What is the ultimate

[Brian Williams]

I would like to get a 3" 581 with a Heavy Barrel like my mod 65 or 13.

I would also like a 586 4" with a barrel like a mod 19 and a round butt


first post at a great place!!!!!

 

[Marko Kloos]

You know, there are a few M19s with 4" barrels and round butts out there. That's pretty close to the "ultimate" carry sixgun to me.

If you have a 3" M13 or M65, that's even a nudge closer to "ultimate". (The baddest CCW sixgun on the planet is the Performance Center-modified "PC-13", a 3" Model 13 with some serious modifications.)

 

[C.R.Sam]

Tho the 19 has long been my favorite all round gun...

Current project is trimmin the underlug back on a 4" 586.
Want it to look like a 19 on steroids.

Sam

 

[Brian Williams]

I do have a mod 13 3" and that is what I carry all the time but I would like the strength of the L frame with the size of my 13

 

[Ala Dan]

Greeting's All,

Hey Fess, did you know that Smith & Wesson made a
few of the L-frame 681's in the 3" barrel length. Its
a PC model, according to Supica & Nahas in the Standard Catalog Of Smith & Wesson.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[dd-b]

Nothing personal, Perfessr, but I do hate questions about the "ultimate" or "perfect" (or even merely "best") much of anything. You sound like you're probably using it as shorthand for sensible concepts (fits your needs and preferences well) and aren't really looking, I'd guess, for a single clear-cut right answer.

Problem is I've seen enough people ask that sort of questions in earnest that I've gotten a little gun-shy about it. And I've started to acquire an allergy to anything that might encourage them in taking the concept seriously. (I see it a lot in photography discussions as well as firearms discussions; it seems to turn up regularly in both areas and many others.)

I'm sorry to say I have nothing useful to contribute to your actual search for a revolver, being very much a semi-auto person myself (though I do own 3 revolvers too).

 

[Erich]

lendringser, I don't recall having seen that photo before - sweet!

I don't know, gents; I have always had a hard time thinking much of any .357 mag that's shorter than 4" in the tube. Shoot, anymore I don't think I'd want one under 6".

While I've owned k-frames, I agree that the l-frames seem to handle the maggies better. I like the fixed sights on a combat revo, and the adjustables on the longer ones. So, I guess a 4" round-butt 681 or a 6" 686 for me . . .

 

[Gewehr98]

I never understood the difference between round and square butt K-Frames...

A shorty pocket J-frame, sure, but does the round butt offer that much more in the bigger S&W revolvers? Or is it just a factor of rarity that makes them more chique'?

My own 4" Model 19, albeit in the lackluster square-butt configuration:

 

[s&w 24]

A 5" S&W 24 or a S&W registered magnum 5"

the best balance, good velocity, managble with any load, and the look the best too

 

[Tamara]

Gewehr98,

A shorty pocket J-frame, sure, but does the round butt offer that much more in the bigger S&W revolvers?

They tend to be more concealable, and I personally prefer them for fast DA work. Of course, all Smith revolvers are round-butt now, which I personally think is kinda silly on 6+" guns, but it's easy to "make" it a square-butt with the right grips.

The reason lendringser's 4" RB Model 19 is so unusual is that Smith didn't make any 4" RB 19s. (Except a very few in two batches, one for ONI and one for the State Department)




Personally, my "ultimate" fighting sixguns (assuming CCW involved) would be any 3" RB Model 13 or 65. The 3" & 4" N-frames are pretty cool in my book, too...

 

[Gewehr98]

A-ha! I figured concealment was the issue.

And perhaps a better feel under recoil, kinda like the single action revolvers that roll back in one's hand on firing.

I've seen the Brownell's jig for grinding a square-butt K-frame to round-butt. Just never thought I'd have the need.

I do want to build one of those Charles Askins revolvers someday, though. The ones with the cut-off forward trigger guard.

 

[C.R.Sam]

I do want to build one of those Charles Askins revolvers someday, though. The ones with the cut-off forward trigger guard.

