I've been doing research into the boycott of Smith and Wesson and was curious if the Smith and Wesson boycott is still active?

From what I've read, Smith and Wesson signed an agreement with the Clinton/Gore Administration in early 2000 basically allowing the government to dictate their manufacturing/safety standards, regulate their sales and distribution, essentially putting their company at the mercy of the government  to avoid individual liability lawsuits.   It set a bad precedent for all other gun manufacturers and upset the shooting community at large.  Accordingly the gun community rallied against Smith and Wesson and did a mass boycott, running the company into the ground. 

Since then the company has switched hands and is under new leadership, but as far as I can tell the old agreement between the government and Smith and Wesson still stands. 

So that being said, is there still an active boycott of Smith and Wesson?   I had the opportunity to shoot the new Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm and liked the feel of it; I'm considering this for my first gun.  However I cannot in good conscience contribute to a firearm company that is willing to betray its customer base and the shooting community. 

Has enough time passed to let bygones be bygones, or is Smith and Wesson still on the outs with the shooting community? 

I wish i could comment on this but haven't heard of it going on.  If so, myself and a friend of mine are both guilty of not following the boycott.  My buddy loves his M&P9 and  I bought a M&P15 but wasn't so happy with my purchase in the end.  Either way, if there is a boycott, I bought a S&W product, and I am guilty as charged, on two counts actually... I just bought a j-frame!

I haven't heard about any boycott and regularly read about people enjoying their M&P semis, and generally disliking their Sigmas.

itwasntme, what didn't you like about the M&P15?

Hey 2a!  Overall the rifle performed well, don't get me wrong.  It was accurate in terms of a service rifle, great features, a decent trigger, and built well.  The problem I encountered was in the lower receiver.  The lower I received did not accept PMAGS and other GI mags.  When I sent the rifle back to S&W they sent it back to me and said that they only guarantee fitment with their mags and that any other mag that did not work must be out of spec.  BS!!!  If an agency acquired 50+ rifles from S&W and some of the lot worked with the dept mags and some did not, you mean to tell me that the dept would then in turn have to replace all their mags with S&W supplied ones...HELL NO! 

Secondly, say HPD approved its officers to use either M&P15's or Colts, a situation arrives and officers must perform duties which require carbines, one officer runs dry with no spare mag, the second officer hands him his mag, it does not fit... how is tis acceptable?

In the end, I replaced the lower with another manufacturer, kept the upper, and the rifle functions flawless.  After this experience, in the future,  the only smith im buying is a "wheel" gun.

I had never heard of the boycott either, but I am still relatively new to the shooting community.  My father who is a life long shooter was the one who told me about the boycott when I was showing him pictures of the Smith and Wesson M&P.  To this day he still refuses to purchase Smith and Wesson products.  Is this sentiment shared by other seasoned members of the shooting community? 

First I've heard of a boycott, although I do remember some uproar when S&W signed that agreement.

I bought a S&W 625 about 2 years ago.  After some tinkering and several applications of LokTite, it has become quite reliable.  It's a lot of fun to shoot a wheelgun in .45 ACP!

That being said, I don't so much have brand loyalty.  As I've mentioned before in other posts, I want guns that are reliable and shoot where I point them.  I don't crave a new Winchester or a new S&W, i crave a new lever action .357 carbine, or I crave a single-action .22 revolver.  There are exceptions... only Browning made the BAR (the real one, not that semi-auto toy).  Only Thompson made the Thompson.

I set out with criteria, look at all the possible fits, and make my selection based on that.  I can't think of a time in my life that I've set out to buy a gun based primarily on who made it.  Sure, the manufacturer is an influencing factor, but only after other criteria are satisfied.

I will say that I was greatly annoyed by the initial problems I had with my 625, every single one of which stemmed from a threaded assembly working itself loose.  Three times the gun became nonfunctional in the first 2 months I had it!  The ejector rod worked loose, and I was unable to open the cylinder.  The mainspring tension screw worked loose, and the gun stopped hitting the primer with enough force to set them off.  The cylinder release latch worked loose, and I couldn't open the cylinder.  Come ON, S&W!  Buy a little LokTite!

Sorry... I seem to have wandered off in a rant. 

Dont worry about it Tom!  I could go on and on about Smith & Wesson, much less their customer service.  I almost bought a 625 myself... Mike over at Young Guns loves his dearly.  Maybe I should look at it again being Im reloading 45 anyway.  It seems a lot of manufacturers are down on quality control.  Sig is starting to use MIM parts and not even sighting the guns in before leaving the factory.  No test targets anymore!