S&W 657, 41 mag

[schromf]

I just ran across a S&W 657, 41 mag that I can pick up for around $200. Not brand new certainly, but in good condition. My dealer knows I am a 41 fan, but he also knows this represents just about everything I dislike in a revolver, hence the good price. What I don't like: Stainless, crush fit barrel, not pinned and recessed, Hogue monogrips, generally a new Smith. On the like side it is a 41 mag, it is a mid 90's gun so it doesn't have the stupid locks, and it is dirt cheap.

Now I should comment I have a Model 58, and a Model 57 6". My absolute favorite is my 58, I changed the grips with a set of matching rosewood when I bought it NIB, and had the single action trigger adjusted to very light. But I was thinking that instead of beating up my favorite I could use the Model 657 for hard use, or maybe cut the barrel of to a 2"-3" barrel. I really had a Dan Wesson .414 supermag on my list of next revolver, and would have settled for the DW 41 mag if I ran across the right opportunity. And have even considered modifying a Colt Python to a 5 shoot 41 mag
( expensive, and yet another gun in the gunsmiths right now). So having another 41 mag isn't really the issue, its just the Model 657 to me is just kind of like a cold fish, without the wasabi.

Any thoughts?

 

[Jeeper]

For that price you might as well buy it. I never hav been a big fan of the 41 but I picked up a 657 about 5 years ago because it was so cheap. I sent it off to gary reeder and had him bore out the cylinder to his 41GNR which is just a 44 necked down to 41. It is a pretty kick butt caliber. I dont know why I did it other than the unique factor. Hell you could probably buy it and sell it at a profit for that price.

 

[Preacherman]

Schromf, if you don't want it, please PM me with contact details for your dealer, and I'll take it! I'm serious - I've been wanting one of those, and the price is right!

 

[schromf]

Jeeper,

I just checked out Reeders sight. He wan't $100 per cylinder to rechamber a revolver, thats pretty steep. Round looks interesting though.

 

[45crittergitter]

BUY IT FOR $200 AND SELL IT TO ME FOR $250!!!!

 

[Majic]

Any N-frame for $200 should be a no-brainer, but for a .41mag I would jump all over it. I really want a 4" M57, but that's just my luck. Wanting what quickly dissappears from the market. The little 3" M657 does fill in the void nicely till a 4 incher pops up for me.
I too would love to have a DW M41, but it seems they all have been tucked away. :banghead: :banghead:

 

[Jeeper]

Jeeper,

I just checked out Reeders sight. He wan't $100 per cylinder to rechamber a revolver, thats pretty steep. Round looks interesting though.

Jeez, He must be really busy because he did mine for like 25 bucks. That was a while ago though. It is a cool round but bullet selection for 44 I soooo much better I rarely use it. I go shoot a pig every now and then with it.

 

[Standing Wolf]

...crush fit barrel, not pinned and recessed, Hogue monogrips...

Pinned and recessed has a great deal more to do with cosmetics than actual sturdiness. I like pinned and recessed revolvers, mind, but they don't actually bring anything edible to the picnic. As for the stocks: http://www.herrettstocks.com

 

[schromf]

somewhere here

Stuffed away somewhere I have a review of 41 mag with several pistols, factory and custom loads. The pistols I remember were a Ruger Blackhawk, S&W Model 57 (P and R), Model 657. There was another handgun in the mix but can't remember which (Freedom Arms??).

Anyway the most accurate pistol of the bunch was the Model 57, almost across the board with all loads. Shot the tightest group of all the pistols, and pretty much load by load beat the others. There were a couple of loads that the M57 matched the other pistols but it was the exception not the rule.

Now I don't know if the Pin and Recessed contributed to that or not but it sure didn't hurt. Maybe S&W spent more time making them back then, and the quality in general was better. I was talking to my smith today about this very issue. Something both of us have noticed is you normally run a greater chance of getting a bad 357 or 44 than a 41. I think it is a tooling issue ( we were specifically talking about bores ). The cutters for the other two calibers get used a lot more, where the 41 are used a whole lot less. If your curious look down the barrels of some pistols, one or two isn't going to be enough. On some of the newer pistols these can be real nasty.

Anyway I am probably going to pick this up just to see how it runs with the pack so to speak. When I do my part with the right ammo my M57 will shoot 1" groups @ 25 yds, my best on my M58 is about 1/4" larger. I think it has its work cut out for it, but I have been wrong before. Worst case it is a great candidate for cutting it off to around 3" and using as a carry piece.

I knew about Herretts, that is where I got my Jordon Trooper stocks for my M57. They do great grips. I was not aware they did the new monogrips though, guess I should send for a catalog as mine is ancient.