I sent a model 29 back to the Mother ship back in the mid-70s for timing and it was gone 4 months.
I purchased a used 617 off this forum that was having some issues. Mostly with light strikes and the cylinder. Being used I fully expected to pay the S&W factory to fix it up. I sent it off. Waited quite a while, (1-2 months IIRC). Got the gun back with a 100% new cylinder, timed perfectly and some extra stuff. Maybe stickers and 2 speed loaders? Its been so long I cant rememeber exactly. They refused to charge me anything and paid for shipping both ways.
Just be patient and you'll get your gun back. I didnt have as nice of an experience returning a firearm for repair to Ruger or century.
So, S&W had my 617-6 for a couple weeks and returned it with the forcing cone having been recut and the yoke "repaired". Shot a couple hundred rounds today and she's fully recovered from her illness. No probs at all and accuracy is much better. I'm a happy cowboy. Too bad this expensive .22 was not properly manufactured in the first place. Oddly, S&W included a letter stating they had found excessive leading and that I should take care to clean it properly. Duh - did they not read the letter I included that stated I only fired 50 rounds in the NEW revolver? Even funnier, they returned it to me dirty. Doh!