A couple weeks ago, I spent about an hour with a woman who was, at that time, a first time shooter. She and her husband are preparing to take their concealed carry class in about three weeks. I'd suggested she might want to do a bit of introduction before the class.

We started with a friend's 4" K frame .22, then moved up to my 4" 15-3 with factory wadcutters. From there we moved to my 60-4, then to my 642, then to my SP101 and finally to my Kahr P9. She seemed to prefer the 3" Model 60 to the other guns. (I like it, too).

Her husband (not a gun guy) approached me this week about helping him purchase a gun for his wife prior to the class. Given her preference for the Model 60, I did some snooping to see how close I can get to my 60-4. The current 3" Model 60 looks pretty close (and I'm not really up for an internal lock discussion).

Anybody have experience with the current Model 60? I think my friend's about to "drop the hammer" on one.

PC

I think your 60-4 was built on the smaller J frame where the current Mod 60s are the magnum J frame. the current production has the beefier frame and longer cylinder so it can shoot the .357 magnum in addition to the .38spl.
I have a 60-15 that is a pleasure to shoot with .38spl. The .357 is not bad when I put rubber grips on to shoot. If she likes the older Mod 60 shooting .38spl I think she will also like the current production Mod 60 3 inch barrel gun shooting .38spl.
If she likes the 3 inch J frames an option is the Mod 36 with a 3 inch barrel.

Thanks, jp. I can't imagine my friend will shoot it with anything stouter than +P .38s. Nor, in my view, should she need to. Pretty neat gift from her hubby, huh!

PC

There's a very well written piece on the 3" M60-15 here. He makes a good case for it.
I have to say, the 3" M60 works for a whole lot of situations for me.

OOps, for got the link. Here it is:
Smith & Wesson Model 60-15 3-inch Barrel J-frame Revolver in .357 Magnum

Thanks, Chriss! That review was super. My friend placed his order for the 3" Model 60 this afternoon. I think his wife will be very pleased.

PC

I just got my 60-15, have not even shot it yet. It bridges the gap between the smaller J frames & larger guns. I got the 3" barrel.

I was going to suggest that he also look at the M60 Pro 3" for just a few dollars more (and it has a tritium front night sight). The M36 is also availble in the Classic line.

CD

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