They did make a kool one in SS with 5" barrel and adjustable sights (Model 60). These can be found for reasonable cost because they came with two-piece barrel construction which S&W guys hate. This would made a wonderful .357 woods kit gun. It came in decent quality blue plastic case instead of useless cardboard box.
The best carry revolver ever made was short-barreled Model 12 with round butt. They were made for many years yet very few come up for sale on used gun market. At one time these were issued to military intelligence and Air Marshal Service.
My favorite has always been the M19, both 4" and 2 1/2", bought this one shiny new in 1986 and carried it ever since, and it shows, but it's honest wear. Always preferred to carry the 2 1/2" for it never hinders me, be it when I'd carry it horseback, sitting in the truck or daily activity, just never know its there.
Here’s what used to be a S&W Model 15 2” shooting Federal 148 GM38A HBWC ammo: 10 shots two hands double action standing at 50 feet, then 5 shots single action at 50 yards over sandbags*. The .38 SPL is a top accuracy choice for good reason.
* Full disclosure: The one missing shot is at six o’clock, just cutting the 8-ring, hidden by the strategically placed Leupold 2x scope - oops.
The half jacket in 146 and 160 were good bullets. I was working in a gun shop in the early 70’s and got a deal on a Lyman All American turret pistol press, one of those red ones. I loved that thing and kept it for years.
The Speer #8 manual was the book for me, l learned years later that many of the .38 Special loads (especially those using SR4756) were way too high pressure wise.
I loaded a bunch of those SR4756 loads for myself and other officers back in the 70's when we were unhappy with the round nose 158 grain service ammo we were issued. The maximum listed load with a 125 grain JHP would result in stuck cases that required a hammer blow on the ejector rod to clear the empties, so I reduced it a grain and called it good. I was able to rent a chronograph and they clocked 1,250 fps out of a 4-inch Model 15. There was a very impressive fireball and an ear-splitting report.
Eventually my service revolver started malfunctioning. I had trouble opening and closing the cylinder and the trigger pull was all screwed up. The department sent it back to S&W for servicing and they ended up junking the gun because the frame was "warped". But it never actually blew up, so that proves the loads were safe....
I still have that Speer loading manual, and every now and then I take a look at the .38 Special data and have a good chuckle.
Life is like a purple antelope on a field of tuna fish...
The half jacket in 146 and 160 were good bullets. I was working in a gun shop in the early 70’s and got a deal on a Lyman All American turret pistol press, one of those red ones. I loved that thing and kept it for years.
The Speer #8 manual was the book for me, l learned years later that many of the .38 Special loads (especially those using SR4756) were way too high pressure wise.
I loaded a bunch of those SR4756 loads for myself and other officers back in the 70's when we were unhappy with the round nose 158 grain service ammo we were issued. The maximum listed load with a 125 grain JHP would result in stuck cases that required a hammer blow on the ejector rod to clear the empties, so I reduced it a grain and called it good. I was able to rent a chronograph and they clocked 1,250 fps out of a 4-inch Model 15. There was a very impressive fireball and an ear-splitting report.
Eventually my service revolver started malfunctioning. I had trouble opening and closing the cylinder and the trigger pull was all screwed up. The department sent it back to S&W for servicing and they ended up junking the gun because the frame was "warped". But it never actually blew up, so that proves the loads were safe....
I still have that Speer loading manual, and every now and then I take a look at the .38 Special data and have a good chuckle.
In the 60's I use to load some similar rounds for LEO's on the Albuquerque Police Department. They probably were not that hot though. .About a a little slower than a mid range .357 magnum load in a 38 case.Back then,they were not permitted to carry magnum ammunition or even magnum handguns. They told me they sure stopped the bad guys a lot better than std 38 Sp loads .They were not permitted to carry single actions either, but a close friend of mine qualified with a 45 colt and was able to carry it as a service revolver
If God wanted you to walk and carry things on your back, He would not have invented stirrups and pack saddles
Reading through this thread made me just have to pull this one from the safe. It hasn’t seen any use in far too long.
Clark long/heavy 38 wadcutter with Bomar rail which is cut for Clark’s “tuner”. This is a welded up slide which accounts for the color mismatch. Frame has been drilled for a Weigand saddle mount.
