Ideas On a S&W "Do It All" Gun

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Mr. Mosin

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Let's start a thread for a S&W "do everything" gun. My personal immediate thought would be a S&W Mdl 19/66 with a 3" barrel and round butt. Relatively light, relatively compact, but still easily shootable by 90 percent of the populace, and it comes in the goodness that is .357 Magnum. It has just enough barrel to allow the .357 to begin to take stride, but still short enough to conceal readily. Adjustable sights to dial in whatever grain wieght or handload you prefer. Let's hear your ideas (or see your photo submissions).
 
Of these two, I prefer the 4” Model 686+. It carries about the same as the 4” Model 66, but holds 1 more round.

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The 3” mid frame S&W revolvers are nice, I have a 3” Model 13 and a 2.5” Model 19 as well, but a 3” Model 66 is a pretty rare bird. Now a 3” 686+? Those are sweet! :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
I'd probably grab either my 4" or 2.5" M19's out of the safe.

A new 2.75" M66 would be just what the doctor ordered though. I want one just to keep the older M19's in good shape, they're mostly safe queens nowadays. The 2.5" gets carried from time to time, and the 4" is currently on loan to my In-Laws since the quarantine went up. My 4" 686-0 covers 95% of my range time for 357's.

Although, if I live somewhere with thicker skinned critters a 629 Mountain Gun would be my choice as long as concealibility wasn't a concern.
 
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I would prefer 4” of barrel, and square grip frame, rather than rounded. Anywhere I can truly conceal a 3” barrel, I can conceal 4”. The only time 3” is necessary, it is when I elect to pocket carry, and that is a limited application, such as inside the home.

My long hands do better with a squared grip, that reaches all the way to the “heel bone” of my hand. A squared grip does require more commitment to conceal, but thankfully, my hands are not wide, and my skinny fingers are not long, so a long, full, flared grip is not necessary.

A K-Frame is fine, for this, if I can also have one or more L-Frames or Rugers with which to do most of the shooting with Magnums. I do have a 4” Model 19-5, though it was, sadly, damaged during a flood. Unless/Until I restore or replace it, I will be using my Rugers in this role.
 
I always considered the 2.5" mod 66 the most bada$$ looking handgun made. I started a quest to find one in January 2020. None were available locally, so i turned to gunbroker. I watched and bid on a few guns that went too high, and in a few weeks, this one appeared for auction. I knew by the description that I wanted it. I put a substantial bid in, and I won the auction.
The gun is all I hoped it would be.
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It carries pretty easily, and shoots great.
I consider it to be the versatile gun that you are thinking of.
If I were to choose one handgun to suit me for all occasions, the 66 would be it.
 
I always considered the 2.5" mod 66 the most bada$$ looking handgun made. I started a quest to find one in January 2020. None were available locally, so i turned to gunbroker. I watched and bid on a few guns that went too high, and in a few weeks, this one appeared for auction. I knew by the description that I wanted it. I put a substantial bid in, and I won the auction.
The gun is all I hoped it would be.
View attachment 921088 View attachment 921089 View attachment 921090 View attachment 921091

It carries pretty easily, and shoots great.
I consider it to be the versatile gun that you are thinking of.
If I were to choose one handgun to suit me for all occasions, the 66 would be it.

That is one drop dead gorgeous gun.
 
Many years ago, Skeeter Skelton and Bill Jordan convinced me that a medium frame, D/A 357 with a 4" barrel was the best "all around" gun.

Nothing I've seen since has changed my mind. Smith and Wesson, Colt, Ruger, even Taurus...take your pick. I don't think I've ever seen a bad one.

Since you asked for Smith and Wesson's...

19-1 from '61-'62...

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And a 19-9 from 2018 IIRC. In some ways, a better gun. I like the old guns, but this one is the cats meow.

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Many years ago, Skeeter Skelton and Bill Jordan convinced me that a medium frame, D/A 357 with a 4" barrel was the best "all around" gun.

Nothing I've seen since has changed my mind. Smith and Wesson, Colt, Ruger, even Taurus...take your pick. I don't think I've ever seen a bad one.

Since you asked for Smith and Wesson's...

19-1 from '61-'62...

View attachment 921109

And a 19-9 from 2018 IIRC. In some ways, a better gun. I like the old guns, but this one is the cats meow.

View attachment 921110
I like that 19-9. I like the earlier 19 too, but unlimited Magnums through a 19 sounds wonderful.
 
Magyar4’s gun looks like a 66 with the shroud over the ejector... I could be wrong tho..:)


A do everything gun is just that, one that can be carried CCW daily, carried for the woods or fishing spots for defense against two and most four legged critter assaults, used to hunt if needed, easy to shoot so it can be used to teach new shooters, one to drop in the glove box for road trips or in a bush plane as a survival gun, multi-caliber capable so it can use a wider variety of ammo in a bug-out situation, reliable under almost all conditions, etc.

Like duct tape, bailing wire, pliers and a hammer are do-everything items around the garage, these are ideas for a do-everything gun :thumbup:.

Stay safe.
 
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I don’t think my interpretation of a do-all gun exists in a S&W revolver. Of what does exist I think I agree with all the folks saying 4” 686 but I had one and didn’t care for it. It would do everything but was not really good at doing anything.

