That’s a nice one!

I have a couple of 5-screw M&P’s, both 4”, and a Victory...I would like to find a nice 6” one of these days...

 

Great classic S&W and a joy to shoot, I have one but mine is the 4-inch version.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head with dating your new acquisition. I think Smith & Wesson got away from the half-moon front sight in about 1954 for their 4, 5, and 6 inch barrels. The half-moon sight clung to the top of the 2-inch Model 10s until about 1960, probably because of inventories of 2-inch barrels with half-moon sights remained on hand at the factory. My brother-in-law has a 1960 Smith & Wesson Model 10 2-inch which sports the half-moon sight. I have a 4-inch from near the same time C 308XXX, (can't recall the entire serial number) having a ramp front sight and I think it's a '54 though I've not obtained a factory letter on it. Smith & Wesson was cranking 'em out by the jillions by then and the next two decades saw even higher production of the Military & Police Model 10.

You're going to love that 6-inch barrel at the range. The revolver's going to be laser accurate too.

Sure is a pretty example of a premium .38 Special revolver that you've found. That's the way to properly do the .38 Special cartridge rather than snivel-y stunted snubs. It's a better cartridge than that and shouldn't be relegated to snubs.

Only opinion here. The revolver will be fine with any standard velocity .38 Special ammunition or hand loads. I've additionally "proofed" my revolver with 158 grain +P factory loads and handloaded equivalent to my own satisfaction. That's not to say one should submit the gun to vast quantities of +P ammunition, but for emergency use it'll well handle them.

The factory has said for some years now, no +P for any .38 Special revolver produced prior to 1957. I've deliberately tested +P in Smith & Wesson .38 Special revolvers dating as far back as 1904 with no apparent ill effects. I may be a nitwit, but also am convinced that most .38 Special +P ammunition is a weak, watery tempest-in-a-teapot and not the fearsome revolver-eating load that it is portrayed as being. Only Buffalo Bore and Underwood produce any +P .38 Special factory loads that gen up any pressure to speak of. All the others? Fugit about it.

 

Very nice sir :vs_cool:

 

Very nice old S&W! :congrats:

 

Very nice piece, Stuckat, congratulations on your new acquisition.

 

bmcgilvray, I may run some peppy loads through it at times, but it will be mostly paper killin loads.
The more I handle this thing the more I like it.

 

There's no need to sustain increased wear and tear, not to mention the extra expense of running a lot of peppy loads through it, but it is nice to know that the revolver will serve and serve well if pressed into use in an emergency. A few boxes of +P of the good ol' "FBI Load" 158 grain variety will gen up good velocity performance in that 6-inch barrel and should hit right on or very near where the revolver's sights look out to 25 yards or so, perhaps being an inch, maybe two lower than where the revolver will shoot with standard velocity 158 grain ammunition.

That's a neat thing about the fixed sight Smith & Wesson revolvers. The factory seemed to have taken the time to insure accuracy. I've shot gobs of them in all calibers from over a 100 years old to new ones and they all always shoot to point-of-aim for me when used with what could be termed as "traditional" ammunition with the "standard" bullet weight. "Traditional" and "standard" being:


.32 S&W Long - 98-100 grain bullet
.32-20 - 115 grain bullet
.38 Special and .357 magnum - 158 grain bullet
.44 Special - 246 grain bullet (or 250 grain semi-wadcutter handload)
.45 ACP - 230 grain bullet

Quite a few vintage fixed sight Colts live here. They mostly behave in the same way but I do have a few that are a bit off. My Model 1917 .45 shoots a bit low and to the left. An Army Special .41 Long Colt shoots a bit to the left. Both would still stay on the chest of an assailant out to say 25 yards and its easy to just compensate through the use of "Kentucky windage" for the desired results at the range or in the field. I remember once popping a skunk at 20 yards or so with the Model 1917 by holding just to the right of him and a little high. Rolled him right up.

Thing about it is, the .38 Special is at its very best in its intended and original home of quality medium-weight revolvers with four to six inch barrels rather than being stuffed in the silly snubs to which it is relegated by the current handgun market. Your 6-inch revolver will shoot so well and the barrel length provides a real assist to shooting accuracy and cartridge performance if performance ammunition is used. From a handloader's standpoint, 1000 fps with a 158 grain lead semi-wadcutter is no trick at all from a 6-inch barrel and can be easily achieved, even without resorting to maximum powder charges. I'm only guessing but think that near 1000 fps is possible with the +P 158 grain factory loads.

