PERFORMANCE CENTER PRO SERIES MODEL 60

[jski]

I’m looking for a carry wheelgun and have winnowed it down to the PERFORMANCE CENTER PRO SERIES MODEL 60.

Reasons:

1. It can handle 357 level pressures even tho I really have no intention of using it with 357s
2. It has a 3” barrel
3. It weighs only 23 oz.
4. It has a rear sight (no gutter)
5. It is all stainless
6. It’s from the Performance Center

I’d like to hear others experiences with it tho?

 

[SteadyD]

I had one and the front night sight is almost impossible to see in the dark. The pro series does not have a PC tuned trigger so it is misleading that they say it is from the Performance Center.

I would personally opt for the 3 inch K6s. Great sights, great trigger, 6th round, essentially same size and weight. I think it is head and shoulders above the 60 pro. Best of luck!

 

[jski]

Well I was looking at the:

PERFORMANCE CENTER MODEL 19 CARRY COMP

But:

Weight: 34.2 oz / 969.6g

 

[357 Terms]

I would personally opt for the 3 inch K6s. Great sights, great trigger, 6th round, essentially same size and weight. I think it is head and shoulders above the 60 pro. Best of luck!

This! Absolutely

 

[cfullgraf]

Nice pistol.

I have a standard 3" barreled 357 Magnum Model 60. I load 158 grain SWC a bit hotter than 38 Special +P loads in 357 Magnum cases (950-1000 fps or so from a 4" barrel) and they are easy to shoot.

Enjoy the Pro Series version.

 

[ClemY]

I have a 3" Model 60Pro. I love mine. Not too light; not too heavy. Very nice. Very nice trigger and the sights work for me.

 

[sparkyv]

First, let me say that I am quite recoil tolerant.

The M60 very fine handgun, but when I shot my buddy's 3" M60 with full load Magnums, it HURT and the trigger guard cut my shooting finger knuckle. 5 rounds and done. I just have trouble shooting J-frames well as they don't fit in my meathooks properly.

 

[jski]

Seems to be, from those with actual experience,
“GO WITH THE PERFORMANCE CENTER MODEL 19 CARRY COMP !”

 

[cfullgraf]

First, let me say that I am quite recoil tolerant.

The M60 very fine handgun, but when I shot my buddy's 3" M60 with full load Magnums, it HURT and the trigger guard cut my shooting finger knuckle. 5 rounds and done. I just have trouble shooting J-frames well as they don't fit in my meathooks properly.

Yes, I do not like shooting my 2" aluminum J-frames with 38 Special +P ammunition. Full power 357 Magnum in a stainless Model 60 is still brutal.

But, loaded down, the all stainless Model 60 reduces the recoil at a small penalty in the weight of the revolver. One can load a bit hotter ammunition than 38 Special for the 357 Magnum Model 60, keep recoil at a reasonable level, and have a bit better performance from the ammunition.

Just remember, a hit with anything trumps a miss with a magnum round.

 

[jski]

My current plan (and again this is somewhat experimental) is to develop some stiff 38 Short Colt loads for this gun.

I’ve been reading about the popularity of this cartridge in ICORE competitions. They tend to make some fairly stiff loads for these rounds:
FortuneCookie45 is loading 38 Short Starline brass with 4.5 grains of Winchester 231 and 158 grain bullets and getting 1050 FPS out of them.

That would make an excellent self defense load.

 

[Pat Riot]

I have a model 60 Pro. It is quite invigorating when firing .357 Magnum. Currently my 60 Pro is at S&W for a second time to properly align the barrel. The first time it came back it appeared that the barrel was not fully aligned but it was better than it was before. Needless to say...I am not real happy with S&W right now.

Here are two photos before I sent the gun in the first time:




Here are photos after the gun came back. Notice the rear sight all the way to the left. It’ll hit center aim like that but why should I have to accept a darn near $800 gun like this? I really like this gun and I hope it gets fixed properly. I do believe they changed the barrel but also notice the front sight is just a tad off center and the flippin’ idiot that worked on the gun didn’t drive the sight pin in fully. Unsatisfactory!







