I wants me an 8 shot .38 or .357 Revolver!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Hey thanks RC!

I don't know why but I thought all I could see in the regular line were 7 shot revolvers in the caliber. I was probably going on Bud's lists and looking for a 3" too. If wishes were horses.........and all that.

That looks like it's built on the N frame, same as my 629? The two look almost identical if I ignore the barrel/full length shroud of my gun.
 
An 8-shot .357 would have to be an N-frame.

Nothing else would have a big enough cylinder for that many holes.

rcmodel
 
The Taurus 608 is graet as well...built on the model 44(mag) frame...it can handle full loads all day...
 
Yep,

If you have the funds for the Smith, by all means buy it. I'm sure it will be a great gun and last you several lifetimes. The 586 you linked to is probably the best looking S&W in current production, IMO.

If you are finding the Smith a little too expensive, look at the Taurus. While QC at Taurus is not QC at S&W, if you get a good one it too will last you several lifetimes.

The Taurus 608 MSRP is about $350+ cheaper than the Smith. You can get it in 4, 6 and 8 inch models.

http://taurususa.com/products/gunselector-results.cfm?page=3
 
Last edited:
I've owned a Taurus 608 and a S&W 627. The trigger is better on the S&W while the price is better on the Taurus. Both shot well and hit where I aimed. If you are not going into competition shooting I would save some money and get the Taurus.
 
Even if you are not planning on going into competition, I'd highly recommend waiting and saving up enough money for the 627. It is by far my favorite gun. You may want to save up for handloading equipment, as the 627 will demand frequent feedings.:)
 
Well yeah......Taurus. Has anyone done any trigger work or action smoothing in a Taurus? I used to have a pretty fair hand with S&W revolvers - just stoning the jewelry under the sideplate. I thought I was good at it until I realized that the pistols were making me look good.

Are new ones as finely made as they were up through the 1970's?

If they are still good then to my mind they're worth every penny of their higher prices.

Zerocool, Yeah - that one sure caught my eye.......I mean I wanted eight, and I didn't even hope that there's be a 3" barrel available. But then I find seven and it's black on top of it all? I think I'd have gone ahead with a Davidson's order except it said 'not available' in Davidson's. See your dealer.

If I go see my local guy I'll have to pay list price and tax on top of that.

I think Gurney will work with me on a trade-in of my 629 Classic if they've got something in stock at Bud's. Gotta' wait till he comes back to work....
 
This is a new-for-08 627 Pro, SKU 178014 MSRP $964, and a 'regular' 627, SKU 163357 MSRP $916, too. I chose the 627 Pro, as it comes pre-dished for moonclips and with a spring-loaded front sight, among other goodies.

I changed springs and the front sight and grips, as well, on mine. As it came, it was quite serviceable... despite the red ramp front sight and usual Hogue monogrips. I funded mine, which was, like the current one in the display case, $719 + s/t - a bundle, for sure - by selling some little used Rugers. Believe me, it is a sweet revolver... well worth the trouble, that's for sure. I don't miss the Rugers.

IMG_0622.jpg

Of course, some judicious horse-trading landed me with a JM PC627 V-Comp several years ago. It has a slightly better trigger - courtesy of the PC shop back then. It is also heavier/bulkier in use - and I hate the V-Comp - even the blank muzzle cap mine often wears - at the least it is something else to clean. So, why a second 627? I wanted a 4" .38/.357M... and this thing was only MSRP $150 more than their least expensive 4" .357M, a 620. Here it is with it's older sibling, right after I bought it in May:

IMG_0544.jpg

A definite keeper!

Stainz
 
Are new ones as finely made as they were up through the 1970's?
Click to expand...

I am far from a revolver expert (I am just kind of getting into them, actually), but I doubt even the biggest S&W fanboy would say that their revolvers are made as well as they used to be. Lots more MIM parts and less refined finishes... basically the "easy" places to save time and money.

Matter of fact, the only thing that really seems to keep going up on the Smith's are their prices... am I the only one who is disturbed that not a single Smith linked on this website was under $900? That's a lot of scratch for a normal factory revolver, especially when Smith seems determined to figure out a new way to cut costs on them every year.

And honestly, thats what pointed to my first revolver being a Taurus 66. I know its not the same quality or heritage as a Smith, but when I can get the Taurus for $400, but I cant find a Smith 686+ for under $650, Taurus got my money. Hopefully I can say its $400 well spent (gun is still on order).

