I’d like to thank the folks that gave me recommendations on my recent purchases of a 686 4” no dash, and 629-1 6”. Now I’m in the market for snub nose revolvers and would like your advice.

The first question relates to the S&W .357 offerings. I’m looking at the 627PC 2.625” (item #170133) and the 686PC 2.5” (item #170346). Both are priced about the same and the only difference I can see is the 627 holds 1 more round. This revolver will be a birthday gift for my wife so she will have her own house gun. Note: she will not be carrying it. Which is the better of these two revolvers and are there any known issues with either?

The second snub nose I’m looking at is a 629PC 2.625” (item #170135). This one will be for me. As far as use, I just want a .44 magnum snub nose. Are there any know issues with this revolver? What can I expect with regard to recoil; big difference between the 2.5” and 6” 629s?

Lastly, are there any other .357 or .44 snub nose revolvers that I should be looking at instead of the ones mentioned above?

I have a Lew Horton 629, round butt 3" 44 magnums. It's a flame thrower. Recoil is brutal.

The model 19 was/is a great 357 magnum. Had one in 2 and a half inch. Sorry I ever sold it.

I bought a S&W M&P 340 (No internal lock) two weeks ago. I'm really liking it. You might want to check one out.

You might take a look at the Ruger Alaskan. I love mine and the recoil is very manageable.

I have a 627PC and like it a lot.

Too heavy to carry.

Having 8 shots is nice.

No problems or "issues" with mine.

I got it to shoot for fun, but it would be a good HD gun.

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Well, you have a N-Frame, and a L-frame. So, if you desire something different, you could try and find a K-frame. A 19 or 66 with a 2.5" barrel should fit the bill nicely.

Or, if you want something "small" for carry a 640 or M&P340 are worth a look. Magnum Js do "talk back"(especially the Scandium frames) but, I
like 'em.

The 629PC would be an interesting 44 Magnum choice. (that is still in production) I just thought a would mention a few that you didn't.

The real difference here is frame size. The 627 will be the same size as your 629, except with a shorter barrel; The 686 will be the same as your, well ummm, 686 except it has a shorter barrel. If the gun is going to be for her, I suggest letting her handle the 2 guns you have now and see which she likes better. Of course your 2 guns have square butts and both of the ones considered have round butts, so thats going to change the feeling all together.

As far as function goes, they are both great guns. The only advantage is one holds one more round. Most home defense situations do get past a couple of rounds being fired anyway.

I would second the suggestion to look at a K frame. Your not going to find any K frame 357 snubs in S&Ws current line up. I would suggest looking for a used model 66 if something smaller is desired.

You can sit here and take our opinions all day, but our opinions mean squat if the gun doesnt "fit" your wife.

Better you than me. Those calibers mentioned belong in something 3" or longer in barrel length.

I would be careful about expecting a female shooter to like an N-frame trigger reach and heft.

You are using a formula that often results in the guns being fed the lesser caliber ammo option. The 357 becomes a 38 and the 44 Magnum becomes a 44 Special. There just isn't enough mass and barrel leverage there to manage the force of those magnums.

357 or any magnum is not a good choice for a house gun, situations in which will not usually provide for hearing protection and recovery from flash. A Charter Arms 44 Special Bulldog would be a better choice in my opinion...not expensive, overly loud, flashy, awkward to handle...big enough caliber and good enough performance in the gun to handle most threats. I have higher grade 44 Specials, but the Bulldog should get it done.

I'm not a fan of the lightweight J-frame revolvers, but the steel frame Model 36 and Model 60 revolvers are very nice, balancing size, weight and capability.

.357 Mag ammo is a bit much in a Model 60, but then again if it's also a bit much for your wife in a K or L frame snub nose with the result that she'd shoot .38 +P loads anyway, then she would be better served with a Model 36 or Model 60 that she'd also be able to easily conceal carry if she decided to do that later.

