[Geronimo45]

To the best of my knowledge, S&W made square butt revolvers prior to WWI, and kept on making 'em until... sometime in the 70s or 80s, AFAIK. Why did they switch all their models to round butt? What was the reasoning behind it?

[DMK]

Fits the hand better. Your hand isn't square. It curves where the butt fits.

[XavierBreath]

Concealed carry. You will note the big guns still have square butts, or at least a square butt Hogue Monogrip.
A round butt doesn't print as much.

[Brian Williams]

Reasoning behind the change to round butt only was that they only had to make 1/2 of the frames for their lineup.
Just think about how many frame types were needed.
round / Square grip frame 2
target / fixed sights 2
standard or pencil / heavy barrel 2
J, K, L, N frames 4
serrated / non-serrated backstraps 2


Multiply that out
2 x 2 x 2 x 4 x 2 = 64 different frames...
Now they just had to double the types of grip/stocks Round grip and round grip to square conversions

[rcmodel]

The big guns don't have square butts anymore. They are all round butt now.
Some just have sq. butt shaped grips that cover up the round butt frame.

All K-L-N-X now use the same round-butt grip size.
All J frames are now also round butt, but smaller.

In general, I think it was felt that the round butt gave a much better choice of grip sizes to fit anyone well. And it cut way down on inventory for S&W if the same grips fit every gun they make.

http://i81.photobucket.com/albums/j219/rcmodel/KTOG/1224.gif
rcmodel

[Just Jim]

They fit some peoples hands better:D:D It's all about fit, when a gun fits then you will shoot it better. It is also why they make different frame sizes.

jj

[Jim March]

I think one issue is that sighted fire started to take over from lower holds around the same time as the shift, or slightly thereafter.

Check the pic at the top-right of this site:

http://www.bobtuley.com/pointshooting.htm

For these sorts of holds as practiced by the two best men to ever shoot them, you want a square-butt.

Once you bring the gun to eye level, esp. if one or both arms "rise up to" the gun, round-butt works. See also the pics at: http://weaverstance.com/

Now it's not universal. You can shoot a square-butt from a Weaver no problem. But in my experience, round works better.

Once it was understood that wood or rubber grips could be made that adapt round to square in terms of feel, and the shooting public was willing to accept seeing the backstrap metal disappear halfway down the back, the square-butt vanished.

Ruger went further: the GP/SP/SRH series have "stubs" that any shape grip can bolt onto.

[Brian Williams]

All K-L-N-X now use the same round-butt grip size.
Nope, the N frames still have an N frame size grip.

K-l-x use the same grip size.

[buttrap]

Plus you can make a round butt look like a square with conversion grips. Cant make a square round with any grip.

[KurtC]

Smith & Wesson stopped making the square butt in the 1990's, but has resumed making them this year. The 25-14 and model 22, both in .45 acp are examples. Point shooting is easier for some with a square butt, as is aimed fire with a long or heavy barrel.

Most of the reasons for a round butt are covered above. S&W has always made round butt revolvers, but they were usually the smaller ones intended for concealed carry. It was in the late 1980's when they expanded the practice to the larger guns.

[O.S.O.K.]

don't fit everybody's hands better - not mine. My 699 was shaped perfectly for beating the crap out of the center of my palm - even with normal pressure 44 specials. I owned a 629 44 mag that didn't hurt my hands at all with full house rounds - its grip was the square butt config.

So, I just bought an Eagle classic rosewood grip set - converted my 696 to square butt config and now its a pussy cat with any load that I shoot.

[papajohn]

With the tremendous increase in the number of CCW permits issued nationwide, more people were casting about looking for something easily concealed. Longer barrels aren't as hard to conceal as big butts, and the pointed heel of a square butt sticks out like....a pointed heel. When my agencies were carrying revolvers I round-butted a few of them, so the officers could more easily carry their issued gun off duty. When we switched to autos and the department offered to sell us our old-obsolete six-shooters, I round-butted several more.

As for the N-frame being different from the K & L frames, it is, but not by much. My 657 3-inch wore a set of Pachmayr Compac K-frame grips, a little stretching and they fit just fine.

And as for which is better, look at your honey, and ask yourself which one you'd rather THEY had...........;)

Papajohn

[Sistema1927]

I like the square butt. My 37, 64, and 22-4 all have square butts.

I also like round butts. My 642, 19, and 686 all have round butts.

There is a place for both.

[jfh]

and I like round grip frames, too.:p

Somebody had to say it.

Jim H.

[JaxJim]

Who doesn't like a round butt???

Anyway, I find them easier to carry. They aren't as comfortable in MY hand, but it is a reasonable trade-off for ease of carry.

