Let me start with saying I didn’t practice due diligence and neglected to fully research the 43C before I bought it. I needed a 22 for trapping and because my 40 year old body is getting wrecked by arthritis.

The 43C I accepted had some cosmetic issues and a service rep reassured me they would take care of it before transfer. My FFL charges $20.00 for all you can fit on a 4473 so I wasn’t going to return it to the drop shipper.

Well, it went back to S&W TWO times and I just sent it back for a third time.

The first time they replaced the cylinder, barrel (didn’t have a crown at all and tore patches), barrel shroud, yoke and recut the forcing cone. The hole for the front sight pit walked so bad they bent the roll pin that held it in place which meant I couldn’t replace the sight.

It returned even worse than the first time because now the action was full of sand and EVERYTHING stuck in the cylinder regardless of how clean it was. And the front sight hole was bad again. Unbelievabley there were still punch marks on the barrel shroud. I also managed to have my gun arrive the week before the factory went on holiday.

It was returned the second time with a new cylinder, new yoke, and a new barrel shroud. They left a huge punch mark on the barrel shroud for the third time! The front sight hole is so bad the roll pin is bent and the front sight moves back and forth ~0.030”. You can see bare aluminum where someone re-cut the front sight pinhole. To top it off, the damn think shoots 3” to the left at 7 yards. We shot from a rest with multiple top quality loads with multiple shooters and it was a constant 3” to the left. I know it’s a fixed sight J frame but come on! Even premium nickel plated ammo sticks now with a crystal clean chamber. They told me they recut the forcing cone…how many times can you actually do that?

So to recap, the gun is on its third cylinder, third yoke and S&W have been unable to assemble the barrel shroud correctly without any damage. I was going to accept the cosmetic issues because it’ll live in my left front pocket. The customer service rep I talked to said he would escalate it to include a manager and gunsmith.

I hope they offer me credit so I can dump it and just pay the difference for a 617. I’m so disappointed with S&W and I really wanted to pick up the new Shield X but that sure as heck isn’t happening.

That sucks. My 43C is fantastic. I have ran many many bricks through mine. I load up a speed beez tray and go to town. Love the sights love the weight great gun. Any 22 can get sticky after a hundred plus rounds so I just bring a bore snake along.

I have to admit I sometimes wonder about posts like this. Some people really get locked in on aesthetic issues. I am more of a how does it shoot guy. I also don’t understand the “it’s full of sand” comment. If that’s true I would either send it back or more likely just remove the side plate and clean it myself.

Either way good luck. On the manufacturer specific forum I hear lots of these complaints but after reading many of them I’ve come to the conclusion that many gun owners are straight up nut jobs with zero mechanical understanding or skill. Not saying you are one of those.

I have a.ways preferred older used guns especially S&W revolvers. My pet is a 2” 34-1 doesn’t suffer the tight chamber issues very common in S&W’s of all vintages.
I’d look for an old 34
Sorry to hear of the QC issues, and I have heard way to many complaints about current production guns to ever consider one.