Complete list of S&W revolvers

[Whistling Moon]

does anyone know where i could find a complete list of all the S&W revolvers ever made? or at least most of them. its getting tiring to compare forum info to pics and stats and reviews to all these numbered models. i just want a pic of each gun with its name, frame and cylinder material. does any such website or book exist? if not, maybe someone could start a comprehensive thread of it.

one solid question though:

will the trigger pull of a hammerless (i know its not REALLY hammerless) DAO revolver be lighter then a DA/SA one? i have a model 60 and my aim with a double action pull is horrible at the moment and thats what i would probably use in a self defense situation. if the hammerless pull is smoother i might consider carrying one of those instead. anyone know which model would have the lightest DA pull?

 

[Oro]

Q1: Start with this web site; it doesn't have pictures but it's got all the info in a convenient format for the models up to 1985 or so. S&W has current models on their web site. For a standard reference book, The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson. Nice book, not very expensive at Amazon last time I looked.

http://handloads.com/misc/Smith.Model.Changes.asp

Q2: For your 60, no, bobbing the hammer won't really change anything. Cylinder mass and spring rates determine the hammer pull more than lightening hammer weight can influence. People bob the hammer in order to make it theoretically faster out of a pocket/snag free. However, placing your thumb against the hammer spur as your draw prevents this without needing to modify the gun. But to solve your complaint, here's other things to try:

1) Grips. If you are using just the stock wood grips, try some more "filling" ones that have finger grooves and material in front of the front grip strap, or add a "Tyler T-Grip" grips adapter to the stock grips. This will give a more natural size to get a good grip on.

2) Practice now concentrating on gripping "fore and aft" - pressure on the rear grip strap and front grip strap more so than on the sides of the grip panels themselves. This will greatly stabilize the gun against the trigger action when firing it.

3) Try dry firing it quite a bit until you get smooth at it.

Once you do these things, a Model 60 can shoot almost as comfortably as a K frame with standard ammo. People usually put in lighter springs to improve the pull, but if you don't have the grip basics down it just doesn't matter - you're just as inaccurate with a lighter-pulling, less reliable gun as you were with the stock gun.

 

[Old Fuff]

You need a book, Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 3rd. Ed. by Jim Supica. I believe You can find new and used copies at (www.amazon.com). New copies are about $30.00,

The enclosed hammer/J-frame revolvers have the hammer & trigger pivots located in the same place as regular revolvers. Therefore the double-action trigger pulls should be about equal throughout the J-frame line. Occasionally you find one with an exceptional pull, (good or bad) but it's the luck of the draw. At the moment the best out-of-the-box pull will probably be found on Ruger's new LCR, because it was designed as a DAO from the ground up.

 

[Marvin KNox]

I don't know the mechanics of it all. But most good gunsmiths agree that the hammerless Centennial J-frames usually give the smoothest trigger after the quality trigger job is all done.

Randy Lee of Apex did my 640 and my 340, both hammerless models. He told me that hte 640's seem to have the better triggers over the model 60's. He's the best there is and I'll take his word for it.

Both of mine come in somewhere around 8 pounds in the DA portion and break around 5 pounds. That's about the best you can expect on J frames and still have dependability for carry purposes with a cross section of different ammo.

Larger frame Smiths can be better.

Randy doesn't change springs on the larger model Smiths. But he does put his own springs in all J frames. He also puts in an extended firing pin of his own design to assure dependable ignition for carry purposes. He does a few other smoothing ups while he'd in there as well.

All I know is that there is a world of difference from stock when he's done with them. Not cheap. But then the best never is.

My 640 trigger is head and shoulders above the 340 trigger with the same amount spent on both guns.

I could probably have better triggers still. But I like the little J's for concealed carry purposes.