The highest and best use of your fine revolver would be with target loads. The 148 grain hollow-based wadcutter at modest velocities will open your eyes to what a tight group on paper can be. That bullet will shoot to point-of-aim or very near it. Happy times at the range or plinking in the field can be had when drilling targets like a laser. Great foundational shooting practice can be had that transfers to whatever else you are doing with pistols. There is a whole new and expanded field of enjoyable handgun shooting to be had when one gets beyond the cramped world of combat pistol practice only. Combat pistol skills won't be wrecked by target shooting, but will be enhanced.

 

It sure is pretty! Glad you are going to shoot it. Looking forward to your range report.

 

Thanks Brian, you are always full of good info, but I have bigger problem now.
The same day I picked up this M&P, I went to a friends house and fondled his 6” 28-2 Highway Patrolman. The tapered barrels are killing me. Now I must have one!

 

Oh no!

You need intervention!

Unfortunately I'm not the person to help.

An N-Frame .357 Magnum is the best, and best looking, .357 Magnum revolver on the planet in my view. Not Korth. Not Colt Python. The Model 27 was the primo commercial rendition of the great N-Frame .357 Magnum, but the less shiny satin-finished Model 28 was every bit as good as its dressed up brother N-Frame. These stout revolvers are at home with the truly heavy fire-breathin' performance .357 Magnum loads rather than this insipid .357 Magnum lite that seems to pervade the ammunition shelves these days. These are the revolvers who are the handloader's and hunter's friend. They as pleasant to use at the range, no matter the load one will not feel beat to death after a shooting session.

They're large revolvers which is an anathema to today's handgunners, but for range and field use they are where the .357 Magnum cartridge needs to be. In the scarce 3 1/2-inch or 4-inch (rare in Model 27 common in Model 28) they may be toted in perfect comfort with a good holster and heavy gun belt. Only within the past year or so have I been sampling toting a 3 1/2-inch N-Frame .357 which predates the advent of the Model 27 nomenclature. It's easy as pie, stays concealed under a jacket, and remains comfortable for consecutive long days of carry use.

Intervention or enablement? You decide.



Model 27 6-inch. Model 27 has premium high polish blue finish with, unique to this model, checkering across all the top surfaces, frame and rib, a wider "target" trigger and hammer spur, target stocks, and a Patridge front sight. The Model 28 features the satin blue finish, the standard width trigger and hammer spur, Magna stocks, and a Baughman ramped front sight. Actions are exactly the same with the same smooth feel.

Model 27 6-inch, heavy 158 grain handload and an average sized Texas whitetail doe. Taken at 39 steps and dropped in place, shot through the heart.




A 3 1/2-inch "pre" Model 27 from about 1952. This N-Frame .357 Magnum came with Magna stocks and the Baughman ramped sights. Heavy yet well-balanced, it soaks up recoil like a sponge. Once one gets the mass of the large thick .357 Magnum cylinder turning, double-action shooting has a uniquely effective feel about it.



I know I'm a crank and a "small voice in the wilderness," but people need to be using larger handguns than are currently popular.

 

Intervention, yes, that is what I call my wife. I am still trying to explain how the Sig in my avitar was an “Accident.”

I was patient for a 10/M&P, I will wait for the highway Patrolman. Looks like my local Cabelas may have one. I may be able to get there Friday to look at it. I have a mountain of points and gift cards. We'll see. There also some no reserve nice ones on GB, I could have another accident.

 

Beautiful new M10! I don't typically buy guns I can't use as a CCW, but I've been seriously considering a 6" M14 recently just to have one long pistol in the safe.

As for N frames, I have just one - a recent manufacture M29-10. Goddang, I love it. My Model 10 is a close second (I shoot that M10 better than any gun I have ever owned, period), but IMO the N frame is the ultimate iteration of the S&W revolver. Brownells recently had a killer deal (about $200 off in rebates and giftcards) on M629s, and I was a millimeter away from buying a new 6" M629 throughout the whole sale. I finally caved and went to buy it and the sale had just ended, which is probably for the best.

Anyway, congrats on a beautiful new gun!

 

drmordo, I am with you on that. This M&P is the first non carry that I have owned in years. I have no need for another carry gun.

However, I have a shoulder holster that would carry a 6” N just fine. So is it really not a carry gun? Lol!