Palladan44
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N-Frame Smith and Wessons in 38/357 are pretty plentiful, however.
FACE-OFF: Heavy-duty 6" 357
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Palladan44
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Oops, double post. Bad signal here as always.
captain awesome
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I have both a 686+ and a GP100 match champion. Both are excellent. I can maintain slightly smaller groups with the 686+, so I picked that one. Probably because of the 6" barrel on the 686, vs the 4"(ish) on the GP100.
But really, both are great, and I'll never part with either one.
But really, both are great, and I'll never part with either one.
Targa
Member
It would seem that the majority are fans of the Bisley grips. I would be be in the minority, I am not a fan of the Bisley grip frame.
I think he was trying to point out to you that the name of the front sight you were talking about is Patridge, not PaRtrige.
stonebuster
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I agree. OP would be hard pressed to find a more accurate, softer recoiling 357 with a better trigger than a Model 28-2 "Highway Patrolman" for under $1000. Prettier Model 27 would put him over budget.
Palladan44
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I agree! But they're climbing quickly. Seems like just 10 years ago most 28s were 500$ guns give or take a 100. They can't be beat as a shooter, IMO.
Obturation
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Gp100 any day. Can not be beat by anything in the same price range for "heavy duty", the 686 isn't frail but it's no gp100.
Yeah, I've had both but I only kept the one worth keeping.
Yeah, I've had both but I only kept the one worth keeping.
Palladan44
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I guess I got lost on trying to Love Security Sixes (because they're beautiful to look at) but never could. I had one with a strange timing issue in DA where it would lock up. Had another that was finnicky with the G.D. transfer bar and another fixed sighted Police Service Six that for whatever reason hit 4" left at 10 yds. (My Colt Lawman and M10s all hit center for me and they have fixed sights)
My 586, 27, and 28 are all tack drivers and I never needed to look elsewhere.
But for an everyday 44 shooter, I reach for the Ruger....
NeroM
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Suggest an M19, if 357 is needed
Or a more pragmatic M10, if 38 Spl is "enough".
Both because of their handling....
Or a more pragmatic M10, if 38 Spl is "enough".
Both because of their handling....
i don't care how i spelled it. this is not a grammar thread and condescending remarks don't make one "intelligent".
murf
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Yeah, I have a Blackhawk, too. It's a good shooter. The adjustable sights are a little smaller than some. I lucked onto a 9mm cylinder that fits it, which is extremely convenient. It's fun at the range and good practice, just like the DA revolvers. I prefer the plow handles. It's large and heavy enough that recoil isn't an issue anyway. I also tuck my pinky under the grip and let it roll in my hand a little bit with recoil. Even my SBH with 44 magnums is pleasant if you learn how to do it properly.
The Dan Wessons I've shot and handled have been very nice.
There are some police turn-in S&W Model 64's for sale on Gunbroker right now for $300 apiece. Some of them might have longer barrels, don't recall. This is the one I got for my daughter a year or so ago. They are very nice revolvers, basically Model 10's in stainless steel.
The Dan Wessons I've shot and handled have been very nice.
There are some police turn-in S&W Model 64's for sale on Gunbroker right now for $300 apiece. Some of them might have longer barrels, don't recall. This is the one I got for my daughter a year or so ago. They are very nice revolvers, basically Model 10's in stainless steel.
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OP
OP
Smaug
Member
I actually had one of those for a while! It had some really ugly wood grips and the timing was messed up. Lost my butt on that one, because I didn't know enough soon enough to get any kind of consideration from the seller. Too bad; it had a good trigger.
AustinTX
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I love (older) S&W wheelguns and have never had the slightest interest in any Ruger, but, unlike a large number of S&W fanboys online, I have no problem acknowledging that the GP100 is easily a more robust design.
If you’re going to be feeding your .357 Mag. revolver a steady diet of hot handloads, the Ruger is the obvious choice.
If you’re going to be feeding your .357 Mag. revolver a steady diet of hot handloads, the Ruger is the obvious choice.
My biased choice is the GP100, the perfect handgun, in factory form, for my hands, but, really, either will do. I let my two L-Frames, a 686 and a 581, get away from me, in the Eighties, when I traded them for N-Frames, but, sooner or later, I am probably going to “replace” at least one of them, in my nostalgic seventh decade. I have accumulated several GP100 variants, since buying my first one in the very early Nineties. The original-pattern Ruger GP100 grip is a perfect fit, in my hands., whereas an S&W revolver requires custom or altered grips, to work as well.
my model 28 digested all my heavy loads. my favorite was a 125 grain xtp @ 1600 fps.
luck,
murf
I reckon it comes down to if you want a target revolver or you want something to shoot maximum power .357 loads.
If I wanted a target gun I'd go with a .38 special. Hard to beat the model 14's/Combat masterpiece or Colt OMM.
If I wanted a .357 that could do double duty target/hunting/defense I'd get the 686/586.
If I wanted the ultimate .357 I'd get a Manurhin MR73.
The S&W N frame revolvers in 38/44 or .357 would be the choice if I was strictly after a D.A. hunting gun and shooting maximum power loads. At that point S.A. Ruger's come into play. If you didn't know, 38/44 can be loaded close to maximum .357 levels.