Both pistols are also nicely sized for smaller hands, and with something like a Houge Monogrip they are pleasant to shoot with .38 Special and .38 +P loads, and .357 Magnum loads are even tolerable in small doses in a Model 60.

+1 on the bulldog. I have a new vintage three inch and I really like it. I carry it with pachmayr presentation grips which really make it a good shooter.

I had bought an ATI Titan LW 45acp to replace the bulldog because the bulldogs original wood grips were just brutal but the bulldog had a nice heavy trigger pull and a simple manual of arms that I like much better than the 1911 or polymer platforms.

Plus like the previous poster said, 44 special is a lower pressure round better for indoors or low light and makes a nice hole. I figure a 44 gold dot hollow point is going to edge out a 38 pdx hollow point.

Finally build quality on the charter arms is acceptable to good these days, customer service is also good from what I read and the price is right. Finally the bulldog frame fits my medium sized hand - the L frame doesn't.

If you could find a good priced 696, you would have a nice collector's piece that would make an excellent house gun. 5 shots of 44 special out of a 3" barrel.

Don't buy anything until your wife says she likes it! Can she actually handle the recoil and weight of a .357 and an N Frame? Can she hit anything with a 3" barreled handgun? A center mass hit with a 38 +P trumps 8 misses with .357 or 44Mag. The gun needs to be what she is comfortable with and she can hit with. Take her to a range that has rentals and let her try them all before making your mind up.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Whether you get a Bulldog, a snubby .38 Spl, or an N frame, GRIPS are extremely important, and what you like or what most forum members like means almost or exactly nothing as far as being suitable for or even usable by your wife. She needs to try out grips herself, best at the range, or at least at your LGS. There is at least some chance that the stock Bulldog grips will be the best choice for that gun. On the J frames, try Pachmayrs first. On the N frames, try thinking about a J frame.

JMO. YMMV, but probably not by much.

My feelings might run contrary to the masses but here goes.

This will be a gun to be carried more than shot so weight is a negative where weight in a gun that will be shot a lot is a plus in terms of recoil mitigation. I think the best all-around revolver compromise for weight, grip size and caliber flexibility is a K-frame - the Model 19 and especially the Model 66, given it being less conductive to corrosion. Model 686s are just too heavy in my opinion and the smaller frame sizes can be harder to control.

Next, a .38 Special will actually fill the bill nicely as that short barrel is going to prohibit a .357 Magnum cartridge from doing very much more than a .38 Special round in the same gun except produce a more blinding muzzle flash. As at_liberty said, magnum ammo is really neutered by short barrels.

A .44 Magnum for a self-defense round? Really? I'm assuming every wall of your home is poured concrete so no bullets that miss or go through-and-through your intended target can escape the room in which they are fired. Of course, you then would literally have bullets bouncing off the walls and if you shot at someone in a populated environment with one, imagine all the incidental death and destruction that could result. Accordingly, maybe you ought to rethink hot loads for that purpose altogether. Think about .38 Special full wadcutter target loads, for example - nice controllable rounds that make full-caliber holes with little worry about one going though your intended target and into your neighbor's window. My personal choice in a handgun round would be 185-grain hollow-points fired from a 1911 in .45ACP - seven or eight rounds that are big, slow and deadly.

Myself, if I kept a loaded gun in my home, it would be short-barreled shotgun.

Ed

Snub-nosed revolvers for a "house gun" aren't a bad idea since they reduce the leverage someone can get if they grab the barrel. That said, no one should get that close without getting shot. If concealed carry isn't on tap, no reason why she couldn't use a full-size revolver.

My wife's "house" (and carry) gun is a local police surplus 4 inch S&W Model 681 with Crimson Trace laser grip loaded with Remington 125 grain .38 Special +P SJHP ammo.

Let your wife choose her "house gun."

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CPT, Armor (Ret)
Luke 22:36

I too would suggest something full size. The magnum ammo does pack a punch, but loses a lot in short barrels, and the flash can be a deterrent to use in the dark. In reality, while the added power of a magnum cartridge is welcome, if you can't make a second shot because you're blinded by the muzzle flash, then you would be better served with something less powerful.

