Need your input: M&P R8 PC

[Arthury]

If you have $1K+ lying around, would you ever buy this gun?
Any experience with it?
Does it have the best components that S&W can offer in terms of a highly refined S&W revolver?
Does the 8 rds cylinder cause or has the potential to cause timing issues unlike the traditional 6 rds wheelers?
What do you not like or like about it?

I just noticed that the frame is the lightweight Scandium alloy. How long will this last compared to the traditional forged steel?

Now, if I want a more traditional higher end S&W revolver, which one would you recommend?

Does it feel normal for a revolver to be firing a 45ACP ammo?

[Arthury]

No takers?

[Ashlander]

My guess why there is not a lot a response about this new model is that most of the guys on this forum are buying the guns now that they thought were cool when they were young (but couldn't afford them or were just too young to buy them at all). I know that's what I am doing.

The guns most everyone talks about on this forum generally are not very expensive. We take pride in getting these guns for a few hundred bucks. And while not that expensive, they are cool -- and we share our excitement of buying that "new" old gun we got a good (or maybe not so good) deal on with everybody else.

So the latest expensive models have not quite sparked a lot of our interest -- but once they hit the used market in some significant numbers -- who knows?

That M&P R8 certainly does look like bad news to bad guys.

[Steve_NEPhila]

I will weigh in as I have owned one for a couple of years now. The R8 is a fantastic revolver, worthy of the S&W name and Performance Center pedigree.

I have put about 8+k rounds through mine and have enjoyed every pull of the sweet double action. (I am a strict adherent to the doctrine of the double action trigger) I have not experienced a timing issue yet, but all machines can get out of spec and need maintenance. My R8 was a bit less than the price you listed and still worth every.

I do like the scandium alloy frame and nose heavy barrel. This revolver balances like a PPC gun, and I do enjoy that. Of course, this thread is useless without pictures so I shall provide a few...

The first four shot group at 10 meters I shot with my R8


Set up for bullseye shooting...


In the holster and ready to travel...


My R8 is my absolute favorite revolver. I enjoy the new technology S&W have brought to the wheel gun. When one considers the price of ammo, buying a premium machine like this for around a grand is indeed quite a bargain!!!

[scooter123]

First, no I wouldn't purchase an R8, Rails on a Revolver are just plain WRONG to this old fart. However, I have looked at the 327 TRR8 occasionally.

Accuracy will be simply stunning. When the R8 first came out Gun & Ammo shot one from a rest at 50 yards with a scope and 2 seperate Commercial Defense loads yielded sub 1/2 inch groups with a cold barrel. I have a model 620 that also features a tensioned barrel and even by "cheating" and shooting from a rest with a handgun scope it's proven capable of more accuracy than I can muster up for a full cylinder. Keeps teasing me with cloverleafs and then slapping me with a flyer for an errant trigger stroke. (how that for blaming the gun for my mistakes?) Serously, these tensioned barrels are capable of accuracy that will test the limits and ability of the best shooters.

Scandium frames. Not a fan of Aluminum alloys in a load bearing application. Unlike Steel, Aluminum does not have an Endurance Limit. Load steel below the Endurance Limit and it not only won't ever fail, it will actually increase in strength. Put Aluminum under a cycling load and it will eventually fail no matter how light the load. Good news is these frames are warrantied for life, so if it ever does crack you'll get a new gun.

Timing and 8 shooters. This is based on my experience with my 7 shot 620 so it may not apply but I think it will. With the 7 and 8 shot guns the cylinder does not have to rotate as far as with a 6 shooter. Because of this the hand passes "off" the lug on the extractor a lot EARLIER in the trigger stroke. What it means is that the cylinder stop lockup is much earlier in the trigger pull and it may provide a bit more of a safety margin in terms of timing than with a 6 shooter. It is also a lot easier to check the timing than with a 6 shooter because that cylinder locking in is well seperated from the hammer fall in terms of trigger stroke.

As for firing the 45ACP out of the R8, that isn't going to happen because the R8 is a 357 Magnum. However I do have a 625 JM in 45 ACP and it's a LOT of fun to shoot. Personally, I would expect that I would find the R8 to be a bit too light for comfort with 357 Magnums, however I'm an old fart dealing with the injuries of a lifetime of using my hands.

Finally cost. As I said, I'm an old fart and I think that 1000 dollar handguns are actually somewhat inexpensive when you compare that cost to other commodities such as gasoline. BTW, I can remember paying as little as 15.9 cents for a gallon of gas in Kent, Ohio when a couple of stations were having a "price war". Normal prices when I started driving was 37.9 a gallon for regular and premium was 41.9. I have a vague memory that at that time the S&W model 19 ran about 159 dollars, which was much to rich for my wallet at that time.