So, I would say that if you want a 60 Pro look it over real good before buying one.

 

[jski]

Well Pat Riot, that sure the hell isn’t going to encourage me to go ahead with this purchase!

 

[DJW]

looks like their quality control went south and their prices went way north. not a good situation, IMHO.

 

[tubeshooter]

I don't have the Pro, but just a regular 3" model 60-15. I like it just fine; seems light for a steady diet of .357 as most everyone says.

I like the adjustable rear sight and the taller, more target-minded front sight for an improved sight picture. Makes for a better field gun. These same qualities actually detract from the gun from a concealed carry standpoint - at least for me.

I bought the gun with the intention of running little-if-any .357 through it, and the OP sounds the same. I think it is a great gun for .38 Special.

I heard the Pro wood grips are very comfortable. That and some other slight improvments and perks might help justify the slight premium in price over the regular 3" to some folks.



I saw that Performance Center Model 19 Carry Comp, and I admit it made me drool. Just the same - I don't know that it brings enough different to the table for me to bite, at least right now. One thing I did not care for when I saw the gun in person is the large port just ahead of the front sight. I am not really a fan of porting on my handguns.

 

[sparkyv]

Indeed!

a hit with anything trumps a miss with a magnum round.

 

[horsey300]

Well Pat Riot, that sure the hell isn’t going to encourage me to go ahead with this purchase!

Ok, this may not go over well, but here we are, I USED to have a model 60 pro. I NOW have an sp101, in your situation, I'll suggest the wiley clapp version.....
https://www.lipseys.com/itemdetail?itemno=RUKSP331XNVK
Or a half lug lipseys exclusive:
https://www.lipseys.com/itemdetail?itemno=RUSP-332X
The smith just didn't wow anybody in the house enough to keep it, where as ppl have lined up for my sp101. I didn't have any true issues with the smith, it was just like a horse I used to have......it just wasn't quite right.

 

[horsey300]

My current plan (and again this is somewhat experimental) is to develop some stiff 38 Short Colt loads for this gun.

I’ve been reading about the popularity of this cartridge in ICORE competitions. They tend to make some fairly stiff loads for these rounds:
FortuneCookie45 is loading 38 Short Starline brass with 4.5 grains of Winchester 231 and 158 grain bullets and getting 1050 FPS out of them.

That would make an excellent self defense load.

I have some short .38s and I'll not disagree with that proposal, but also throw out a Barnes 125 in a .38 or +p configuration has become my sweet spot. Talked with a tech and that bullet was designed with slower than magnum loads in mind and will expand down to 750fps, haven't put em into anything squishy yet, but they're promising enough.... Just food for thought....

 

[Buckeye63]

I have a model 60 Pro. It is quite invigorating when firing .357 Magnum. Currently my 60 Pro is at S&W for a second time to properly align the barrel. The first time it came back it appeared that the barrel was not fully aligned but it was better than it was before. Needless to say...I am not real happy with S&W right now.

Here are two photos before I sent the gun in the first time:
View attachment 922905

View attachment 922906

Here are photos after the gun came back. Notice the rear sight all the way to the left. It’ll hit center aim like that but why should I have to accept a darn near $800 gun like this? I really like this gun and I hope it gets fixed properly. I do believe they changed the barrel but also notice the front sight is just a tad off center and the flippin’ idiot that worked on the gun didn’t drive the sight pin in fully. Unsatisfactory!

View attachment 922907

View attachment 922908

View attachment 922909

So, I would say that if you want a 60 Pro look it over real good before buying one.

You see more and more QC issues with all revolver makers ...

Its pretty much across the board..

 

[Pat Riot]

TO BE FAIR...
I meant to make this post right after the first one I made but I couldn’t remember exactly when I bought it OR when accuracy went south.

