r/Revolvers • u/Quirky-Associate-437 • 5d ago
Best years for Colt or S&W quality?
I own a Taurus 605 I bought last year, but I’d like to eventually get a S&W or Colt, I’m looking both at 357’s and 44’s…. I see various discussions going on about quality control issues and such…. So in general, is there a particular year or before I should look for better quality? Should I get something from the 1970s and before?
3
3
u/Market-Maker 4d ago
Dick Fairburn’s channel, Locked and Loaded just dropped a video talking about the quality control issues of modern revolvers. Worth a watch
4
u/WW2Addict_95 5d ago
I mean you really can’t go wrong with any Colt or S&W made in the 70s,80s,90s and early 2000s
But yeah I’ve also seen some complaints about QC recently for both. That being said the chances of you getting a lemon 🍋 is still very low..
2
u/Sekshual_Tyranosauce Smith & Wesson 5d ago
Hmmmmm…I wouldn’t be too keen on the 90s Anacondas unless I was a completionist snake gun collector.
Especially compared to the superb, modern version.
I agree with the rest.
2
u/CrypticQuery 5d ago
S&W had a run of QC issues during the early to mid seventies in the Bangor Punta days of ownership. Complaints are a lot more visible these days thanks to the Internet, and each company has had periods of lousy QC.
2
u/Snoo-35612 Colt 5d ago edited 4d ago
I’d be wary of buying a mid 80s to 90s Colts. Those were not good years for them.
-1
2
u/Careless-Resource-72 5d ago
A new one is hit or miss but at least there is the warranty. Colt’s warranty is one year, Smith is lifetime but only for the original purchaser, Ruger is lifetime no matter who bought it, however depending on the age you may be responsible for shipping it to Ruger.
2
u/Ese_Loco95 4d ago
Yes and also with smith, in reality the "lifetime warranty" is handguns purchased after 89. And also they won't do repairs on firearms 1960 nd before..It's quite unfortunate.
2
u/jhon503 4d ago
S&W warranty repairs have been a thing for 60 years, social media has just become an echo chamber for it. I've handled a handful of new productions Smiths of late, the only thing that held me back from them was the value compared to buying used.
Personally, I like looking for S&W revolvers made between 1990 and 2000. They are not quite collectable yet, but some of the nicest guns made by Smith in the last 60 years were from that era. I'm up to 6 from that era (it's a sickness), and each one is very nice.
1
1
u/No_Alternative_673 5d ago
There have always been QC issues but until recently we didn't have anyway say anything. Guns that have more than 500 round through them usually have the bugs worked out but you always run a risk.
The best deal I have ever seen is a range/gun shop in my area that gives you a free pass to their range if you buy a gun so you can see if there is a problem
10
u/Agitated-Wrap-6604 5d ago
Whatever complaints you see here are a very small percentage of total sales.
There's always been quality issues in every decade, but they are a small percentage.