[Arthury]

Thank you, Ashlander, for the early assessment.

Thank you, Steve and Scooter123, for sharing your thots on this.

The concept of tensioned barrel is, indeed, interesting. Anyone know what other models of S&W revolvers have tensioned barrels besides the M&P R8 and 620?

[Uraldriver]

I like them Both and wanted on badly however the new price was kind of Steep(for me anyway). I found a used TRR8 at a super price last year and snapped it up. I don't think it had been shot much and everything was still in the original packaging in the Aluminum hardcase, including the Warrantee card. It's great shooter and I use it CCW once in awhile. It is my go to woods walking gun.

I don't have the rails mounted but I did try it with a spare Red dot sight. I was not really impressed but I like Iron sights on a revolver!

I did have a problem with the Barrel unscrewing itself! A call to Smith and week or so later it was fixed. I have not had any problems since.

[scooter123]

All of the Night Guard series feature tensioned barrels and I believe that some of the scandium frame J frames are now using a tensioned barrel but I really haven't paid much attention to the J frames.

In the steel frame tensioned barrels were featured in the model 620 and the model 64 and 67 in one specific dash number which I do not remember. These didn't go over very well initially because there were some failures of the barrel tube fracturing at the cap and some very vocal members thought they were a cost cutting measure. More recently some have come to realize just how freakishly accurate these tensioned barrels can be in a steel frame and one day I expect they'll become collectable.

I've also seen reports that some of the 500 Magnum and 460 Magnums feature tensioned barrels, I suspect that this is limited to the longer barrel lengths that feature a removeable compensator.

Finally, a while back I saw a post about S&W producing a very small batch of 686 frames that were adapted to use the Dan Wesson tensioned barrels and shrouds.

Frankly, I've always felt that S&W made a mistake in letting Dan Wesson leave the company, he had some very innovative ideas and was the founders grandson. They should have also purchased the Dan Wesson rights when they became available. Forty years later they keep tip toeing around the ideas he produced and IMO it's well past the time when Dan Wesson was brought back into the "family". BTW, CZ USA does a fine job with the Dan Wesson line and they have reintroduced the 715 but a Czech company making a Wesson revolver just seems "wrong". In addition I would just LOVE to have a Pistol Pak based on my 620.

[Groo01]

Groo here
I have a TRR8 and can say that if you miss it is Your falt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Standard load is the 125 gr hp flamethrowers and I let dad
hunt with it using 180 gr cast..
As to kick I find that it is much less than I expected and
the weight to be about right....

[Walker45]

I love mine, worth every cent I paid for it.

[JCS&W]

I am an old fart and I want a R8, but have not pulled the trigger on buying one yet. I like the look. Yeah, it is different, but you have to admit, it does look good. If I had the $1k sitting around, I would own one. Alas, I do not have $1K just sitting around.

[Palmetto Sharpshooter]

Why couldn't they make this in a four inch?

[stevieboy]

You know, we live in the age of the $2500 1911. I never cease to be amazed that people will pay that much for a handgun and yet, they do. With that fact in mind, paying a grand for a state of the art, top of the line .357 magnum revolver, doesn't strike me in the least as being exhorbitant.

I've read nothing but good reports about this gun. The accuracy that it produces is simply stunning, probably better than any other production revolver on the planet, with the possible exception of an $1800 Freedom Arms single action.

Lastly, I wouldn't be worried too much about recoil. With .357s the grips are everything. Use the right ones and most or all of the recoil will be felt in the shoulders and not in the hands. The Hogue rubbers on that gun look to be perfectly adequate at absorbing recoil.

[Kanewpadle]

I had an M&P R8 357. Loved the gold bead front sight and the rear V notch sight.

But, the trigger absolutely stunk for a PC gun. Maybe I had a lemon. Maybe not. SA was great. But DA wasn't.

Really surprised me too because the gun cost so much.

One of the most accurate revolvers I ever shot.

[scooter123]

IMO S&W has moved to a heavy DA trigger due to liability concerns. Fact is that it's pretty difficult for a young child to pull a 12 lbs. trigger and some adults find them tough to pull. It also makes an inadverdant AD pretty unlikely but I am sure that there are Darwin candidates who'll manage it.

Good news is the triggers on the new guns are VERY easy to tune. Despite all the complaints about MIM and poor quality recently every single N frame I've handled recently has had a very smooth trigger even when it was very heavy. With the right tools, spings and a new firing pin getting a reliable 8 lbs. DA trigger is less than 15 minutes of work.