One of my favorite handguns is a S&W Model 60, SS with adjustable sights and 3 inch barrel. It is a .357 but I generally only use it with .38 Spl loads. Very soft to shoot with them. A bit more buck with .357 loads
The half jacket in 146 and 160 were good bullets. I was working in a gun shop in the early 70’s and got a deal on a Lyman All American turret pistol press, one of those red ones. I loved that thing and kept it for years.
The Speer #8 manual was the book for me, l learned years later that many of the .38 Special loads (especially those using SR4756) were way too high pressure wise.
I loaded a bunch of those SR4756 loads for myself and other officers back in the 70's when we were unhappy with the round nose 158 grain service ammo we were issued. The maximum listed load with a 125 grain JHP would result in stuck cases that required a hammer blow on the ejector rod to clear the empties, so I reduced it a grain and called it good. I was able to rent a chronograph and they clocked 1,250 fps out of a 4-inch Model 15. There was a very impressive fireball and an ear-splitting report.
Eventually my service revolver started malfunctioning. I had trouble opening and closing the cylinder and the trigger pull was all screwed up. The department sent it back to S&W for servicing and they ended up junking the gun because the frame was "warped". But it never actually blew up, so that proves the loads were safe....
I still have that Speer loading manual, and every now and then I take a look at the .38 Special data and have a good chuckle.
Good story, the Speer No 8 was my first loading manual. I think most of the other loads were okay, just the SR4756.
What I suspect all these years later was that SR4756 varied more than a little from lot to lot. Plus the pressure testing equipment was different from company to company.
I remember one of my shooting buddies loaded some of the 146 Speer Half Jacketed bullets close to the max for SR4756 to shoot in his K-38. He told me it shot flames out the muzzle like his Model 27 .357 3 1/2". Little did we know it was a .357 load, pretty hot one at that. We ditched those loads after his experience. I had been using my Model 28 4" so it didn't seem as bad, but sure felt hot.
I don't know how many were made. I bought it new from a place called Jumbo Sports in the 90's. It's the same store where I got a 4" Colt Anaconda in 45 Colt, another rare bird I have come to understand.
SR4756...my second favorite handgun powder of all time right behind Unique...
There was not a "lot to lot" variation...what happened is that Dupont changed the burning rate back about 1980 and didn't bother to tell anyone. It had been about where Blue Dot was and the new stuff was faster closer to Unique. I remember getting a new 8# can and all of a sudden loads that had always shown high velocity with no pressure signs were flattening primers and sticky ejection.
From the new lot I ended up settling on: Winchester factory primed case 125 grain Sierra HC 8.0 grains of SR4756 Velocity: 1200 from a 2" Model 36...1250 from a 4" Model 15
9.0 would run 1260......10.0 1325...but ejection was not smooth.
6.0 with a 158 grain LSC would duplicate the FBI load at 875 from a 2" and 955 from a 4".
Was also a great powder for .44 Special and .38 Super...really sad day when it was discontinued.
Bob
If you can not deal with reality, reality will deal with you....
I don't know how many were made. I bought it new from a place called Jumbo Sports in the 90's. It's the same store where I got a 4" Colt Anaconda in 45 Colt, another rare bird I have come to understand.
I hadn’t thought of Jumbo Sports in a long time. My dad took me there to buy my first deer rifle. A Remington M7 18.5 pencil barrel in 260, the first month or so after the 260 was released. I remember it cost $405.27 and they didn’t have any ammo, we had to go to another store to find a couple boxes.
I've got a pristine 1961 round butt 4" pencil barrel with some aftermarket boot grips that would be a very good CCW. But I can't make myself stick it in a holster and rub the bluing off of it. The one that I've got ordered is the same only a square butt. If it looks as good as it does in the photos I probably won't be able to make myself use it as a carry piece either.
S&W revolvers from the 60s and 70s are too nice to think of them as "just" firearms. They're steel sculpture. I've always thought it a bit unusual that some of the best metalwork that humans have ever produced is in weaponry.
Human males take a lot of pride in the workmanship of their weapons.
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