Criteria... do it all...
Hunting
Self defense 2 legs
Self defense 4 legs
Target work
Concealed carry

Realistically I think for hunting purposes if big predators are even in the discussion then a revolver is out of the discussion. For general woods carry while not hunting I will accept a handgun. I also think handgun hunting should be realistically limited to deer or smaller unless using a contender or a big bore purpose built gun. 6 or 7 rounds seems adequate, more pop than 38spl is desirable, more ammo versatility than .357 is nice, 41 or bigger makes the gun too big. So now we are realistically talking 327fm vs 357mag. L frame .357s exist With 7 shot capability, so an L frame .327 should be easily accomplished and could hold at least 8 rounds. An L frame starts getting tougher to conceal though after about 3” so I will take 3” as a compromise between a snub and a longer more capable 4”. Adjustable sights are a must for hunting and target work so I’m not even going down any other roads. Lightweight is nice.

So 3” Lightweight .327fm round butt adjustable sights 8 shot K/L frame... or a ruger 3” .327fm because Ruger actually makes what I want except it’s heavy.
 
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S&W 681 all one needs and nothing one doesn't. But that may not be an opinion held by all.
 
It depends on the definition of "is" or "everything."
My "everything" is not very broad; I want an effective self defense weapon and an IDPA SSR. No hunting or 50 yard bullseye.
I think my Model 67 is the best fit. .38 +P is my recoil limit in a two pound gun and for some reason I am getting better hits with it than my 686 or Python.
 
I don’t think my interpretation of a do-all gun exists in a S&W revolver. Of what does exist I think I agree with all the folks saying 4” 686 but I had one and didn’t care for it. It would do everything but was not really good at doing anything.

Criteria... do it all...
Hunting
Self defense 2 legs
Self defense 4 legs
Target work
Concealed carry

Realistically I think for hunting purposes if big predators are even in the discussion then a revolver is out of the discussion. For general woods carry while not hunting I will accept a handgun. I also think handgun hunting should be realistically limited to deer or smaller unless using a contender or a big bore purpose built gun. 6 or 7 rounds seems adequate, more pop than 38spl is desirable, more ammo versatility than .357 is nice, 41 or bigger makes the gun too big. So now we are realistically talking 327fm vs 357mag. L frame .357s exist With 7 shot capability, so an L frame .327 should be easily accomplished and could hold at least 8 rounds. An L frame starts getting tougher to conceal though after about 3” so I will take 3” as a compromise between a snub and a longer more capable 4”. Adjustable sights are a must for hunting and target work so I’m not even going down any other roads. Lightweight is nice.

So 3” Lightweight .327fm round butt adjustable sights 8 shot K/L frame... or a ruger 3” .327fm because Ruger actually makes what I want except it’s heavy.

Great minds and all that....

A 3" eight shot 327 Mag.
 
Regarding do-it-all, or do-everything, I framed my answer (in my earlier post) to mean a handgun that I can carry almost always, almost everywhere, and that can accomplish everything I need a weapon, in this size envelope, to accomplish. The OP did specify “short enough to conceal readily.” A 4” K/L Frame, GP100, or Ruger double-action Six series can fill this role. For that matter, an N-Frame will, too, but I finally had to admit that my fingers and thumbs are K/L/GP100-sized, no matter how much an N-sized grip feels so right, in my hands. (I have long palms.)

Rather than over-think “do-it-all” or “do-everything,” I used reasonably-comfortable concealment, as a parameter, guided by the OP’s words. If a revolver has a barrel in the 5” to 6” range, it would be better for some specific things, but sitting may become problematic, making a shoulder rig necessary, and that would require that I wear a more-voluminous cover garment, neither of which would be comfortable much of the year, here in SE Texas

My personal frame of reference: I carried an S&W Model 58, a .41 Mag N-Frame, on and off the clock, from 1985 to 1990. I carried a Colt Stainless Commander, same parameters, 1990-1991, until it was succeeded by a SIG P220. My first GP100 took these roles in 1993, and was succeeded by S&W Models 19 and 66, until mid-1997. The GP100 was not too big or heavy to carry concealed, but the added weight on a duty belt made a difference, in whether I had a pressure sore trying to develop on my right hip, so the K-Frames relieved that. (It was not just the steel, in the GP100, but the then-mandated Safariland 070 duty holster, for the GP100/Python, had so much more mass/weight, molded into it, than the 070 holster for K-Frames.)

I went all-1911, on and off the clock, except for a J-Snub back-up, in 1997, but in the year 2000, brought my GP100 out of the safe, and have never stopped carrying it, at least some of the time, since then, though I had to carry only specified, authorized autos in my uniformed duty holster, after 1997. I started adding more GP100 revolvers, and other Ruger and S&W revolvers.

I do not hunt large four-legged animals. I have hunted men; it was part of my job description, for almost 34 years. When a man hunted me, in June 1993, one full-pressure 125-grain Federal Hi-Shok (not Hydra-Shok) JHC, from my GP100, sufficed. Today’s 125-grain controlled expansion JHPs should do no worse.

I did not see any requirement that this do-it-all/do-everything revolver need be my “only” handgun, or only firearm. Life is good. :)
 
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