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1st smiles,lies.Last,gunfire.

Solid advice from a knowledgeable shooter. Feel of the gun at the counter of a LGS can mean little or nothing. The Mark V Colt .357 snub had a beautiful-feeling grip... until I fired the gun. Brutal. As bad as a Scandium snub, even though it weighed 3x more. She should try as many variations as possible before taking the plunge.

Kaaskop49
Shield #5103

+1 on the concerns about the blinding flash and hearing loss you may get from a magnum load fired inside a house. A 38 Special load will be bad enough, and while a 357 will give SOME additional punch, the incremental improvement you'll see with a snubby barrel probably won't be worth the degraded "shooting experience" it will bring.

On another point, I'll strongly recommend that you ALWAYS let the woman choose her own weapon, ideally from the full range of those available. Now if she goes shooting with you, tries one of yours and announces "this one is mine," as has been known to happen, well that's one thing. But if you take her to a rental range and let her try all frame sizes (and some different grips, if that's an option on the rental board) there's a VERY good chance she will pick something other than the model you go in thinking she ought to have. She may still decide within a year that she doesn't like the gun she's got, but at least it won't be your fault that she picked the wrong one.

+a lot on that. One of my friend's husband "insisted" on picking out a gun for her. She didn't like it. He picked out another gun for her, she hate One of my friends husband "insisted" on picking out a gun for her. She didn't like it. He picked out another gun for her, she hated it. Finally, he broke the code, and she bought the gun that she wanted.

I went with another friend to a gun store so that she could pick out a gun for herself. She handled a lot of guns, shot a few of them, and came away with a Model 60 (3 inch) for herself.

Let her pick her own gun.............

some S&Ws she might want to look at/ handle/ shoot....

3 or 4 inch 64(.38) or 65(.357)

2 1/2 or 4 inch 19 or 66 (.357/38)

2 or 4 inch 15 or 67 (.38)

3 inch 36 or 60 (most are .38 some are .357/38)

2 or 4 inch model 10 (.38)

My wife's "house" guns are a 4" 15 and a 2" Model 10-5 round butt.

WELCOME TO THE FORUM. GLAD THAT YOU ARE HAPPY WITH YOUR PURCHASES, SO FAR…..

YES, THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN BLAST AND FELT RECOIL BETWEEN A 3" AND A 6" MODEL 629……

I WOULD STAY AWAY FROM AN N FRAME REVOLVER FOR YOUR WIFE FOR HOME DEFENSE. THEY ARE JUST TOO BIG FOR THE AVERAGE WOMAN……

A REASONABLE ALTERNATIVE WOULD BE THE L FRAME, 2 1/2" M686+. I WOULD STUFF IT WITH 7 ROUNDS OF SPEER GOLD DOT, .38 SPL+P, 135 GR, BONDED, JSWCHP, WHICH IS DESIGNED FOR SHORT BARRELS, AND FEATURES LOW FLASH POWDER. ITS THE MOST EFFECTIVE .38 SPL LOAD, IN BALLISTICS TESTS, AND HAS BEEN CARRIED BY THE NYPD FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS WITH EXCELLENT RESULTS. THE RECOIL IS MANAGEABLE, AND THE SPEER LAWMAN, .38SPL, 135GR TMJ IS DESIGNED AS A TARGET / TRAINING LOAD FOR LEOS WHO CARRY THE GOLD DOTS……

BELOW IS MY 686+ WEARING MAGNA PC (PLAIN CLOTHES) STOCKS, WITH A TYLER-T ADAPTER. ITS AN EXCELLENT SHOOTER, AND VERY CONTROLLABLE. THE OTHER THING YOU SHOULD CONSIDER IS A SET OF CRIMSON TRACE LASER GRIPS, WHICH ARE AN EXCELLENT ADDITION TO ANY SD/HD WEAPON. THEY COVER THE BACKSTRAP, AND DAMPEN RECOIL. MASSAD AYOOB PUT ME ONTO THEM IN A TRAINING SESSION, ABOUT 20 YEARS AGO. HE HAD THEM ON HIS J FRAME, AND I HAVE BEEN USING THEM ON MINE, EVER SINCE. BELOW IS MY 642-1, WEARING CT LG-405s. THE BACKSTRAP AREA HAS AN AIR CHAMBER MOLDED IN, WHIC DAMPENS RECOIL…..

