[swharto]

Hey all,

I am new to this forum but I have been lurking here for a while, taking in as much information as I can. I am about two months away from moving to Colorado, and will be purchasing when I get out there.

I was wondering if anybody has hands on experience with the new S & W night guard series. I am most interested in the .38

I am really interested in the sights. From what I am reading, they are great night sights, and plenty capable on allowing you to aim in any situation.

I also like how small the gun is for concealment.

Has anybody shot one of these beauties?

Product: Model 315 Night Guard - .38

 

[Keltyke]

My opinion - FWIW. A Taurus 85UL will serve you just as well in the role a snubbie revolver usually plays - up close and personal.

The Nightguards look good but they have a lot of gimmicks that I'm not sure make them shoot better than anything else on the market. Good sights for a snubbie would be Crimson Trace - if you have to shoot it past 15 feet or so. Anything closer - just point and pull, you'll hit the target.

 

[Marvin Knox]

I haven't shot one. But there is a fine write up in the 2009 Smith and Wesson catalog itself on the Nightguards. It zeros in on the model 315.

Being a legitimate K frame - it should have the best trigger of the bunch and be the most concealable. K frames can have really super triggers after a top notch trigger job.

I had really good trigger jobs done on my J frames and found that the all steel one had a better trigger than the scandium model with the same money spent on each. Hopefully that wouldn't be true for K frames though.

I played with the idea of getting the Nightguard 315 myself. But I decided to stay with my J frames for best concealability.

I recommend Randy Lee at Apex. He'll lighten the trigger up and smooth and balance things up a whole bunch. Probably he'd put in one of his extended firing pins to make it super dependable with carry ammo - very important. He's argueably the best there is.

 

[Saber]

...,I played with the idea of getting the Nightguard 315 myself. But I decided to stay with my J frames for best concealability...

Yeah me too, so I split the difference and ordered a SS 640 as a project piece.
Regards,

 

[tdd78]

Hey all,

I am new to this forum but I have been lurking here for a while, taking in as much information as I can. I am about two months away from moving to Colorado, and will be purchasing when I get out there.

I was wondering if anybody has hands on experience with the new S & W night guard series. I am most interested in the .38

I am really interested in the sights. From what I am reading, they are great night sights, and plenty capable on allowing you to aim in any situation.

I also like how small the gun is for concealment.

Has anybody shot one of these beauties?

Product: Model 315 Night Guard - .38

I have also been looking at the Night Guard series. I havn't gotten to shoot one yet, but while at cabelas a few weeks ago I handled and looked at one. The one I looked at was a 7 shot .357 mag. and i really like the way it felt. It had a set of comfortable rubber grips on it and it has the same front dot sight as my S&W 340 M&P J frame which in my opinion are very easy and quick to get on target. I am still curious to hear how one of these Night Guards shoots and would like to hear from anyone who has shot one.

About 85% of the time I carry my J frame in a pocket holster and the rest of the time I carry a Sig P229 IWB. After looking at the Night Guard revolver I am very confident that I can carry and conceal it IWB just as easily, if not easier, than my Sig. IMHO, revolvers are very good options for carry guns and if I hear good things about the new Night Guard series I may consider buying one.

 

[Keltyke]

Being a legitimate K frame - it should have the best trigger of the bunch and be the most concealable. K frames can have really super triggers after a top notch trigger job.

I wouldn't want to spend that much money on a Nightguard, then have to have a trigger job done on it. Sorry, they just don't impress me for a "working" gun.

 

[18DAI]

I don't want to spend that much money for a handgun, only to have to spend more money replacing the firing pin to make it reliable........well taking it apart and removing useless "innovations" AND replacing the firing pin to make it reliable.

It would probably be less trouble to buy a Kimber.......well.....no not really.

 

[Major G]

They definitely caught my attention when they came out. Jeff Quinn at gunblast did a decent review here. I would like to shoot one before buying though, with that price tag.

 

[jem102]

I have one in .44 special. It is a 2.5 inch "L" frame according to S&W when I called to know what holster to buy. It is a great gun. The double action pull through is very smooth because the trigger face to back-strap distance allows you to get the proper leverage without pulling your shots left/right, up/down. I can stay center torso on the B-27 with a good double action cadence at 7 yd. no problem.
The sights are Cylinder&Slide Xpress, top of the line with a large white dot front and sculpted rear. When you bring the gun up it snaps into alignment.
It shoots POA from point blank to 30 feet with WW-200 gr. Silvertips, Hornady 180 gr. Custom and Rem. 246 lead. The power from both HP loads is impressive especially the Silver tip. I would say it equals the power level of the .45 ACP in 4" and down barreled autos with the same (200 & 185) weight bullets.
I had Little Bear make me one of their IWB Hybrids and the gun carries like its part of you.
I was concerned as to how the soft black finish was going to hold up but so far so good.
That's my $.02 worth on the Night Gard. I will say I have several Taurus that have been very reliable but, they are no match for the NG as to quality or accuracy IMO.

 

[Superheat]

You might be better off with a J frame. They are easier to carry. my .02.

 

[swharto]

thanks all for sharing your knowledge. I will take all of your .02 cents, add it up, and make a decision. Before I do anything, I need to shoot one of these. There is not a great selection of gun shops in MA, so I may have to wait to get my hands on one. Ultimately, that will be my decision maker.

 

[maddawg]

Try the Charter arms Crimson undercover . Use the leftover money to get good belt,holster and ammo.