it's off.

They had a problem in the past with barrels being over torqued and installed in with a slight cant to them. You can usually follow the top line of the barrel and eyeball it to the frame to see if that's the case. I thought they had that issue fixed though. I had it happen on a TRR8, very frustrating. If they adjusted the sight like that to compensate for an over torqued barrel it is deplorable and needs to go back.

For the record, the Performance Center does not really do any tuning. They offer churched up models with more milling and features plus drop in performance parts. I'm not saying they aren't worth it, I have a lot of PC pistols in my safe. But they are prone to the same QC issues that come out of any production line.

If you get this fixed and decide to keep it you may want to get the upgraded firing pin from Cylinder and Slide. It's a fraction longer and makes for more reliable ignition. For some reason S&W has been using firing pins on the short side in their pistols and it really only shows up as an issue occasionally in the pistols with lighter triggers. It's about an $18 part IIRC and worth the added peace of mind.

Good luck man, beautiful piece.
 
I've had the same issue with a PC 625.
First check the grooves on top of the barrel and frame to see if they both line up. If not the gun needs to go back to have the under or over clocked barrel adjusted. If the grooves line up I would test fire to see if it's just a front sight issue. Front sight can always be drifted to center it then use rear sight to get the pistol sighted in.
If you do need to send the gun back it is a fairly easy and relative short procedure. S&W has implemented new software to track the gun within the factory (mainly to comply with BATF) so firearms can be located easily while moving through the factory. There is a number to call to track the repair work and estimated return time.
Beautiful firearm...
 
cpirtle said:
Have you shot it yet?

It could have been banged to the side like that after production. I'd say you need to shoot it to see if it's off.

They had a problem in the past with barrels being over torqued and installed in with a slight cant to them. You can usually follow the top line of the barrel and eyeball it to the frame to see if that's the case. I thought they had that issue fixed though. I had it happen on a TRR8, very frustrating. If they adjusted the sight like that to compensate for an over torqued barrel it is deplorable and needs to go back.

For the record, the Performance Center does not really do any tuning. They offer churched up models with more milling and features plus drop in performance parts. I'm not saying they aren't worth it, I have a lot of PC pistols in my safe. But they are prone to the same QC issues that come out of any production line.

If you get this fixed and decide to keep it you may want to get the upgraded firing pin from Cylinder and Slide. It's a fraction longer and makes for more reliable ignition. For some reason S&W has been using firing pins on the short side in their pistols and it really only shows up as an issue occasionally in the pistols with lighter triggers. It's about an $18 part IIRC and worth the added peace of mind.

Good luck man, beautiful piece.
Click to expand...

The concern I have with trying it out and realizing it shoots well — is that it’ll shoot well with an off center front sight. It feels like a faulty platform has been tweaked to perform properly. With the amount spent, I wouldn’t want that. Aesthetics are important too.

Great advice by the way in regards to the firing pin. Will definitely look into that.
 
WhitleyStu said:
I've had the same issue with a PC 625.
First check the grooves on top of the barrel and frame to see if they both line up. If not the gun needs to go back to have the under or over clocked barrel adjusted. If the grooves line up I would test fire to see if it's just a front sight issue. Front sight can always be drifted to center it then use rear sight to get the pistol sighted in.
If you do need to send the gun back it is a fairly easy and relative short procedure. S&W has implemented new software to track the gun within the factory (mainly to comply with BATF) so firearms can be located easily while moving through the factory. There is a number to call to track the repair work and estimated return time.
Beautiful firearm...
Click to expand...

From what I can tell, the grooves match up. If I get the front sight centered and the rear sights adjusted to zero in — you think it should be good?
 
Rob_Mob said:
From what I can tell, the grooves match up. If I get the front sight centered and the rear sights adjusted to zero in — you think it should be good?
Click to expand...

If the barrel lug/lines line up with the frame you should be good to drift that sight back to center. It probably got banged into another pistol and drifted it out of place.