I bought my model 60 Pro in October of 2016. When I bought it this revolver shot point of aim and I was very happy with it.
Some time in the Spring of 2017 the extractor got hung up and I could not get the cylinder to open. It was frozen and I could not budge it. I had to send it back to S&W with 5 fired cases in the cylinder to get it fixed. I also complained about the front “night” sight being almost impossible to see in the dark. Hardly any limitation at all.

S&W returned my gun a few weeks later with no explanation except the sight was replaced (still sucks) and the extractor was repaired. I called them and was told the Performance Center had not threaded the extractor rod far enough and that caused the cylinder to hang up. I also told them their front “night” sight was a joke.
Note: the front sight is only 0.125” wide. The Tritium tube insert is about 0.050” wide. Not much Tritium in there to create much limitation at all.

After that I noticed that accuracy was a little off and it hit to the right. Around that same time I had some serious wrist problems after a motorcycle accident so firing handguns was very painful. I didn’t shoot my 60 Pro much at all after that. Maybe a couple of hundred rounds. I attributed the accuracy change to my ammo and the gun just not liking the ammo my other guns seemed to like. But I do recall over time the accuracy got worse. I just chalked it up to ammo and my bum wrist.
I actually wonder if the extractor issue wasn’t a threading problem but maybe the barreled moved hanging up the extractor rod and some dipstick at S&W just tweaked the barrel to dislodge the rod from the slot in the under lug?...Weird...

Now we skip to this year.
I was at the range firing my 60 Pro with ammo that my gun was very accurate with when I first bought it. Cheap Remington +P .38 Special JSP. It literally was firing 4” to the right at 10 yards. I was baffled. I had the rear sight almost fully to the left and it still hit to the right.
As I was kind of resting the gun on the bench in front of me looking at the I had just fired at when I noticed the barrel seemed to be “twisted” to far to the left as I was looking at it from the rear.

This is kind of what I saw - I tried to get a photo at the range but just couldn’t get a decent picture.


That is when I decided to send the gun back to S&W. When it returned it was still a little off kilter but I couldn’t shoot it due to this CoVid crap and the ranges were closed. When I did I found that it was still way off.

Now the gun is back at S&W lounging about waiting for the workers to come back to work as they are all off due to CoVid, it seems.

I truly do like this revolver. One way or another I will get this fixed, even if I have to send it to a good gunsmith and pay to have it dialed in.

 

[SteadyD]

I had to send a S&W in 3 times recently. Honestly, I’ve had issues with every single revolver maker I’ve purchased from over the past 7 years. Many have required multiple trips to fix and some weren’t completely fixed. Sometimes they came back with new problems that didn’t previously exist. I always count on a trip back to the factory when I purchase these days.

 

[DJW]

the responses sound like good reasons to buy used, older models. perhaps even ones w/out the lock hole.

 

[Speedo66]

the responses sound like good reasons to buy used, older models. perhaps even ones w/out the lock hole.

Couldn't agree with you more. I've had problems in the past with new S&W revolvers. Last year I bought a S&W Model 65, K frame .357 police turn in.

Best $400 I've spent in a long time.

 

[Sneakshot92]

These quality issues with S&W have led me to order a 4" SP101 for a carry gun. The plus side to me is the Ruger's slightly higher weight to tame the recoil of full house magnums.

 

[horsey300]

These quality issues with S&W have led me to order a 4" SP101 for a carry gun. The plus side to me is the Ruger's slightly higher weight to tame the recoil of full house magnums.

Careful, you may find that friends/family enjoy it as much or more than you, never take your eyes off of it

 

[Sneakshot92]

Careful, you may find that friends/family enjoy it as much or more than you, never take your eyes off of it

I get that. I've gone shooting at a friend's farm and more than once he's said I could leave those guns there after seeing me shoot. The answer has always been a resounding 'Hell No!' With a big smile and a few laughs.