MOST IMPORTANTLY, LET HER HAVE THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF INPUT INTO PICKING OUT HER OWN REVOLVER. JUST TRY TO LAY OUT THE PROS AND CONS FOR HER. IF THERE IS A PUBLIC RANGE THAT RENTS GUNS, LET HER TRY OUT ANYTHING THAT SHE THINKS SHE MIGHT LIKE…..

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Snubs are for carry. I still don't "get" magnum snubs. I hike in the Washington Cascades and have never carried an auto or revolver with a barrel length less than 4". To each their own.

House gun should be as big as strength and training will allow. By big I don't mean Desert Eagle, I mean grip size and barrel length. A woman with small hands probably won't like a Glock 21 but may like a 1911 with slim grip panels.

Big, low penetration projectiles unless there is zero consideration of penetrating walls (in the country, no one else in the house).

If you must go snub, why not a .44Spl or .45ACP loaded with either "flying ashtray" style HPs or Glasers? A big tritium front with a flashlight in the off hand.

My main "house gun" is a Glock 34 with Trijicons and a light, with a flashlight handy for the non shooting hand. I have a wife and small children and live in the 'burbs, nearest house is less than 100ft away. If it just had to be a wheelgun I currently own I'd go with the 686+ 6" loaded light for my wife.

FWIW, my own experience teaching the basics of handgun shooting to a few women, none of whom had ever fired a handgun before, is that they have a tendency to want to wrap their non-shooting thumb over the top of their shooting hand. I've always managed to stop the shot before they can learn how much energy a recoiling slide carries, and I assume that with enough training that (apparently basic) urge would disappear. But I operate on the assumption that they WON'T train much on their own. So I have a general concern that in a pressure situation with an autoloader they might revert to instinct, and end up with a jammed gun and an injured hand that wouldn't be in the best shape to clear the jam and get the gun back into operation.

That's one of the reasons I usually recommend a revolver for a new shooter. I DON'T see much instinct to wrap the off hand around the front of the cylinder, so the risk of a barrel/cylinder gap burn isn't very high. And even if it happened, the shot would still fire, and the next shot would be just a trigger pull away.

That said, I'll admit that my own bedside gun is a Glock 19 with Meprolights. I've been shooting autoloaders for over a half century, am comfortable with their manual of arms, and have absolute confidence in the Glock going bang every time. But the gun closest to my wife, should she need/want to grab one, is a 2" Model 64 filled with the 158g FBI load.

A 2-3" barrel on a caliber with a high amount of muzzle flash and noise? Someone didn't think this out.

I would choose my 6" 686 over my 2.25" SP101 any day if I had to choose one for home defense. That 4" is not going to make a difference in maneuvering houses, and conceal-ability is not a concern here.

Then again I use a 12 gauge for home defense

Now that's funny - when saw that the OP wants a 44 magnum snubby I laughed out loud. I had one - to me it's like the proverbial boat -my happiest day was when I got it - followed by the day I got rid of it

There's a reason the Model 36 and Model 60 have been very popular over the last 50 years - and there's a reason I suggested the Model 60 in my post above. The steel J frames have not been replaced by the lighter alloy frame variants of the J-frame revolvers over the last couple decades and they are not going to disappear anytime soon because they do in fact offer a nice balance of size, weight, ergonomics and ability to be shot comfortably.

