38Sp revolver selection

[Tropical Buzz]

Hi guys - newbie here with a question on revolver selection. I'm in the market for a new revolver and I have done a fair bit of online research. Unfortunately, the largest caliber they will approve down here now (St. Lucia) is .38 so that narrows my choices quite a bit. I am looking for a stainless .38 special with a 4" barrel and adjustable sights. All I can find so far are the following:

Comanche CR20001 - Cheap, all the features I want but poor on line reviews
Rossi - R85104 - Nice, low price, but only in blued finish
Ruger - KSP-831X - Fixed sights, 3 1/16" barrel
Taurus - 82SS4 - Fixed sights only.
And finally - my favorite:
Smith & Wesson M67 - Great product, excellent reviews - BUT - half lug barrel with exposed ejector rod.

I really lean towards the M67 but I want a full lug barrel with a protected ejector rod. Are there any options in a 4" - 5" stainless .38 special that I have missed?
Can I order the M67 with a full lug barrel or can it be easily changed by a gunsmith?
Please help a new guy out...

 

[Cosmoline]

Why do you care about the full lug? Those were only started to make the manufacturing process cheaper. Damage to the ejector rod while it's in place is very unusual. The Smith's locks in place and should pose no problems at all. I'd go with the Smith or the SP-101 (you call it a KSP-831X).

 

[Tropical Buzz]

Thanks for the reply, Cosmoline. A close friend and avid shooter told me he's seen a bent rod on a revolver that was dropped and also advised me to be wary of possible snags - though I see little chance of that with the M67's design. I don't know how much real world difference in stability, feel and accuracy there is with a heavy, full lug barrel but I do prefer the look. I know that may not sound practical but I plan on keeping this gun a long time and the look , though secondary to performance, is important to me. The Ruger has fixed rear sights. I plan to do a fair bit of range and target shooting. Should this along with the shorter barrel be a concern?

 

[Don Lu]

The fixed sights and barrel legnth will not cause you any trouble with accuracy, as long as you have the basics of trigger control and sight alignment. I like the ruger also.

 

[MCgunner]

I'd steer clear of the Comanche, but the others are good guns.

The Ruger and the Taurus would be good picks if you don't like the Smith and want a stainless gun. The Ruger will last forever and the trigger is easy to clean up and make decent. Taurus normally has a decent out of the box trigger, better than Ruger in my experience, but the Ruger trigger can be worked with to make a really slick trigger. Not sure if there are any revolver smiths down there, though. Rossi triggers are usable, but most I've owned and tried were nothing special in DA.

 

[Cosmoline]

A close friend and avid shooter told me he's seen a bent rod on a revolver that was dropped and also advised me to be wary of possible snags - though I see little chance of that with the M67's design.

I could see it being a problem with an old Colt that had a true exposed ejector rod, but not on a Smith. It's a pretty solid piece of steel. Dropping it won't be enough to hurt it.

I've had good luck with the SP-101's but if you're doing more target shooting than CCW, a longer barrel 67 might be nicer.

 

[Tropical Buzz]

That's generally the impression I get about the Comanche. I guess in this case you really get what you pay for. There are no decent gunsmiths down here so any work or modifications I want will have to be done at the time of purchase - most likely in Florida. I see on their site that S&W offers some custom services. Is there any likelyhood that I will be able to order one with a full lug barrel?

 

[Tropical Buzz]

Thanks again for the replies. It looks like decision time. I will call S&W tomorrow to see what they offer. It looks like I can't go too far wrong with any of the final three. Now if only that Rossi was available in stainless...

 

[ugaarguy]

I see on their site that S&W offers some custom services. Is there any likelyhood that I will be able to order one with a full lug barrel?

I don't know what it would cost, or if S&W would do it, but an e-mail to the performance center might be a good idea if you must have a full lug bbl. You might also ask if they'll fit a custom cylinder bored only to .38 Special and so marked on the gun, onto one of their full lug normally 357 wheelguns.

 

[Tropical Buzz]

Ugaarguy, that is something I actually considered, but most barrels are engraved with the caliber and that alone would cause me grief. Since most new 357 magnums are listed as dual caliber (357/38+P) I asked if I could buy one and promise to only load 38's. "Nice try" they said .

