I have a number of S&W, 1911's, striker fired and a lot of S&W Revolvers, I've coveted the Performance Center Models, all have been fantastic quality.
However my last S&W was the new Shield Plus Performance Center, ported barrel and slide with optics.
Since 1852 we’ve been an industry leading manufacturer of pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shooting accessories. We continue to bring innovative firearms to market that meet the needs of every shooter and deliver on exceptional quality with a brand you’ve learned to trust.
www.smith-wesson.com
This supposed to be the cream of the crop PC version, brand new gun, cleaned and oiled.
Failed to Feed.
Failed to Eject.
Light Strikes.
...
I could no get one magazine through with out at least 3 or 5 failures on something, everything that could go wrong, went wrong.
I persisted and put 150 rounds through it in attempt to break-it-in, still no luck.
The one saving grace is their warranty, it went back and was basically rebuilt, it's been flawless since.
However, the reason I look for the PC versions is that the sold me on the blurb...
www.smith-wesson.com
One assumes if "
old-world craftsmanship" is really taken place, anyone who had tried to test fire the Shield would have seen it had major problems.
Again assuming due to cost cutting or keeping up with demand that the Performance Center laser engraving is more branding now than quality.
However, I still wouldn't hesitate to buy another S&S because of their warranty, sh*t happens and things in manufacturing & quality control can go wrong for numerous reasons.
This was one out of many that I have that went wrong, all the others have been great.
S&W customer service was great, took a while as they where backed up (what does that tell you), but it wasn't my only firearm, so I wasn't in any hurry and I knew it would come back fixed.
Harry