S&W 686 or Dan Wesson 715 for target shooting

[mikemyers]

Hmmm. The gun store wants you to buy a new gun rather than just keep your M28. That's surprising...

It wasn't like that. It was a very long phone call. The first part was about what I wanted to have done to my M28, which led to a discussion of what they could do, what they recommended doing, and so on. She explained everything very clearly. After asking her if she was the lady in the YouTube video (she was), I asked her what her advice would be, at which point she said her advice was to put my gun "in the safe", and buy a new gun, such as a new S&W 357 revolver that she said should cost me around $800 or so.

She also told me that some parts for my M28 were already getting difficult to find, and MrBorland confirmed that up above regarding the strain screw.


When I entered this thread, I was expecting to order a new gun, most likely the S&W. The more I read, both here and elsewhere, the more I think it's a better idea to just keep my using my M28. :banghead:


(I've always enjoyed guns like the M28 and M29, as to me, they look the way a revolver is "supposed to look", and I've very much enjoyed shooting them. I also like the fact that it's not impossible to work on, if one takes a lot of time, has enough patience, and has access to people who know so much about it, as are found in this forum.)

 

[rswartsell]

A very sound decision I think.

 

[murf]

Mike,

suggest you dryfire that model 28 a few hundred times and keep shooting it.

luck,

murf

 

[mikemyers]

....suggest you dryfire that model 28 a few hundred times and keep shooting it........

Murf, the way I got better with the Model 28 was to dry-fire for about half an hour a day, probably around 200 "shots" a day, every day, sometimes more than once a day. That, along with one or two trips to the range every week, with or without another gun, but always with the Model 28. That's probably around 1,500 dry-fires a week, plus 50 to 100 live fires at the range.

.......and at the range, to eliminate flinching, I used to load only 5 rounds in the cylinder, then, 3, and quite often only two. So by the time I've shot a box of 50 rounds, I've dry/live fired the gun around 200 times.

Until the lady at Sand Burr said otherwise, I didn't see any of the above as being bad for the gun - to me it feels like the more I shoot the gun, the smoother it gets.

===========================================

The one change I do plan to make is the rebound spring. As I recall, the Wolff kit came with several springs, and I installed the 'middle of the range' spring. I plan to remove that and put in the lighter spring, which I think was a 12 pound spring.

===========================================

I should ask something else here. I'm not saying the adjustable weights on that new S&W are useful or a gimmick. I'm not experienced enough to offer any opinion, other than that a "heavier" gun won't "wiggle" as much as a lighter gun, will make the recoil seem lighter, and will tire out my muscles faster. If they're actually something useful, then that's a valid reason for wanting the new gun. I suspect i would try the gun with no weights, then all the weights, and try to figure out which is "better".

I know it's not the same thing, but I bought a set of "ankle weights", and practiced dry-firing with and without them. I'll have to try that at the range sometime to see what, if any, difference it makes. (My purpose was to dry-fire quite a bit with the weights on my wrists, assuming the additional weight would help my muscles get stronger, more quickly.)

 

[murf]

... and the smoother you get! dual purpose practice.

you have come far, mikemyers.

murf

 

[MrBorland]

you have come far, mikemyers.

+1. Mike's been doin' his homework.

I'm not saying the adjustable weights on that new S&W are useful or a gimmick. I'm not experienced enough to offer any opinion, other than that a "heavier" gun won't "wiggle" as much as a lighter gun, will make the recoil seem lighter, and will tire out my muscles faster. If they're actually something useful, then that's a valid reason for wanting the new gun. I suspect i would try the gun with no weights, then all the weights, and try to figure out which is "better".

I've not shot this gun, so I can't comment specifically on it. The thing is, some will shoot a longer/heavier barrel better, and some will find they shoot a shorter barrel better.

A long heavy barrel offers a longer sight radius and might wiggle less because of it's heavier weight, but if the shooter find the balance "off", is struggling with the added weight, and/or is jerking the trigger because the sight picture's not all that stable, the benefit of the added weight can easily cancel out. The only way to tell is to try it. The tunable weights seem to be a good idea in this regard. And if you get a chance to shoot a 4" and/or a K/L-framed gun, give it a try as well.

 

[StrawHat]

... to me it feels like the more I shoot the gun, the smoother it gets...

That is because you are performing an action job on the revolver by using it. The more the action cycles, the more it wears in and smooths out itself. A "professional" action job is merely an accelerated wear in period.

Keep using it and it will et even better!