 

[joneb]

Maybe something like this, http://www.gunsamerica.com/guns/976807309.htm

 

[Tropical Buzz]

Diamondbacks (and Pythons) are absolutely beautiful. When did Colt stop making them and why did they get out of DA revolvers?

 

[SeanSw]

The M67 doesn't have a half lug barrel. It usually has a bull barrel, though some are slightly tapered. I consider guns such as the model 19/66 to have half lugs, and the 586/686 to have full lugs. The ejector rod isn't entirely exposed.

There is no disadvantage to having this gun without a full lug and I would consider ithe extra bulk and weight of a lug to be entirely unnecessary. It is a solid shooter and very controllable.

 

[kannonfyre]

Trust me...

....get the S&W Model 67 and don't look back. It's a fine and accurate revolver. I own a second hand 23 year old model 67 and it's still capable of 4-5" groupings at 27 yards while shooting service grade ammo UNDER STRESS.

Do however try to get a NIB specimen made in the 80s or early 90s. The fit and finish then was nicer.

 

[ranger53]

I have a rossi 38 spec. snubby, and it has been a good'un. I'll have to say it's pretty accurate up to 15 ft. I like it for self protection and it is the perfect CC. But that is just me. I have a Blackhawk that I hunt with.
tommy

 

[Starter52]

The Colt Diamondback would be an excellent choice, if they still made them. Colt gave up on these guns due to the high cost of the labor involved in tuning these fine revolvers.

 

[Steve C]

Get the S&W 67, it’s a great pistol. Mine will shoot like shown in the picture. 6 rounds of 158gr Speer LSWCHP’s on top of 4.5grs of W231 at 25 yds. This is a tapered barrel no-dash police trade in. It carries some scars from its former hard life, the stocks that where on it when I bought it looked like they’d been dragged across the sidewalk but the action was tight and the trigger was good. Probably the Best $175 I’ve paid for a gun.

 

[ugaarguy]

Ugaarguy, that is something I actually considered, but most barrels are engraved with the caliber and that alone would cause me grief. Since most new 357 magnums are listed as dual caliber (357/38+P) I asked if I could buy one and promise to only load 38's. "Nice try" they said .

That's what I was saying - call or e-mail the S&W Performance Center. If they fit a 38 Special only cylinder (bored only to that depth so it can't chamber .357) the gun will be marked .38 Special only. PC guns are also marked as S&W Performance Center and not just S&W. I do not know if they'll even do it, but it's worth asking. If they do it, it will be expensive, but sometimes that's the price we have to get exactly what we want. Best of luck in finding the perfect tropical .38

 

[Piedmont Plinker]

According to S&W's website the M67 is NOT + P RATED!!!!
Does it still handle a heavy diet of + P?
Is there an aftermarket 6'' barrel on the market, mae by Brownells or the like, that could make an M67 into a stainless M14?

 

[Tropical Buzz]

Hmmm. That's interesting - The M64 is +P rated and I simply assumed that the 67 is a 64 with adjustable sights. I hope that's just a typo oversight. I called S&W yesterday and I got a young woman who seemed to know very little about the products and she wasn't keen to help find the answers. Quite frustrating - calling an outfit like S&W one would think you'd only find people who live and breathe firearms. I found a couple of nickel Diamondbacks for sale on line. Very tempting but since I'll be ordering and having the revolver shipped, I feel like I would be taking a big chance buying used.

 

[Starter52]

IMO the K-frame Model 67 is quite able to handle +P loads, despite what the lawyers tell S&W to say on their website.

Nickel Diamondback? BIG BUCKS. I have one that I never shoot. I'd recommend a stainless S&W revolver as a more practical gun.

 

[ronto]

Get the Ruger...built like a tank...and no internal trigger lock.

 

[Tropical Buzz]

Now, if only I could find something like this in .38SP...Not stainless, I know but that bead blasted finish looks mean. I wonder how it would wear, though - this new one is already showing some "ring around the cylinder".

As for the Diamondback...what a work of art.

 

[Greek]

I would go with the S&W. They stand behind their products.

 

[Jkwas]

According to S&W, their revolvers built after 1958 are all plus-p rated. Go to their website and look at one of the online manuals. It's plainly stated.
As far as damage to the ejector rod, well I've got a 1981 10-7 police trade in from australia. It doesn't look like it's been babied, and the rod is solid and straight. It would take quite a bit to damage it, it's very strong. Go with the Smith.