[danboy]

Can anyone give me any info on this gun. Just got it and wondering age value and any tips for range shooting.116617

116618

116619

116620

[savit260]

To the best of my knowledge, S&W made square butt revolvers prior to WWI, and kept on making 'em until... sometime in the 70s or 80s, AFAIK. Why did they switch all their models to round butt? What was the reasoning behind it?

Round but S&W's have been around since WAY before the 70's Unless you mean the 1870's ;)

I had a round butt "Lemon Squeezer" from the turn of the 19th/20th Centruy, and a Pre Model 12 from the 50's with round butts.

It's a matter of what conceals easiest IMO. The revolvers who's mission is aimed more toward CCW tended to have round butts (don't print nearly as much) and the more Service and Target oriented guns had square butts prior to the majority of them going round a number of years ago. Of course there are exceptions but genrealy speaking , that has been my observation.

[Cocked & Locked]

I prefer the round butts


http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2169/3082611/6486421/383390000.jpg

[Radagast]

danboy:
You have a Model 48 K22 Masterpiece Rimfire Magnum. Caliber is 22 magnum, also known as .22 winchester magnum rimfire.
Yours was made in 1950, the first year of production. In 2006 the standard catalog of S&W gave a value of $375 in excellent condition, you would need to check online auction sites such as gunbroker and gunsamerica for more up to date pricing.

As for advice on shooting it, if you are a new shooter I suggest you go to a range and get some hands on instruction.

[rivraton]

The round butts

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

don't fit everybody's hands better - not mine. My 699 was shaped perfectly for beating the crap out of the center of my palm -
I totaly agree.. I had to put "conversion" grips on my wife's 642 to make it shootable with anything but light loads. About 10 rounds of 148gr SWCs with the stock grips and she was done for the day.. I shot it with the same loads and it was like being hit with a hammer.:cuss: at 15oz. there is not enough weight to absorb the recoil, the heavier steel frames are not as bad.

[Oyeboten]

The S&W 'K-Frame' Revolvers were originally Round Butt only...with the Square Butt option appearing after almost a decade of RB only production.

Eventually, the Square Butt dominated...

Now, apparently, the Round Butt is coming back to dominate.

Funny how things go...

[Gunfighter123]

Round Butt? Why?

Because thats the way God made us :neener:

[oldfool]

Can anyone give me any info on this gun. Just got it and wondering age value and any tips for range shooting.116617

116618

116619

116620
where did you get those pictures of MY gun ???

range tips = shoot it a lot and prepare to smile a lot
(every bit as accurate and smooth as my k-17s, but a tad louder)

I see you even have "my" grips on your gun !
but I am switching back to the large squared wood "target" grips on mine, no finger grooves
I really like the way Hogue rubber feels in my hand, but I like the way all my Ks shoot better (for me) with wood... maybe just because it is what I have on all my other Ks
I even went "squared" on my model 60 J, and "squarer" on my model 63

[jhvaughan2]

Pepper spray and Stun-guns came into style, billy-clubs and square buts went out. Coincidence? ;)

[bflobill_69]

I get better control on a square-butt, but own a round butt snubby... Matter of personal preference?

[Action_Can_Do]

Round butts don't belong on N frames. They don't fill the hand enough. The X frame has a grip that covers the backstrap, filling the hand up more, so it's kind of a compromise.

[ArmedBear]

Pepper spray and Stun-guns came into style, billy-clubs and square buts went out. Coincidence?

Ding ding ding!!!

Talk to an old cop who's in a gregarious mood sometime...:D

[Hastings]

I don't mind the round butt grip on a snub-nose like a 2-1/2" 686 or 19, but for me an N-frame needs a square butt. My model 25 Mountain Gun feels nice with the Ahrend square butt conversions, but the grips on my 22-4 Thunder Ranch, which are still produced with a square butt frame, feels best to me. My answer to S&W's round butt trend is shown at the link, below.

http://www.collinscraftgrips.com/pistol_grip.php?ID=546&grip=Smith+%26+Wesson+N+or+K+frame+conversion+style+pistol+grips+in+Ivory+Corian.

[unspellable]

Since Hector was a pup you could get either a square or round butt frame to suit your preferences or needs. So the only possible reason for S&W to drop the square butt was to cut production costs. I have two round butt N frames with the square butt conversion grips from S&W and they look like crap. The second one was one of those deals where it's something you don't want but the price is too good to pass up.

[nalioth]

Another zombie thread . . .

[OldCavSoldier]

Round butts are just more comfortable....and nice to look at, too!

Oh, you mean handguns?

I'm embarrassed!