I have a few S&W revolvers, all are VERY nice so I never thought I'd be asking a question like this, but should I condider a Taurus?

Here's the story... My widowed mother-in-law brought over an AMT single action 380 last night and said she wanted to learn how to shoot it. She found it in a closet and it belonged to by FIL before he passed away. There have been dogs in her yard barking and growling at her and she wants something to carry out when she walks with her 8lb dog. Her having that AMT in the house and loaded is just plain out of the question, so I figured I'd give her something to carry out with her. The only S&W that I have that is light enought for her to handle is a 4" HB Model 10, but it's blued. Since it'll probably never be oiled, that's out.

Sooooo, I start looking and S&W has airweight .38's for under $350. Are they any good? When I googled S&W 637, the reviews are very mixed. I suppose I'd also consider a stainless Taurus, but only because the frame is steel instead of aluminum. They are slightly cheaper, but not much. Which would you choose?

S&W 637 .38 special (Aluminum frame)
Taurus 605 .357 (but carry 38 spl's)for the same price (Steel)
Taurus 85 .38 special for $50 less than the above two? (Steel)

Or something else? Any semi auto is just flat out of the question.

Thanks in advance,
Adrian

Taurus 627 Tracker with a 4 inch barrel. Have her carry .38 +P's in it. The light 637 wouldn't be a lot of fun for a neophyte shooter.

Old S&W; new Taurus.

Stick with those, and you'll be fine.

The old S&Ws are superb; the new Taurus versions are excellent, and I actually prefer them to the new S&W revolvers.

YMMV...

Have you considered an alloy snubbie? Like a Ruger LCR? Decent price, no neglect issues (rust), very conceal-able for a lady and easy for her to handle with 38's.

Any special reason you are looking for a .38? It would seem to me that your Mother-in-law would be just as well off with a .22 or .32, both of which would be easier to handle. Either of these will discourage an aggressive dog-- in fact, it has been my experience that merely the report of a pistol will stop a dog in his tracks, while a second loud bang will cause it to turn tail and run.

Anyhow, if it has to be a .38, then it's a toss up between the Taurus and a S&W Model 60; both are excellent guns and well suited to the intended purpose. Neither should set you back much more than about $300-350. Ammo? Try something with low recoil (no +P stuff). In town and against dogs your Mother-in-law is probably better off with snake shot as there is less likelihood of injury to humans caused by misses or ricochets, and thus far less potential liability involved once she pulls the trigger.

.38 snakeshot or a target wadcutter should work well.

+ps? Personally I would prefer some personal defense loads lighter recoil and good bullets that makes more sense to me

Hank

Nothing wrong with S&W of any vintage.

I saw that J&G had some Smith M10 heavy barrels for $229 which would be perfect.

Have to side with BillyGoatGruff on this one. I'll take the Smith any day.

Smith.


Travis

Original question: "... but should I consider a Taurus?"
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"Consider"? YES! Somehow My gut feelings about Taurus firearms have long been something less than First-Class in spite of knowledge and experience to the contrary.

One of the best performing 'revolvers' I have ever shot and 'own' IS a Taurus.

If they were close to the same price I would take a Smith over a Taurus. I prefer the older Smiths before MIM parts and the "safety lock." I also would not recommend an alloy frame or a snubby because of the extra recoil of an alloy frame, and the short sight radius of a snubby, either of which make it more difficult to shoot well, particularly for an inexperienced shooter. An alloy snubby is particularly difficult to shoot well compared to a standard service size revolver, as anyone who tries to shoot a police-type qualification course will soon discover. A used S&W 64 (stainless version of the Model 10) would be a good choice and a quick Google search shows that J&G has a listing for a good condition 64 at $260.

duplicate post, sorry.

A new S&W model 60 is probably the ideal except for the $600 price tag. I do like the model 10, even have one, except for the fact that it's blued and will rust with no care. I guess I need to get out to a gun store or two and lay hands on some.

I did see that SOG had model 64's with the hammers whacked off for $259-$300 depending on condition.

-Adrian

Smith and Wesson.