A little clarification on S&W J-frames, please....

[DeanMk]

Whether it has adjustable sights or not, a stainless J-frame chambered for .38 special is still a model 60....right?


Dean

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[Natty Bumpo]

Smith & Wesson Model 60 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wikipedia has as good and brief of an explanation as any. Answer is yes, the Model 60 in .38 can have adjustable sights. For current production, these are in 3-5" barrel variations.

Adjustable sights are of very limited usefulness in shorter barrel J's as they are designed for close up work, although I've known guys who were very good with fixed sight steel snubs at 50 yards.

Product: Model 60

 

[ma96782]

BTW....the newer S&W M60 can also come in .357 mag/.38 special.

Mine are all .38 specials. But, I don't really care to fight the recoil. +P loads are plenty for me.

Aloha, Mark

 

[Chee-to]

Whether it has adjustable sights or not, a stainless J-frame chambered for .38 special is still a model 60....right?

Dean

The model 60 can have fixed or adjustable sights, but not all stainless j-frames chambered for .38 special are model 60's

 

[Doc In UPlace]

BTW....the newer S&W M60 can also come in .357 mag/.38 special.

Mine are all .38 specials. But, I don't really care to fight the recoil. +P loads are plenty for me.

Aloha, Mark

Nevermind the flash and wasted energy blast from the short barrel!

I carry one of the alloy frame 638's with +P almost every day, so I'm in your camp on this, BUT I could see having one in .357 just so you could shoot it more, using standard 38 ammo and not wear it out as quickly.

Few people who have shot my 638 think it was fun or something they'd like to do for very much longer. It's is pretty snappy just as it is, with +P.

Great little guns though.

 

[DeanMk]

The model 60 can have fixed or adjustable sights, but not all stainless j-frames chambered for .38 special are model 60's

Thank you for actually answering my question, and yes, you're right, but I meant the stainless version of the model 36.
Please forgive my lack of awareness of semantics. I hadn't had enough coffee at that time. =)


Dean

 

[Pandaz3]

I was going to say my 637 was stainless, but I guess it is an alloy. I use "Regular" 38, but they are still Special... Okay so I'm no good at humor. my particular 637 is a "Gunsmoke" version, based on the short lived TV gun shop reality show. It has polished flutes and a bobbed hammer, and the word "Gunsmoke" laser etched into it. Supposed to be done by the Performance Center. It came with a hooked portion of the grip to catch on a boot top or belt, ( I currently have a Ergo grip on it though) it also has a bobbed hammer. I was just looking for a concealable J-Frame when I bought it, but it was a bit appealing and priced reasonably. I like it, shoot it very little.

 

[Sgt Nambu]

This is my .38spl J frame. It's a model 60-4, three inch, adjustable sights and +P rated. It's one of my favorite revolvers, it's accurate for what it is. My only problem is the lack of an insert in the front sight blade! Unless I'm in real good light, my aging eyes just can't differentiate between front and rear. I should fix that!

 

[Pandaz3]

when you check it on a chrono graph, you find that 2" 357s get 125 grs to at most 1250 fps, 3" Glock 9mm's get with 115 gr plus P. Same size and weight gun, with a lot more going for it than any revolver. never gonna see any diff in effect from plus or minus 10 grs in bullet weight, but you'll probably see some in being twice as slow for repeat hits.

I don't think that is quite correct, it probably depends on the ammo maker. I just took a gander at Underwood's page and their 125 Gr 357 Mag was 1700 fps out of a GP100 6" barrel and 1500 out of a SP101 3" barrel. Their 9MM +P 124 out of a full-sized gun was 1225 FPS, gonna be less out of a 3". I imagine that my 357 Sig Glock 33 3" barrel spits them out near 1300 FPS. More is more of course, but I don't think many 9MM +P round can match 357 anything.

 

[Certaindeaf]

I don't think that is quite correct, it probably depends on the ammo maker. I just took a gander at Underwood's page and their 125 Gr 357 Mag was 1700 fps out of a GP100 6" barrel and 1500 out of a SP101 3" barrel. Their 9MM +P 124 out of a full-sized gun was 1225 FPS, gonna be less out of a 3". I imagine that my 357 Sig Glock 33 3" barrel spits them out near 1300 FPS. More is more of course, but I don't think many 9MM +P round can match 357 anything.

Good catch.
And their 115 9mm goes 1550 out of a 4" in the real world?.. if memory serves
A five inch 9mm is the standard/conventional slammer.

 

[Certaindeaf]

But let's leave this J frame thread alone with the price of tea in China talk.

 

[Pandaz3]

such 357 loads are completely uncontrolable in a 2", and I favor the 100 gr 9mm Corbon anyway. Most shots in combat completely miss the enemy. Most hits are poor hits, and high powered, centered hits sometimes fail.Sometimes there's more than one attacker. So needing .35 second to get a repeat hit, instead of .17 second, is a really, really bad idea.

While I don't like rapid double action firing of snubby 357, I can control it okay at SD ranges. I do have a 9MM revolver, but they are not common. The comment on combat can really be skewed statistics, hard to say what the sample size was, what the weapons mix was and so on. They are believable, but to what degree is the question. I think we will simply disagree.

 

[KKG]

This is my .38spl J frame. It's a model 60-4, three inch, adjustable sights and +P rated. It's one of my favorite revolvers, it's accurate for what it is. My only problem is the lack of an insert in the front sight blade! Unless I'm in real good light, my aging eyes just can't differentiate between front and rear. I should fix that!

View attachment 308748

Looks just like mine. Thanks for the post. KKG