Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns The death of the double action .38 spec./.357 magnum revolver?

My only 357 is a Ruger Security Six I bought around 1980. It's real nice.

I've had two solid GP100s along the way, They ran fine, but they got traded away.

I have four .357's, a Smith 686, a Smith 3" snubby, a Ruger Blackhawk, and a Ruger Security Six.All are older and all are will built.

In addition I have a Smith K22.I challenge anyone to come up with a better handgun to teach anyone the basic shooting fundamentals or go back to tune up one shootings from flinches and poor form. The Security Six is a great carry gun while in the saddle. The 686 has probably 30,000 rounds thru it shooting handgun competition and is still going strong.Plus another thee revolvers. There is no tearing apart,stripping down to get them clean

In comparison, I have two semis.

Comparing any of them against today's plastic ugly semis is like comparing older Mustangs,GTOs, etc to today's trash that they call classic designs.Or to me comparing a classic wood and blued rifle to todays plastic stocked rifles with plastic parts

And a good one it is.

Most of the unreliable double action revolvers that I have seen have had do-it-yourself action jobs. Some just had attempts to lighten trigger pull by cutting springs or backing off on the strain screw.

How do you keep the back of the barrel square when adjusting the barrel-cylinder gap with a file?

No. Unless I'm much luckier than other things in life would indicate.

…..THAT is the quote of the year!!! You knocked that one outta the park Hawkl !!! Well done!!! :-)

How do you draw file a forcing cone?

Have not had it to the range yet but the 1961 S&W Model 10 I purchased used last month meets standards for factory new - cylinder/cone gap,case head/shield gap, pin protrusion, end shake, etc.

Have 5 ruger revolvers mgf from 1999 through 2013, no problems with any of them. Single Six, SP101, LCR, Blackhawk, Super Redhawk.

I have an old Colt King Cobra. Purchased around 1988. 6" barrel. Nice shooter. Bet I've put over 5k rounds down range with it. And that is a conservative number.

No problems with the various DA revolvers I have now... Several Rugers, including the wonderful little SP 101s.. All work/function perfectly..

I must be doing something wrong. My S&W 617 is circa 1993-ish, has MIM internals, an internal lock, and works perfectly. I have over 50k rounds through it, and I haven't had any problems at all...clearly I'm doing something wrong.

Mod. 66,.357 @ 50 yds.
6:00 hold.
Kinda sucks, don’t it.



Have a Mod. 27-2, 6” and a 337 3” that also hold their own.

I have a couple of revolvers that date from the early 1970s. far from dead, they aren't even feeling their age yet.

My 2 1/2" Model 66 would be amongst the last things I'd part with.

Yeah, that's worthless...who would want that:)

I just bought a brand new production S&W 442 that I needed to send right back to the factory for a very rough finished barrel breech/forcing cone. Looked like it was rough cut without any smoothing at all. Razor sharp burrs all around. Completely unacceptable for a company like S&W. I've never seen anything like it on an S&W. Not even on a Charter Arms. I'm hoping I can praise them right here on the Fire on how well they fixed it. We'll see as soon as I get it back.

Clearly.

People bitch about Ruger M77/MKII/Hawkeye accuracy. I guess I get all the good ones.

My DW's are fine shooting revolvers---I like a revolver for hunting,esp.the DW because I can change the barrel length to fit the hunt. But my carry guns tend to be auto's---mostly for two legged varmints.

There was a time about 35 years ago I could shoot like that. Sadly those days are long gone. Good shooting. Hasbeen

While the handful of pre-model # S&W's and 1920's Colts I own are T&B good, the modern stuff has worked quite well for me. I will allow that luck does tend to be on my side when it comes to firearms, though.

I have been using fine tools since the 1960's and it is an acquired "feel' skill with a file. Old school tech here concerning the use of a file for final fitting.