There is no shortage of great quality USA made .38/.357 revolvers. Just some were made to be target guns, some defensive guns, and some hunting guns. Several will do double duty.
If I wanted a target gun I'd go with a .38 special. Hard to beat the model 14's/Combat masterpiece or Colt OMM.
If I wanted a .357 that could do double duty target/hunting/defense I'd get the 686/586.
If I wanted the ultimate .357 I'd get a Manurhin MR73.
The S&W N frame revolvers in 38/44 or .357 would be the choice if I was strictly after a D.A. hunting gun and shooting maximum power loads. At that point S.A. Ruger's come into play. If you didn't know, 38/44 can be loaded close to maximum .357 levels.
There is no shortage of great quality USA made .38/.357 revolvers. Just some were made to be target guns, some defensive guns, and some hunting guns. Several will do double duty.
Targa
Member
I would be surprised if anyone could wear out either the Ruger or Smith, so which is more rugged would be irrelevant to me. Now the real dilemma, do you want the Hillary hole of the Smith, the billboard safety warning on the Ruger, or heck throw a Colt in their and you could have a nice QR code on the frame. None of which is less appealing to me than the other… 
Be careful their are plenty of pinheaded bubbas that will take this as a challenge.I would be surprised if anyone could wear out either the Ruger or Smith, …
CraigC
Sixgun Nut
Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Both were adequately designed for the .357 cartridge but silly marketing pics and dumb arguments I will say that the Ruger is a stronger design. Not so much an issue with the .357's but it becomes blatantly obvious in the large frame guns. In new guns, I'd take the Ruger. If used guns are on the table, an older 586.
It's usually only circulated by S&W fanboys who drank the Kool Aid and can't bring themselves to accept that Redhawks are stronger than 29's.
Targa said:
Be careful their are plenty of pinheaded bubbas that will take this as a challenge.
Depends on the definition of “wear out”. I noted the fine accuracy of my 686 dropped off at around the 60,000 round mark. OTOH, most of those rounds were fast double action shooting and reloads, and the gun was still in fine functional condition.
eddiememphis
Member
Which parts?
In addition to above, DW barrel system doesn't have a very common problem on many other revolvers; barrel chocking where it is screwed into frame. Marshall Stanton had excellent article how he fixed barrel constriction by firelapping, combined with opening cylinder chambers on something like .4525". groups shrunk dramatically, from almost 4" to 1.5". Unfortunately his website where are all those articles is inactive. Hope that somebody knows some of those archive websites where it could be found.
Another approach to eliminate barrel constriction is so called Taylor Throat. Some say no improvement, some say considerable improvement. Here is what Iowegan, gunsmith an moderator on another forum has to say;
"I have personally seen badly constricted barrels that would not shoot better than a 6" group @ 25 yards from a bench rest and after Taylor Throat reaming they would hold groups under 1". Post # 6 at http://web.archive.org/web/20020606140647/www.sixgunner.com/dad/throat.htm
More here https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-d&q=taylor+throat+revolver .
Another, very interesting statement, that links Taylor Throat with Dan Wesson revolvers:
Sometime after this two friends, Ed Wosika of Hanned Precision and Bud McDonald took this idea and began playing with it. They experimented on several guns and confirmed what we had found. They had reamers made up to cut the throating in several different calibers. When they had finished most of the tests they took the results to Wesson Arms. Wesson Arms began testing, again confirming what we had "discovered". (I am sure someone, someplace, had already done something similar.) They contacted Dad and asked his permission to use it in their firearms. Dad had been befriended by Major Doug Wesson in WWII and thought, "What a neat way to repay an old favor!" He gave Wesson Arms his permission to use the throating system. In return they named it "The Taylor Throat". Today Wesson Arms offers it in their revolvers.
http://www.sixgunner.com/dad/throat.htm
It would be interesting if you check rear end of barrel on your DW revolver. If there is no rifling first half inch or so, it does have Taylor Throat, see scetch:
That might be one of the reasons why Dan Wesson revolvers were so accurate.
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Yes, and no. As for steel itself, talking about strength (in PSI), forged steel is usually stronger. But, there are some alloys for casting that are very strong. However, steel strength itself is not whole story, we have to look whole design. If revolver frame is thicker, in that case cast frame. even with less strong steel, could have same strength as a forged one. However, strength of the frame is not whole story. Another very important factor is stiffness of the frame. In that case, for the same strength, cast frame is stiffer, and flexes less than forged one. This is important for all DA revolvers with swing out cylinder design. When you look at revolver from front side, pay attention to cutout for crane in the frame. For lighter cartridges this is not the issue, but 454, 475 and 500 Linebaugh are different story. That is one of the reasons why Freedom Arms went to SA configuration for their revolvers, and custom smiths prefer SA revolvers for their top notch revolvers. I still remember article in gun magazines telling that gun manufactures did consider chambering DA revolvers in 454 when it was lunched, but gave up at that time. Most likely they tried to work with existing 44 Magnum frames and steels for cylinder and barrel. Later on, Ruger came with SRH and Taurus with their 454, and part of solution were new steels https://www.carpentertechnology.com/blog/most-powerful-revolvers-get-lift-from-aerospace-alloys .
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