One of the topics suggested to me by a couple Readers was: “Talk about some of the guns you’ve shot before; likes / dislikes etc.”
That’s a BIG topic, because I have shot hundreds of different guns over the course of my gun-loving existence.
And while we’re there, let me remind everyone that I’m not a gun enthusiast or gun expert. I am a gun lover. I love shooting guns, with a passion that seems to have remained more or less constant for about sixty years, starting with my first, a Diana air rifle, all the way to whatever gun I blazed away with last week.
Actually, I do remember what I fired last week: my bedside gun (Smith & Wesson Mod 65), nominally in .357 Magnum, but realistically best shot loaded with .38 Special (or +P for goblin dispatch). Of all S&W revolvers, this is unquestionably my favorite.
The very first time I held a Mod 65 in my hand, I fell in love with it. It just points, in the same way that my index finger points, directly at the target. And even though I don’t shoot it with exemplary accuracy, I still love shooting it, and that’s one of the reasons it’s my primary bedside gun.
Now I’ve owned a couple more — still own a Mod 637 Airweight, for that matter — but I’ve never been a huge aficionado of S&W wheelguns. (My late buddy Airboss had, as I recall, over three dozen S&W snubbies. Now that’s an aficionado.) There’s no reason for my apparent indifference for the brand. Smith makes excellent guns of all kinds, but I’ve just never owned that many.
Which is why I’m going to kick off this series — and oh yes, a series it will be — with this manufacturer’s handguns: the ones that I’m least familiar with. (I must mention at this point that this is not going to be a S&W history lesson, nor even a catalog of their guns. There are lots of those around, so I’m not even going to try to add yet another of them.)
So other than the above two, which I’ve fired a lot, here are a couple that I’ve fired before, and wouldn’t mind owning. They are in no special order, and I’ve used linked pics so that if you’re tempted…
Might be the “better” of the 65/66 options, in that it’s in a sturdier “L” frame (the 65/66 have the lighter “K” frame), comes with a 6″ barrel and has an adjustable rear sight. Certainly, if I was doing any kind of competitive shooting, this would be my choice over the 65. But only then. And while I love the 586 / 686 line — it’s as accurate as all hell — I still prefer shooting the Colt Python. And speaking of blued .357 revolvers (which I prefer over the stainless):
…except I’d swap out the rubber grips for wooden ones, because for this gun, wood is prettier.
S&W’s “kit guns” are well represented by this model. I’ve shot several, and my only comment about them is that in my hands, anything shorter than a 4″ barrel is simply a waste of ammo. Never been able to shoot the snubby versions worth a damn. (And FYI, that’s not true of other snubby brands: I have no problem hitting what I’m aiming at with shorter barreled Ruger SP101s or Colts, for example.)
Smith & Wesson 500 Revolver .500 S&W
Here’s me shooting the 500:
…and that’s with a muzzle brake. Pass.
More of the same later.
Nice choice of topic. I’m a S&W revolver guy of many years standing.
Regarding the 686, it’s actually an “L” frame gun, not “N”. The “L” is an intermediate size betweek “K” and “N”. It has a “K” sized grip, but larger heavier body to deal with hot .357 loads that caused problems with “K” frame guns, while not being quite as big and heavy as the “N” frame guns like the Model 27.
Aaaargh I knew I was going to cock up the S&W nomenclature at some point. Thankee for the correction.
Even for a lifelong fan of the tragically unhip Glocks, this is a wonderful post. There’s something special about taking a very good revolver into the hand. Thanks.
I’d only add the Smidt 22LR 617 6″. That thing is fun forged in highly polished stainless steel.
when did you get into my collection? I have owned or shot most of the revolvers you listed. I have not tried the X frame .500 S&W Dinosaur Slayer. the .44 magnum model 29 is the largest caliber handgun I have shot.
I think there is a new edition of “The Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson” coming out later this year. The model numbers and dash variations can be daunting.
I used to compete with my S&W model 66 4″ in IDPA. I ran 158 grain .38 Special +P through it and it has held up just fine. The 125 grain .357 magnum cartridges on the other hand can be hard on the K frame .357 Magnums.
I haven’t tried the old or new Pythons. From what I understand the lock work of the older Pythons would require more maintenance or repair than the S&W revolvers.
There must be something terribly wrong with me, but I can’t shoot a revolver for spit. It always seems that the grips don’t fit my hand, or something like that. I had an old S&W .357 that I got used from a coworker, and never did learn to shoot the thing in double-action. Maybe it’s just the size of my (very small) hands and a long DA pull, but I can’t shoot DA well even with my wife’s little snubby. SA is merely OK, but you’d need a target the size of a paper plate at 7 yards to hold my shotgun pattern groupings in DA.
My back-up pistol while deer hunting has been a Taurus revolver, built back when they were making the S&W’s in Brazil on the same machinery. Stainless with nice wood grips, and the best sights I’ve ever used on any kind of handgun (white “U” outline fully-adjustable rear, red-ramp front), but I can only hit the broad side of the barn (from inside the barn) in DA with it. When shot from a rest at 25 yards in single-action it’ll print a 4″ group with magnum loads…which only goes to show that it’s FAR more accurate than this idiot operator of it will ever be.
I’ve shot revolvers in calibers ranging from .22 LR to .44 Magnum (exactly one cylinder of the latter with full-bore rounds) and I have to safely say I’d rather shoot a 1911 in .45 ACP all day long. I’ve watched people who really know how to run a revolver, and all I can do is shake my head at my inability while admiring theirs.
Yours is not an uncommon complaint.
I, for example, cannot shoot any revolver with a “Bisley” grip as it sits poorly and responds badly when I pull the trigger.
I’ll write about THAT in a later post.
I love, love, LOVE, my Mod 19. Its the first real gun I ever bought, and the last one I’d ever sell.
With the 6″ barrel its not much of a carry piece, but its an excellent shooter.
I have some Smiths. My favorite is my dad’s 30-1 in .32 S&W Long. I don’t know what frame it is, but it’s smaller than a J-frame like his model 10, which I also have.
If I could get a holster that fit it, I’d actually carry it. It’s small, lightweight, deadly accurate, and I’m a follower of Greg Ellifritz on stopping power, so I’m not afraid of .32 for self defense.
Shorter Ellifritz: with minor exceptions, handgun calibers are substantially interchangeable, and all are inferior to rifle calibers.
That said, I’m not really a revolver fan for self defense. I envision too many scenarios where I need more shots.
I learned to shoot with my dad’s Speed Six in the 70’s. I have my grandfather’s cowboy 44mag since 1981. It is a lot of gun to shoot. I happened across a worn S&W 65-2 LEO trade-in for $250 in the early 90’s. The barrel looked like it had never ben shot and the ramp had no wear. I put a Crimson Trace rubber grip on it after I spent a couple of hours with it on a buffing wheel to get all of the scratches out. The 65 has a natural feel to it and I can put all six shots on a pie plate at 50 yards. I can’t do that with any of my other pistols.
My favorite target load is a 138 gr coated semi-wadcutter that runs at 1160 fps. It is an extremely light magnum load but it has the same kick as my 158gr HydroShok load.
My first real revolver was a 65 (prior San Diego PD), love it. Since then, I’ve picked up a 29 (8 3/8in barrel), 28-2 (Highway Patrolman, 6in) and a 49 (“hammerless” Bodyguard, 38SPL.) The 28-2 is an absolute dream to shoot in SA.