In the early 80's I bought a Smith 4" model 686 .357 mag as my woods bum around belt gun and home defense piece. It has served me well and has digested thousands of rounds of .38 special and .357 mag ammo. Recently I started having a problem with the cylinder binding due to primers flowing back into the hole in the frame where the firing pin comes through. This occurred with several brands of .357 mag factory ammo. I searched the net and found that S&W had posted a recall and retrofit program for this problem in the late 80's or early 90's. I called S&W customer service and explained the problem. They sent me a postage paid shipping label that included UPS picking the package up at my home. I sent the revolver and had the modified gun back in my hands in about two weeks. I know these guys have taken some heat for service issues and political foo-pahs in the past but it looks like they are cleaning up their act and recommitting themselves to the brand. Congradulations S&W from a very satisfied customer.
