Regarding the wear you're seeing on the cylinder: what you're describing does sound typical, especially with the Cerakote finish. Cerakote is designed for durability, but it can show signs of wear a bit differently than traditional bluing. The marks behind the circle rings are often just a result of normal use, especially after a few hundred rounds.
If you'd like to send a photo, we'd be happy to take a closer look and confirm everything looks as expected.
Let us know if you have any other questions.
Best regards,
Rebecca
This is the response I got from Smith and Wesson Customer Service. BTW I did sent them a photo and am waiting for their response.