I love em, to me it's the perfect gun. I wouldn't give one to my wife for home or personal defense though. She carries a model 60 (or a Glock 42) but she also likes the k/l frames. The Ns are too big for her grip though. If I was the OP, out of those choices, I'd get her the 686PC and put Hogue bantams on it.

Why bantam grips ? In my opinion, that last finger on the grip makes the gun FAR more easy to control for someone with smaller/weaker hands.....

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1st smiles,lies.Last,gunfire.

K/L frame Hogue bantam rubber grips do have the pinky included.

I must have been looking in the J frame section, my apologies !

__________________
1st smiles,lies.Last,gunfire.

There is stuff missing from this post/question.

Is your wife an experienced shooter?
Is your wife small, average or what (i.e. can her hands/wrists handle the recoil of a .357 Magnum in a snubby? The recoil can be devastating for smaller-framed people!)

Can her hands wrap around an S&W revolver, and can her finger comfortably reach the trigger?

ITEM #2: Run, don't walk, from a .44 Mag snubbie. You don't get the energy and velocity one should get from that round out of a short barrel.
It's a flame thrower and ear drum punisher, and the muzzle flash under low light can temporarily blind you. I wouldn't even bother with anything less than a 3- or 4-inch barrel on a gun for that cartridge.

model 60, the best of both worlds

Oops! I missed the "wife part." Yeah, take her shopping, let her select the firearm that she likes. If she is inexperienced, get her some training to go with it.

A 3" model 60 might be worth a look, if she likes revolvers.

Women seem to like the M60 with a 3 inch barrel for a home gun. The smaller frame and shorter trigger reach usually are a better fit. They are my daughters favorite revolver.
I like them myself. I carry with the Speer 135 gr SB ammo. Plus P or the "light" magnum version. Plenty of grip choices. The wood grips that come on the Pro model are very nice, and should fit a lot of hands, since they don't have finger groves. The Pro model is lighter than the standard version. It weights about the same as the 2 inch version. I prefer the heavier barrel on the non Pro gun. There used to be a 5 inch model, which would be a good choice for someone with small hands but wanting a heavier gun for shoot ability.

Best,
Rick

As a granny, I am a huge fan of the 686PC with the Bantam grips for concealed carry. It comes with beautiful wood grips but the Hogue tames the recoil great. I carry it very comfortably in a pancake holster or carry purse. Carry load is 125gr .357 and very manageable. For four legged threat potential I switch to 180gr hardcast. Plus I am a little faster reloading with moonclips than speedloaders.
But for home defense I keep a 16+1 9mm pistol mounted with a tactical light on the nightstand and a 12ga pump with 6 rounds of #4 buck next to it.
The 686PC could do it all but I would have to handhold a flashlight, which I practice for, but its not optimal.

Thanks to everyone for the really great input. That's exactly what I was looking for and am now rethinking what to do.

As far as a .44 magnum, I am no longer looking for a short barrel revolver but, instead, will be in search of a 629 prelock 4". After actually shooting my 629-1 6", I can see that a 2.5" .44 magnum would end up sitting in the safe most of the time.

As far as me getting a gun for my wife, I am listening to what most folks suggested and will be letting her pick what she wants not what I think she should get (but I'm sure we will have some discussions). We'll sit down and go thru what I already own to get an idea of her likes and dislikes to narrow down the field, get her out to the range with different calibers to see what she is comfortable with, and finally visit local gun shops to let her make her final selection.

My mom likes my 686+ 3" with a 3 finger wood grip in the same basic styling as the Hogue Bantam 3 finger grip, not the boot grip. The 3" give you the full length ejector. For HD duties, 38+p are easy, downloaded 357's (Speer Gold Dot short barrel 135, Rem Golder Saber, Win PDX, etc) are a fun. I've run some full 125gr magnums (1400 FPS range) thru it, but some may not like that! I have a 327PC snubby with the Ahrends grips and my mom can shoot that well (slim grips seem to let her get on the trigger like she can with my 686+.) Let her try some out and choose. 38+P is a good round for HD with out a ton of blast from the short barrels.