My no-dash 686 was delivered to the Houston Police Academy, in very late 1983 or very early 1984, while I was in attendance. The actual dealer was Bailey’s House of Guns, a Smith & Wesson law enforcement distributor. I paid the police/government price, which I do not remember, all these years later. Like many Bangor Punta-era S&W revolvers, it was not all that well fitted and finished. The action was rough, and the barrel was screwed in such a way that the front sight leaned. It had been ordered sight unseen; no hand selection was possible. The S&W armorer declared that it was within spec. I traded or sold this 686, soon after I graduated from the academy.
I bought a Model 581 about the same time, from a normal gun store, at the normal prevailing price. Its action was MUCH smoother, and its sights lined-up nicely. Sadly, I turned my attention to bigger bores, and sold/traded this 581; one of my most lamentable firearms transactions. Lamentable, because such a wonderful revolver got away from me, and lamentable because my index fingers were/are not long enough to get enough finger on an N-Frame trigger, in DA mode, while properly holding the grip, so, I seriously wrecked my right thumb, hand, and wrist, firing too many big bore Magnums.
I bought my original-version GP100 in the very early Nineties. I hand-picked one with a smooth action. By then, I understood more about ergonomics and kinesiology, and had stopped shooting N-Frame and Redhawks. I was using single-stack .45 autos as duty pistols, by then, so the GP100 was intended to be a utility/outdoorsman sixgun. No handgun fits me as well as the GP100, with the original grip.
In 1993, I had become exasperated by the heel-clip mag release, on my early-type SIG P220, snagging the seat back fabric, causing a partial mag drop, so, I went to supply division, and traded my P220 duty holster, for a GP100 duty holster. My GP100 became my primary duty handgun for the next couple of years, a time that included my only line-of-duty shooting. (The full-velocity 125-grain Federal JHC lived-up to its stellar reputation for “stopping power!”) I later down-sized to K-Frame duty revolvers, to shed some weight on the duty belt.
In mid-1997, I returned to using auto-pistols as primary duty handguns, but well into this century, a few felons were still having the opportunity to see a GP100, in my hands, pointed at them. Usually, this was felony vehicle stops, when I had the time and opportunity to pull the sixgun from a Safepacker, that was slung on the headrest of the passenger seat. At longer range, I knew that I could shoot a GP100 with better consistency and accuracy; enough to make a difference. (Yes, in hindsight, I should have kept totin’ a sixgun, while on duty, until I retired.)
Long-stroke DA is my most stress-proof trigger skill, the least susceptible to “having a bad day.” It is also my least-perishable trigger skill, so, in these panic-demic times, with training opportunities limited. I am retired, so the 24-hour PD range is no longer accessible to me. My Glocks are locked-up, and my usual carry guns are my DA revolvers.
I still have my first GP100; it ain’t going anywhere, as long as I am competent to manage my own affairs. My avatar image shows this GP100, at the time I am typing this. The image was originally posed to show how I hold a GP100, high on the grip, to minimize muzzle flip. I captured the image on my iPhone, while standing concealed among tall plants, so as not to alarm the neighbors. The image just happened to be handy, in my iPad, when I finally got around to learning how to insert an avatar image. (I may change my avatar image, someday.)
I now have several more GP100 revolvers, 3” to 6” in barrel length. I still haven’t found any handgun, on the market, that fits me as well.