Oh yeah, and it really bugs me that Smith doesnt do many blued guns anymore... I wanted (and bought) a blued revolver.
 
I like my 608 Taurus. It's a 4", 8 shot, Stainless with ports. I wish they made it in a 2" with fixed sights and no ports like my 617 7 shooter. Less money than S&W and almost as good.
 
That 327 just looks GOOFY with that 2" barrel. If they'd just put a 3" barrel with a full length ejector rod and a matching color, I'd get one.

I'm sure it carries well, though. Maybe a quick refinishing would solve the problem for me.
 
I'm not sure that's even 2" long in the barrel - how long IS it, J32A2?

Striker, the Night Guard you linked to breaks down like this through Davidson's: MSRP: $1,082.00


Sale Price: $873.99
Addit'l Fees: $17.95
Tax: $0.00
Sub Total: $891.94
DEPOSIT: ($270.50)
BALANCE DUE: $621.44

So at $873.99 it's quite a bit better than the website MSRP .

Still, it's a lot of bucks for a wheelgun unless it comes in a good state of tune like the S&W Pro shop claims. This one has a 2.5" barrel, almost the 3" I think I'd prefer, and the one I linked above was a 7 shot with 3" barrel. Now if they'd just bring the two guns together a little closer, maybe they'd mate...

I do miss the blued revolvers too. They make a pro shop model 25 in 45 Colt that really looks like something from around 1920 and they put the high polish blue on it, but what about the .38/357 magnum guns?

Stainz, I'm staring at the top one, liking it. I'd like to avoid the V-comp - a guy at our club keeps bringing one and it seems louder than even some of the bigger bore pistols. He complained about how dirty it got too.
 
I am far from a revolver expert (I am just kind of getting into them, actually), but I doubt even the biggest S&W fanboy would say that their revolvers are made as well as they used to be. Lots more MIM parts and less refined finishes... basically the "easy" places to save time and money.
Click to expand...

So far as I can tell, that's generally the case but not everything before "now" was all sunshine and buttercups.

Some bygone eras benefit greatly from being bygone.

One of these eras is known here as "'Nam era Bangor Punta" when S&W was ramping up production and spewing the occasional dog. I have a couple - they don't suck but they needed help.

Borrowed from Tamara at TFL:
RE: Bangor Punta heresy.

Oy, vey. To watch somebody go into transports of ecstasy over a Model 19 because it's PINNED and RECESSED when it's a godawful Bangor Punta gun made in darkest 1977 and hasn't a plumb line or square corner on it is perhaps the best way to brighten up an otherwise dull day at a gun show. I think one of S&W's best quality periods came in the early '90s, right after Tompkins PLC shelled out the big bucks for all that shiny new CNC machinery. (And for really nice guns, that was when Liebenberg was still hands-on in the Performance Center, back before it had been reduced to a shiny badge to sell funny-shaped product, much like AMG has for M-B.)



RE: The 1930s.

What a time for getting nice guns. There's something about 25% unemployment rates that makes craftsmen diligent. When you're the guy at Remington putting the polish on that hardware-store Model 31, and you can look out the window over your bench and see the line of guys wanting your job, you tend to put a bit of extra elbow grease in it. I've seen some rack-grade models from the Depression Era that have bluing jobs worthy of a Dakota today...
Click to expand...

Some really nice Bangor Punta P&R product exists as does the occasional dog from the '30s (whether Remington or S&W). It's about odds. And reality. And repeatability: S&W mim may not be as nice as properly executed forged but it kicks the snot out of poorly executed forged. Some really poorly executed forged can be found in a few of those BP guns.
 
You know, looking at the picture above of the loading end of J32A2's revolver I'm thinking that that's not as much steel as a magnum pistol usually used to have surrounding the rounds.
Has anyone seen or heard of any blown out 8 shot .357 cylinders?
 
I have a couple of these.. one in 38 super even :)

Great guns.. accurate, quick, and if you get the PC version you can use moon clips out of the box.

Personally if I were going to shoot it a lot I'd get the S&W over the Taurus any day of the week.
 
+1 :).one thing also is resale value.a smith will hold its value but it is a hard sell to get rid of a taurus.
pete
 
Don't forget - of the two new 4" non-PC 627s, the 627Pro - like the one I have, pictured earlier - is pre-dished for moonclips. It's a bargain, in today's market.

Stainz
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top