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However I do remember being completely surprised seeing the ball detent on a really big S&W a year or two ago. I seem to recall it was one of the really big X frames, but I cannot be sure.
This will require more investigation.
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My X-Frames have the ball detent as well as my P.C. 629 Magnum Hunter.
As for the new Smiths, I just bought a new 4" 686 a few weeks back. Walked past the revolver case at my LGS and saw it there with a $499 price tag on it. Thought it might be used and in great shape. Clerk told me it was new, just received from their sister store in the next town. I asked to look at the gun and if the price was correct. He told me yes that was the correct price. I already have a prelock, 4" 686-4. I also have a 6" 686 -5 and a 5" 686-8. I didn't need another 686....but for $499? Must be something wrong I thought and looked it over closely. Barrel was perfectly straight, nice cylinder gap, crane/frame fit was great, crown good for a new Smith, rifling looked good and action nice and smooth for a new gun. Another guy who saw me ask for the gun was waiting for me to put it down after seeing the price tag, but I didn't before I told the clerk I'd take it. Wasn't till checkout they discovered they had priced the gun wrong. But by then, I had already paid for the BG check and transfer(this shop makes you pay for this up front first) and the gun had been successfully transferred. They did a lot of grumbling(even politely asked me to at least pay their cost of the gun) but in the end, decided to honor their mistake. Since I did not need the gun, even at that price, if there had been any issues, I would have walked away. I actually looked for an excuse not to buy it....but couldn't find one, not at that price. In the long run, it's been put away and will be a graduation present for my youngest when he graduates from college this spring.
CNC, MIM is not cheap. All they do is eliminate the "hand-fitting" because the precision of the parts means it is now unnecessary. While there is a amount of "tolerance stacking" in them, there also was when skilled assemblers hand fit those same parts. CNC and MIM do not have "Mondays or Fridays" like humans do. They do not have good days and bad, nor do they come in sick or hung over. Nor do they get tired or bored at the end of the day. I worked construction for 45 years. When trusses first came out, when air guns became the norm, folks cried that the craftsmanship in home building was gone. No, the craftsmen were still there, they just used different tools and different products to produce the same product. While these new systems made it easier for unskilled folks to assemble a product, it was no different than when those unskilled folks used rafters and framing hammers. In many cases, today's homes are built better, than those old "craftsman" style homes built back in the 30s. I see the same with firearms. While processes have been changed and certain materials, because of availability and cost have changed, there are still quality firearms being produced. While nostalgia is big right now from us Baby-Boomers and it's nice to own things built the "old-fashioned" way, most of it is just that, nostalgia. My -5 686 outshoots my -4 686 and the -8 is the most accurate of all three. The new 686 has not been shot yet, but I'm sure if there is a problem, the lifetime warranty will fix the gun for as long as my young son lives(yes, it was registered to him to S&W as the original owner). Only difference I see in the new 686 vs the older -4 is the Hillary hole, the hammer and trigger, and the finish is not quite as smooth on the new gun, but that could be from years of polishing from me. Oh, and the new rubber grips. The barrel aligns better on the newest 4'' 686 as compared to the -4(which has the rear sight far to the right). Looking at the newest 686 in the safe, I wish all the new Smiths were like it.