I have an opportunity buy a like new in the presentation case model 57 S&W, no dash, blue, 8 3/8 barrel. I was told by my FFL that model 57s in the 8 3/8 barrel are harder to come by. I myself would think thats a common barrel length for such a gun. What are the rare barrel lengths for a model 57 and how common is the 8 3/8 barrel???

Woops, looks like this is supposed to go into the 1961 1980 forum since the model 57 appeared in....1964?? Please move my thread. Thank you.

The 8 3/8 inch barrel length on most S&W revolvers is usually a rarer length then the 4 or 6 inch barrel lengths. This is because this barrel length fits into only the hunting and target shooting market place. There are no actual numbers printed on the production by barrel length for S&W revolvers. The blue book of gun values gives a 5% premium for the 8 3/8 barrel length for the model 57.

I've heard that only 10% of most models were made with the 8 3/8 inch barrel but I have no way of confirming that.

I have the impression, but no numbers to back it up , that four-inch and six-inch barrels predominate. The long 8-3/8 barrels seem to me less common, but not rare. There appear to be some five-inch barrels, but I don't know if these are special order or modified barrels.

I have a long barrel 57 that is one of the revolvers I shoot most accurately -- no small feat for these aging eyes and occasionally shaking hands.

EDITED TO ADD: Ahh, Art posted first with probably better information than my conjectures. I would just add that since the Model 57 was introduced as the .41 Magnum Target, there may be a slightly larger percentage of long-barrel versions for this model than for other models in other chamberings. Distance work was one of the reasons the .41 was introduced in the first place, and the close-in applications that required or permitted shorter barrels were supposed to be handled by the Model 58.

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David Wilson

In my research, the opposite of the above is true on a model 29? Is that what you guys think. Thanks for the assistance on the barrel. I kind of always wanted a model 57 just for the heck of it. If I ever get my dads 25-5, I will have a good start on a N frame collection.

I believe Doc44 has said several times that in sheer numbers of the earlier guns, the 6.5-inch barrels predominate, with 4-inch ones close behind, with 6- and 8-inchers back from them quite a bit. I shouldn't put words in his mouth. Maybe he will be along to comment?

The impression you have may come from the fact that one does see a lot of 8-inch guns for sale. This may be because people generally don't care for them, and after a little first-hand experience, will sell them and move on to something else.

This probably holds true with all the N-frame magnums, but like other posters here, I have no numbers or proof.