Kevin

 

[Rodentman]

I have one of the new DW 715's. I also have a 1976 S&W 28. I think the trigger is better on the 28, but the 715 is built to take more hot loads. I also like the interchangeable barrels. I have the 6" that it came with and the 2.5". Hopefully a 4" will be available someday.

I just found the 4" bbl available on the CZ site and I ordered one!

 

[MrBorland]

That is because you are performing an action job on the revolver by using it. The more the action cycles, the more it wears in and smooths out itself. A "professional" action job is merely an accelerated wear in period.

I've always disagreed with this. Pull a stick through pickets long enough, and you'll just get a smoother stick through smoother pickets. A bona fide action job is much more than accelerating wear.

For example, a less-than-perfect transition from the first part (sear/trigger nose interaction) to the second part (hammer/trigger cam) of the DA pull will result in "roughness" that no amount of dry fire or wear will fix. There are a myriad of other maladies that a good gunsmith addresses that don't involve blindly stoning contact areas.

FWIW, I never got around to tuning my 10-shot 617 .22LR, even though the trigger could've definitely been improved with some action work. I don't know how many rounds is postulated to equal an action job, but about 50k rounds later, the action is still in need of tuning.

 

[rswartsell]

At this point it is my opinion that a number of world class gunsmiths are comfortable working on a Mod 28 action. By comparison if we were talking about a Colt Trooper (pre-Mk III) then you may very well have had a problem.

I wouldn't be looking for your Smith Highway Patrolman to curl up and die anytime soon. Educate yourself, make it fit you and shoot away says I.

P.S. Here's a suggestion I have personally used;

http://clarkcustomguns.com/gunsmithing-services/revolver/

I got the service action job on a Mod 10-5, and believe me they know what they are about. Used to live near them in Shreveport, LA.

 

[Confederate]

I understand your wanting to continue using what you're familiar with, but you may find the S&W 686 to be familiar enough that the transition wouldn't be that great. And I'd go with it over the Dan Wesson. As a stock gun, S&W designed the gun to either equal or surpass the more expensive Colt Python. Given the looks of the new gun, comparing it with the Python was inevitable, so gun writers for all the major magazines strapped both revolvers into their Random rests and then shot off-hand at various ranges. The verdict was unanimous. Stock 686s were neck-to-neck with the Pythons in both light and heavy bullets.

To accomplish this, S&W had to watch its tolerances -- and since it was introduced, I've never heard anything but praise about its accuracy. For a stock revolver, it's impressive; once it's been worked over, I think it would be near perfect.

I have two 686s, one a no-dash and a newer model with a lock, and as much as I despise locks, I've never had a gun with a lock that's ever given me any problems (can't gunsmiths weld that mechanism so it's inoperative?) If for any reason you don't like what you get, I suppose you could sell it with no loss. But if you stay with what you've got, I don't suppose it's going to fall apart any time soon.






The old (above), and the new (below). Both are superb.











.

 

[rswartsell]

As counter-intuitive as it may seem, I agree with Confederate^.

If you like the N-frame however, you do not need a new revolver for your uses. The 28 is by no means a slouch. Fix the action and then if you don't want to stay with it, sell it to me!

 

[mikemyers]

Confederate --- Very nice photography!!!!

 

[rondog]

Call Gunsmoke here in Denver. They'll tell you all kinds of things too.

 

[rswartsell]

Uhhh...,

The reality show, hot wife and daughter, every gun is worth several thousand dollars, personal helicopter Gunsmoke?

 

[hemiram]

I currently have 3 DW guns, a 15-2, a 715, and a 44. I prefer them over all other revolvers, partly due to their strength, but mostly because I can fix any problem they are ever likely to have. I have a bunch of parts that I'm probably never going to have any use for, pretty much everything but the frame. I used 3 things in the almost 10 years I've had my 715, a the hammer spring, the cylinder lock, and a sideplate screw. Not on any of my present guns, but on a couple of gunbroker 15-2's I've had over the years. The only thing that really had to be replaced out of the three was the hammer spring, it broke, probably due to a previous owner's filing on it (Who knows why?)

I've had a couple of S&W revolvers that I really liked too, but the only one I really felt bad about not keeping is an older 28 with a target hammer and trigger, with an action job. It wasn't mint by any means, it had a lot of holster wear on the right side especially, but it shot great. I missed getting it back by about a buck on an auction about 9 years ago. It's handy to keep serial numbers of old guns!

A friend of mine has one of the new 715. He got it about six months ago, and it shoots just like my 1980 vintage 715, but isn't quite as nicely finished outside, but inside it looks very nice. Overpriced, yes, but all decent revolvers are anymore..