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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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Old 01-28-2013, 04:39 PM
Rsolti13 Rsolti13 is offline
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Stating up front, been primarily a SA shooter for the past couple of years. Recently been shooting revolvers (Ruger GP100 & SP101) and have enjoyed it so much I now CC them more than my SA pistols. I far more enjoy shooting my GP100 than anything else I own.

That brings me to the S&W forum.....I come to the S&W classified section here and I see hundreds of different models of revolvers. Is there a basic breakdown of the differences in the hundreds of models out there? I see the front page has 13, 13-1, 19, 19-2, 25, 27, 66, 627, etc....my head is spinning opening each thread . That being said, it is making me that much more excited getting a couple of S&W revolvers. The 627 really appeals to me, like the idea of 8 rounds for a ccw. I have almost sold myself on at least that one. But what are the differences in the 13-1, 27-2 and 66-1 that spreads the prices out so much? Any S&W bible I should be looking at? Basically, I am looking for a .357 ccw and maybe another .357 for range & trail. Looks count in my opinion...and some of them I see (627/27/66) are just gorgeous

Last edited by Rsolti13; 01-28-2013 at 05:16 PM.
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Old 01-28-2013, 04:41 PM
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Definitely get this book (7+ years old but still the standard):

Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson (Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson): Jim Supica, Richard Nahas: 9780896892934: Amazon.com: Books

And you'll learn a lot from the many posts here.
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Old 01-28-2013, 06:58 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rsolti13 View Post
Stating up front, been primarily a SA shooter for the past couple of years. Recently been shooting revolvers (Ruger GP100 & SP101) and have enjoyed it so much I now CC them more than my SA pistols. I far more enjoy shooting my GP100 than anything else I own.

That brings me to the S&W forum.....I come to the S&W classified section here and I see hundreds of different models of revolvers. Is there a basic breakdown of the differences in the hundreds of models out there? I see the front page has 13, 13-1, 19, 19-2, 25, 27, 66, 627, etc....my head is spinning opening each thread . That being said, it is making me that much more excited getting a couple of S&W revolvers. The 627 really appeals to me, like the idea of 8 rounds for a ccw. I have almost sold myself on at least that one. But what are the differences in the 13-1, 27-2 and 66-1 that spreads the prices out so much? Any S&W bible I should be looking at? Basically, I am looking for a .357 ccw and maybe another .357 for range & trail. Looks count in my opinion...and some of them I see (627/27/66) are just gorgeous

Welcome to the forum, sir. I would second the suggestion that you get a copy of SCSW as mentioned. The book will familiarize you with the bewildering array of S&W's products.

Here's a little introduction which might help: Most Smith revolvers you'll run across come in one of the following frame sizes, from smallest to largest: J,K,L,N,X. Of the guns you mentioned, the 25, 27, and 627 are N-frame guns, the next-to-largest frame size. They are hefty guns. The rest you mentioned are K-frames. These probably fit most hands better than any of the others.

As you might expect, there is much more to it. Enjoy your search and research.

Andy
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Old 01-28-2013, 07:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rsolti13 View Post
Stating up front, been primarily a SA shooter for the past couple of years. Recently been shooting revolvers (Ruger GP100 & SP101) and have enjoyed it so much I now CC them more than my SA pistols. I far more enjoy shooting my GP100 than anything else I own.

That brings me to the S&W forum.....I come to the S&W classified section here and I see hundreds of different models of revolvers. Is there a basic breakdown of the differences in the hundreds of models out there? I see the front page has 13, 13-1, 19, 19-2, 25, 27, 66, 627, etc....my head is spinning opening each thread . That being said, it is making me that much more excited getting a couple of S&W revolvers. The 627 really appeals to me, like the idea of 8 rounds for a ccw. I have almost sold myself on at least that one. But what are the differences in the 13-1, 27-2 and 66-1 that spreads the prices out so much? Any S&W bible I should be looking at? Basically, I am looking for a .357 ccw and maybe another .357 for range & trail. Looks count in my opinion...and some of them I see (627/27/66) are just gorgeous
I agree with the others in getting the catalog.
Spend lotsa time reading the forum, a lot of really good info here.
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Old 01-28-2013, 07:30 PM
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Try here for a start.

How to Identify/Date a S&W
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Old 01-28-2013, 08:09 PM
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I admit... when I started down the S&W road, I had to keep another browser window open to the Wikipedia for a quick reference. The SCSW is still the best resource for keep all the models straight.
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Old 01-28-2013, 09:00 PM
Rsolti13 Rsolti13 is offline
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Originally Posted by murphydog View Post
Definitely get this book (7+ years old but still the standard):

Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson (Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson): Jim Supica, Richard Nahas: 9780896892934: Amazon.com: Books

And you'll learn a lot from the many posts here.
Thanks guys! Book ordered
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Old 01-28-2013, 09:04 PM
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While I'm sure the S&W bible is great the wiki link is more than enough info for the vast majority of S&W fans.

As for the differences in dash #s I wouldn't bother, either, except when checking price. Google can help you there, too.
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Old 01-28-2013, 09:08 PM
Hillbilly77 Hillbilly77 is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Rsolti13 View Post
Thanks guys! Book ordered
You won't be sorry for getting "The Book".

Also, take it from another Ruger fan (I'm wearing my SP101 on my hip right now) - if you like Rugers, you're also gonna like S&W revolvers.
An L-frame like a 586 or a 686 is the same size as the GP100.
The 66 & 19, etc. are slightly smaller K-frames.

No matter what you like, there is a Smith to suit your taste.

Last edited by Hillbilly77; 03-27-2017 at 10:30 AM.
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Old 01-29-2013, 06:36 PM
FloridaFlier FloridaFlier is offline
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The "-" dash indicates a major change in model design. It might indicate, for example, when S&W added the internal lock, or changed the trigger to molded vs cut from barstock. Purists are very specific on what they want.
My suggestion is to decide on a caliber, then cylinder capacity and a barrel length, then if you want to, you can further refine your search to specific variants within a model, but you may not need to, if you are looking for a shooter, rather than an investment.
You will end up, as all of us have, realizing that you can't get by with just one; several would make you so much happier.
Then you're hooked.
Enjoy the search.
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Old 01-30-2013, 02:13 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Iggy View Post
Try here for a start.

How to Identify/Date a S&W

Iggy, that's a pretty good post but I think it's misleading when he says that sometimes the serial number is in the crane area. That give the impression that if there's a number there (besides the model number), then that's the serial. As you (and most others here) know that is usually NOT the case. Until recently those were usually numbers used only within the factory for assembly and have no meaning otherwise. It's only in the last decade or two that S&W started putting the serial number there.

The only way to be sure is to look at the number on the bottom of the grip frame. That is always the actual serial number.
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