Sam

 

[Tamara]

Gewehr98,

The goofiest I ever saw was a Model 50 (2" SB J-frame w/adjustable sights) in nickel with honkin' huge Pachmayr target grips.

No lie: the grips looked bigger than the gun...

 

[Gewehr98]

Sam, the roll-eyes thing...

I must've oopsed to get that response. Am I attributing the cut-down revolver to the wrong person?

 

[Gewehr98]

Tamara, I've seen little J-Frames with the huge grips.

Pachmayrs or Hogues. Definitely made the gun look tail-heavy. Now, if it's one of those airweight j-frame .357 Magnums, it might just have merit.

 

[C.R.Sam]

G-98...
Not you.
Just the concept of open front guard.

Sam

 

[Tamara]

I'd better go get a cup of coffee or something.

I now have a vague craving for a Model 50.

I need a 2" target square-butt J-frame like I need a hole in my head...

 

[Glock Glockler]

Great picture, Lendringser

I'm starting to crave on for myself

The baddest CCW sixgun on the planet is...with some serious modifications

Out of curiosity, what might those be?

And what is the difference between your 19 (with the 4 inch barrel) and a model 66, that regularly has a 4 inch barrel?

 

[Erik]

Well, I'm wracking my brain, and cannot make a good argument that differs from that statements in favor of the models 13 and 19.

 

[Maddock]

Gewehr98:
I never understood the difference between round and square butt K-Frames... A shorty pocket J-frame, sure, but does the round butt offer that much more in the bigger S&W revolvers? Or is it just a factor of rarity that makes them more chique'?
Tamara:
They tend to be more concealable, and I personally prefer them for fast DA work.

The round butts also work better for me and many others who have short fingers, especially in the large frames.
My favorite carry revolver is a 1955 Target that Frank Glenn fitted with a 4†tube that is K-frame round butted. The standard N-frame square butt is just a little larger than best for me.

 

[C.R.Sam]

Round butt seems a bit easier to conceal....
Rounded lump under shirt or coat rather than otherwise etc.

I like roung butts ok for short barrels and non serious target work.
For serious target work, the square but with bottom flare helps me overcome the extra weight out front of the longer barrels.

Sam

 

[Marko Kloos]

Out of curiosity, what might those be?

And what is the difference between your 19 (with the 4 inch barrel) and a model 66, that regularly has a 4 inch barrel?

The PC-13 is a 3" Model 13 with a heavy barrel, but unlike a regular M13 it has a shrouded ejector rod like the M65 "Ladysmith". It's also quad-magnaported, hammer bobbed, DAO converted, and finished in matte blue. Tamara has one; maybe she can provide a picture of hers.

The 19 in 4" only came with square butt frames prior to S&W going RB on all guns in the late 1990s. The round butt frames were used almost exclusively only for guns with 2", 2 1/2", or 3" barrels. A few batches of 4" RB guns were made at customer request, for the Office of Naval Intelligence and the U.S. State Department. Mine's an ex-State Department issue.

The 66 now comes with RB frames even in the 4" and 6" versions, but they 19 was dropped from the S&W product line before they went to RB frames exclusively.

 

[riddleofsteel]

The more I shoot and carry this revolver the more I like it. It conceals as well as any big revolver I have tired to carry and is dead accurate. Add to that the fact it throws a huge chunk of lead and you have a winning combo in my book.

 

[Glock Glockler]

Thanks, Lendringser

But now I'm going to get really stupid. What's the difference between the 66 and the 19? I thought it had to do with barrel length and nothing more.

Also, those grips are utterly stylin, where'd you pick those up?

 

[Marko Kloos]

What's the difference between the 66 and the 19? I thought it had to do with barrel length and nothing more.

Also, those grips are utterly stylin, where'd you pick those up?

The 19 is blued or nickeled carbon steel, the 66 is stainless steel. Other than that, they're identical. Both come in barrel lengths from 2 1/2" to 6". S&W no longer manufactures the 19, though.

The grips are Hogue hardwood monogrips.