Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Help please...revolvers

I lean toward the larger calibers in .44 and .45. Standard .45 Colt is pretty easy to shoot, but can be uploaded to magnum levels if you wish. The .44 Magnum can be loaded with .44 Specials for less recoil. The .357 is my least favorite, but that doesn't mean I don't like it. I really like the Ruger GP 100 in .44 Special. The Rugers may be built like tanks, but don't have as good a trigger as the S&W's that I have used. I hear good things about the new Colts, but have no experience with them. My Anaconda doesn't have as good a trigger as the S&Ws either, but it was made in the early 90s and I understand the new ones to have good triggers. It all comes down to what you like after trying several.

Get a used Smith & Wesson K-Frame made before 1982 that's in good mechanical condition.

686 +

These came in six inch barrel, too.

I have more than a little experience with Taurus Titaniums and love them. My latest is 44spl and is my bear carry gun these days. Plenty of recoil, but they are so much easier to carry.

Yeah. My GP100 is a bit of a heavy club with a 6 inch barrel.

Wish it was a 4.

My 629 is a 5 inch. I would not want it longer.

Move South?

Buy what you want...

Hard to beat. Love the 5.5” barreled version.

For just making holes at the range a .38 Special with wad cutters out of one of the above mentioned .357 heavier frame S&W's. My kid wanted my 629 Classic 6" .44 Magnum more than I did, so he has that now, but for hunting a .44 beats a .357 and shooting .44 Specials through a .44 Magnum N frame is very tolerable. My .357 Magnum M66 didn't stay with me very long after I found that stainless 629 Classic. I'd be shopping the used market for a pre-lock S&W model.

Or a 686 Plus Talo 5" barrel, which is a good compromise between the 4.125" and 6".

https://www.sportsmansoutdoorsupers...ch-talo-exclusive-with-custom-wood-grips

Pre lock Smith 686 in 6".
They be a bit pricey these days.

If going 44 mag, 629 reg in 6" -3 or older.
But dont run hot stuff over 240 gr.
If wanting to shoot heavier get a 5.5" classic 629.
Pre lawyer lock of course.

Good range toys, and hunters.

I have no trouble running 270 but I like the 180 and the 240

Are vintage handguns available in Canada? Assuming so, I'd get a pinned barrel Smith and Wesson of whatever model you choose if you fancy a double action. If you're a single action guy, I'd go with the classic 1873 Colt.

I'll sell you a very nice Ruger Flattop Blackhawk 44 Special. Very nice to shoot with cowboy loads. Can be loaded to near 44 magnum power, but why.

4.2" S&W 686 is very nice.

The 686 is a very nice revolver. But it is a larger frame size than some can hold. My hands are a tad on the smallish side. A J-Frame is too small and a K-Frame is too big. So getting the correct grip on either one is critical for me.

The best I have found is a S&W Model 60 .357 with an oversized grip. And I shoot 38's in it for range time fun.

If yoiu want some beauty and extra pazazz, go with a Performance Center model in the Smiths. Classy and sweet.

a Model 66 could work well

You say you get bored with smaller calibers , as do I . Well I like my rugers, as I load my revolver rounds hot. And they will take what ever you throw at them for years and years. A 180 grain 357 top tier load will definitly get some attention. That crack of a hot 357 is addicting. But having said that, I love love love my big old SRH 44 with a 9.5 inch barrel. ( I hunt with mine ) the accuracy I get with that revolver at 100-150 yards gets the rifle shooter guys attention.
In the end you need to handle ( if possible shoot the guns ) and decide what feels best to you. Just remember it’s very very hard to shoot a ruger loose.
Also the smith guys say the their guns triggers are better, yep they are. But for a few dollars and a hour of time you can dissemble a GP or SRH easily and install some lighter trigger and hammer springs and shims for a awesome trigger.

686's had a recall early on. The firing pin hole was oversize and occasionally the primer would flow back into the firing pin hole and lock the action up.

Other than that they're decent .357 revolvers. But I'd take a nice old Ruger Security Six over one.

Get a model 27 Smith and Wesson.

As for *any* stainless steel S&W "magnum" revolver,...I'll pass on them. I shot a 686 extensively back when they first came out. Magnum S&W .357's are particularly susceptible to gas cutting of the topstrap. The .44 mags don't have any gas cutting problems and the .38's don't because they don't generate enough heat and pressure.

If you're somebody that fires 50 rounds a year, you won't have any problem. But if you handload and burn 3 or 400 rounds a week,...you're going to see a lot of gas cutting on S&W .stainless revolvers. The carbon steel .357 mag S&W's gas cut also. But the stainless S&W revolvers gas cut very badly.

The Security Six .357 revolvers don't seem to gas cut at all,....but extensive shooting of them will burn the forcing cone.

My opinion is,...it's got to do with the diameter of the cylinder's chambers.

The Rugers are cut generously and allow gas to escape out around the circumference of the bullet,...which will eventually burn the forcing cone of the barrel. The S&W's are tight,...which contains the gases from the shot until the bullet leaves the cylinder,...but allows it to escape in a thin, hot, high pressure sheet of hot gas as the bullet leaves the cylinder,..burning the top strap.

It's the big reason I stopped messing with S&W .357's and went to Rugers.

I really like my K-frame .38's, however.