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

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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.
Exactly. Someone gets it.
 
Exactly. Someone gets it.


If that's the definition I’d want a 44 mag in a 4” Redhawk guise myself. I don't want an S&W N frame which is IMO, unable to shoot proper hunting loads.

If it absolutely has to be an S&W, then a 3" 327PD 357 Magnum 8 shot scandium with no lock. No, you don't have to tell me that this one doesn't exist. Would be a nice 25ish oz revolver.
 
As much as I love the .357, I don't think it is an ideal cartridge for big game hunting, let alone dangerous game defense. In my opinion cartridges for the latter begin with the .44 Magnum and Ruger-level .45 Colt.

In that light, it seems to me the top contenders would be the Mountain Guns in either .44 Magnum or .45 Colt, or the Model 69 5 shot L frame in .44 Magnum.
 
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. :)
:thumbup:
I agree, I was thinking of a gun that’s the most versatile for me. Much like a 22” bbl bolt ‘06, the mid frame (K/L, GP, Python, DW15-2, etc) ..357/.38 can fill a ton of roles... without necessarily being the best option out there for any of them. :)

Stay safe.​
 
Did someone say Taurus? This is the replacement I got when my original Model 66 was taken in a burglary. One time I was deer hunting in a tree in deep woods, and a big buck appeared right underneath me. By the time I got my rifle turned around properly, he was gone. After that the Model 66 always went deer hunting with me in a belt holster. It was also my only "real" HD handgun for a long time, and I could conceal it IWB if needed (until I got my Makarov).

 
Did someone say Taurus? This is the replacement I got when my original Model 66 was taken in a burglary. One time I was deer hunting in a tree in deep woods, and a big buck appeared right underneath me. By the time I got my rifle turned around properly, he was gone. After that the Model 66 always went deer hunting with me in a belt holster. It was also my only "real" HD handgun for a long time, and I could conceal it IWB if needed (until I got my Makarov).

My first revolver was an old model 66 6". It was my do all gun for several years. I've since got a blackhawk for hunting duty and a heritage 22 for plinking/small game. The 66 is now my nightstand piece with a cylinder full of 38+p.
 
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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.

Oof she's purdy!
 
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).

I may have said a 4" 686 somewhere on here but a 586 L-comp would do a pretty good job all around. Hunting maybe not, but if it was a hunt to survive vs a hunting season scenario it would do the job to 30yds.
 
I could “do it all” with a 329 but I don’t want to.

If this wasn’t the revolver forum I’d say a 1006.

If we didn’t want to count large game hunting I’d say a 632PS.

I can’t think of anything else, I guess I’d be stuck with the 329.
 
When I think do it all smith and wesson, I think 4" 686. My personal example is a snub nose 686+, but if i were selecting a single smith that would fit a lot of roles good enough, a 4" is a fine choice.

I just like snubbies better, though.
 
For me a "Do It All" S&W could be my Model 686 with a 4" barrel but if I were more inclined in carrying it for CCW then I would want that same L frame but with a 3" barrel and a round butt configuration.
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If hunting's on the table, you've got to be thinking 44 magnum. A 4" Model 69 would allow you to shoot 44 Spls for target shooting and self-defense, along with loading up the heavy stuff for game.

If hunting's off the table, then I'll join the chorus for a 4" 686. 38 Spls for the range, 125gr JHPs for social situations, and 180gr nuclear bear loads if you're ever worried about that.

Whatever model you end up with, it has to be 4 inch IMO. For 80 years, the institutional revolver market was owned by 4" Police Positives and Model 10s. Glock conquered the world, both institutional and commercial, with their 4.5" G17 and 4" G19. If you look at any new pistol design introduced today, it's probably going to have a 4" barrel unless it's purely a CC piece. Now part of that for sure is because of the ballistics of the 38 and 9mm. But I also think that everyone keeps coming back to that number over and over again, throughout a full century and across both revolvers and autos, because it's the sweet spot between "small enough to conceal" and "big enough to shoot".
 
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There basically is no such thing as a do-it-all revolver. There are revolvers that can do many things, but they will never do everything best. What CWCs well is pitiful for big game hunting and vice versa. There is always gonna be compromise trying to do it all with one gun. Unless you basically only do one or two things with it. For folks that do a myriad of things with revolvers, one is a handicap. Like dirt bikin' with a Harley bagger or trying to go cross country on a KTM.
 
There basically is no such thing as a do-it-all revolver. There are revolvers that can do many things, but they will never do everything best. What CWCs well is pitiful for big game hunting and vice versa. There is always gonna be compromise trying to do it all with one gun. Unless you basically only do one or two things with it. For folks that do a myriad of things with revolvers, one is a handicap. Like dirt bikin' with a Harley bagger or trying to go cross country on a KTM.
Right, but sometimes the other gun is a rifle. If you're talking about a handgun to replace a rifle, a .357 mag is pretty limited in that role. But if you use a handgun to supplement a rifle, a .357 mag is very capable, and conceivably Smith makes one which would do everything one might ask of a handgun as a supplement to a rifle.
 
There basically is no such thing as a do-it-all revolver. There are revolvers that can do many things, but they will never do everything best. What CWCs well is pitiful for big game hunting and vice versa. There is always gonna be compromise trying to do it all with one gun. Unless you basically only do one or two things with it. For folks that do a myriad of things with revolvers, one is a handicap. Like dirt bikin' with a Harley bagger or trying to go cross country on a KTM.
Unless your KTM is an EXC 500. Guys in my desert racing club ride those via dirt and highway from So Cal to Colorado and back all the time. :thumbup: They’re no Gold Wing on the interstate, but then no Gold Wing would ride from Victorville to Vegas through the Mojave Preserve touching no pavement.

Again, like the EXC 500, no “one” gun can do it all the best... but some (In this case a mid-frame 4” .357/.38) can do an awful lot of what gunners want (and need) well.

Stay safe.
 
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