That said, S&W is on record saying that a front sight does not have to be dead center on the barrel to be within spec. I suspect they would agree it's extreme in this case and that barrel is too short to be warped much, so if it was set there for a reason there's a problem they need to address and someone was too lazy to do it at the plant.

The reason I said shoot it first is that if you do and it hits POA then you know there's a problem and have something to discuss with them. If you drift it back to center, shoot it and it's off you may send it in and get it back with the sight drifted back out to compensate. My hope is you would shoot it, find it hitting left, drift the sight back in and then be dead on and have nothing to worry about. Bring your drift and hammer or sight pusher to the range with you.
 
Just noticed, is that scuffing under the lug in the first picture? Looks like tool scuffs. Is it possible someone tried monkeying with it before you got it?
 
Rob_Mob said:
From what I can tell, the grooves match up. If I get the front sight centered and the rear sights adjusted to zero in — you think it should be good?
Click to expand...
Yes, take some time on a nice day and sight it in. That will tell you whether it is OK or needs to go back for some factory "love".
 
I couldn't imagine that it is actually sighted in like that. Just imagine if that was an 8" barrel. With the longer sighting plane that sight would have to be drifted over so far that it couldn't possibly still be in the dovetail. I would save that pic of where it is at, drift it to center and try it out at the range. If it really does need to be that far over I would send it back. After a few years of a lot of shooting I sent my 629 CL DX back to get it tightened up. In its day it was their "custom shop" model and the guy I talked to at the shop really took care of me. New pawl and cylinder stop, set the barrel back to tighten up the flash gap, recut the throat and didn't charge me a dime.
 
cpirtle said:
If the barrel lug/lines line up with the frame you should be good to drift that sight back to center. It probably got banged into another pistol and drifted it out of place.
...
The reason I said shoot it first is that if you do and it hits POA then you know there's a problem and have something to discuss with them. If you drift it back to center, shoot it and it's off you may send it in and get it back with the sight drifted back out to compensate. My hope is you would shoot it, find it hitting left, drift the sight back in and then be dead on and have nothing to worry about. Bring your drift and hammer or sight pusher to the range with you.
Click to expand...
Good advice - I agree.

Rob_Mob said:
From what I can tell, the grooves match up. If I get the front sight centered and the rear sights adjusted to zero in — you think it should be good?
Click to expand...
Beautiful pistol! I think it got bumped somehow and moved the sight like that. I think once the front sight is centered, it will likely shoot fine. I would center the front sight, and then adjust the rear sight as needed to get your shots hitting the center of the target (I would use 44 Special ammo for this).
 
cpirtle said:
If the barrel lug/lines line up with the frame you should be good to drift that sight back to center. It probably got banged into another pistol and drifted it out of place.

That said, S&W is on record saying that a front sight does not have to be dead center on the barrel to be within spec. I suspect they would agree it's extreme in this case and that barrel is too short to be warped much, so if it was set there for a reason there's a problem they need to address and someone was too lazy to do it at the plant.

The reason I said shoot it first is that if you do and it hits POA then you know there's a problem and have something to discuss with them. If you drift it back to center, shoot it and it's off you may send it in and get it back with the sight drifted back out to compensate. My hope is you would shoot it, find it hitting left, drift the sight back in and then be dead on and have nothing to worry about. Bring your drift and hammer or sight pusher to the range with you.
Click to expand...

That’s some solid advice. I’ll do that, but first I’m going to call them and send them pictures and ask them if this is really what they want to send me from their Performance Center department. I’ll tell them I’m going to go to the range with some “experts” to do an independent test to evaluate whether someone dropped the ball at S&W or if this is an easy fix. I’ll expect either an apology or some humility from them, hope I’m not disappointed.
 
cpirtle said:
Just noticed, is that scuffing under the lug in the first picture? Looks like tool scuffs. Is it possible someone tried monkeying with it before you got it?
Click to expand...

I sure hope not — that would be next level shadiness
 
Did you pay for it to function properly? Did you Pay for it to be aesthetically pleasing? Seems like you just answered your own question:thumbsup:
 
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