back in the 80s when MS shooting was very popular, I participated in the hobby for a while and loved it. I bought a Super Blackhawk with a 10.5 in barrel. I did well with it, but others I shot with had the 29s in this barrel length, so of course there was frequent "hey, try this out" back and forth, you shoot mine, I shoot yours kind of stuff. It was then that I first noticed the differences in the hammer arc/throw between the 2 guns and actions. That long arc of the Ruger would actually cause a very slight rise of the whole gun while it traveled forward to strike the transfer bar, at least in my hand it would, something I could clearly see as I looked down the sights. The "Smith with its shorter arc didn't rise like that. It wasn't enough to cause an outright miss usually, but it was enough when firing on paper targets as I found out.
Before I discovered this I was a Ruger-only kind of person, and didn't have much nice to say about 'Smiths ( and I knew all about them, not owning any
) . In those days I didn't bother to look past the "its stronger" argument, and this difference between the 2 revolvers is what finally opened my eyes to what a 'Smith had to offer for me. At first it was a reluctant admission, that I could shoot a tighter group with the 29, but I came around and it wasn't long before I bought my first S&W revolvers.
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