I have a 642 and find myself carrying it more than my G26. I'd like to add something with a little longer barrel and looking at the Model 60 variants. J-frames fit my hand better than L-frames and I've decided to stay in the small-frame family.

There are a few distinguishing features but on paper they are pretty much identical. I don't care much about looks, but would appreciate any input regarding any pro's and con's between the two for carry purposes. Any differences in finding alternate sights, action differences, trigger, etc?

Thanks all!

Love my Chief's Special model 60 Pro
But it is not my only 3" J-frame. I also have a Chief's Special Target model 36
Not to mention a 3" Chief's Special Carry Comp model 60
Plus a standard 3" Model 60 Chiefs Special
What kind of alternate sights are you thinking of? It never occurred to me to change what the Factory put there.

Once they are broken in, the actions are virtually identical. There is no difference in the lockwork between the models.

The truth is I usually carry a 2" on my ankle or in the front pocket of my 5.11 Covert Khakis

your post says model 60 pro vs chief special. by chief special are you taking about the fixed sight 2.125in barrel 60?
I have the 60-14 and the 60-15 pro. I carry the 60-14 at work because I put smaller grips on it and the pro everywhere else.
love them both. the pro trigger is WAY better. I do like the satin finish on the pro vs the shiny on the 60-14.
I had my daughter sighting in her shot gun for deer hunting at 25 yards the other day and I was easily hitting the paper plate with the 60-14. I think snubs are a lot more accurate then folks give them credit for.

I don't think anyone makes a replacement rear sight for the J-frame. There are some nice ones for the larger frames. But I think you can get a Hi-Vis style rear blade and front blade from S&W that will fit a J-frame that has factory adjustable (TARGET) sights. Just the blades.

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

Those are really nice!

Sawlog - I'm looking at catalog #162430 with 3" barrel and then the Pro #178013.

colt_saa - not sure I want to change them; mentioned sights as an example.

I'm currently waiting in a long line to have a Bowens Arms adjustable rear sight installed on my 642 by Cylinder & Slide. Will require a taller front sight as well. Not sure it's necessary but has become a bit of a project so we'll see how it turns out.

Pick the one that is meant for the ammo you will shoot. If I follow correctly, one is 357 and the other is 38. I own all three, the Pro being recent and the 60-10 and 36-1 being pre lock. All are exceptionally accurate. Both model 60s are brutal with full house 357 ammo. The 60 Pro will lead like crazy as 357 Magnum. My 36-1 in flawless nickel is an exceptional gun for a 38.

Just don't be surprised if you find this barrel length is not for pocket carry.

The sights on the Pro don't glow, the same complaint as from many other people. I didn't pursue a solution to that problem.

I installed a Hogue nylon monogrip on the 60 Pro and put the pretty wood grips on a tamer gun, the 36-1. Fantastic look with the nickel finish gun.

Other than a novelty, I never understood the logic of putting a longer barrel on a 60, kinda defeats the purpose of having a small gun, and the samples above have adjustable sights. If I carry a larger gun, it better have more bullets. It's like putting a 4 cylinder engine in an F250.

The strengths of the j-frame/snub(especially the centennial models) are their lightweight, small size, efficient and easy pocket carry, quick deployment and handling and most important to me, their ECQ advantages. They are close-quarter self-defense weapons, not range or target guns. If you start putting larger sights or longer barrels on them trying to make them something they are not, you compromise their specific advantages for no real practical gain in the context of personal defense.

Personally, I think a J-Frame with a 3" barrel is one of the perfect guns on the planet. Simple to operate, accurate, very well balanced, and somewhat concealable.
The Pro Series guns start life in the Performance Center, then go to the assembly dept, and finally back to the performance Center for a final check. The Pro Series should have a better trigger as well as the obvious visual differences over a regular Mod. 60.

The 3" seems to be the sweet spot for me, allowing me to shoot way better than I do with a couple shorter barrel 38s. The 3" is a belt carry gun in my estimation, especially with adjustable sights and hammer spur to get caught in any pocket concealment.

I see your logic and I think that barrel lengths approaching five inches is a little much, but I also appreciated the Colt Diamondback for its size, which came in barrel lengths all the way out to six inches. The D-Frame Colt fit hands that weren't quite large enough for a K-frame S&W. It gave a person with small hands the option of having a versitle revolver. I think that adding the options of adjustable sights and different barrel lengths give some people a better handling small revolver not plagued by some of the shortcomings of a J-frame snubby.

I agree -- like 3" also.

Also the full length extractor is nice.

I have a M60 standard (non pro) version.

I think triggers are somewhat the luck of the draw. My M60 has the best J frame trigger I've got.

On the other hand, I bought a new M642 a couple of years ago and it has the heaviest trigger I've even found on a J frame. Can't hit a barn from inside with it.

I realized my 60 Pro hadn't been to the range for a while so I shot it a couple days ago. The other gun I was shooting was my 686+ also with a 3 inch barrel wearing the stock rubber grips. The 60 Pro was wearing some sharply checked wood boot grips. The target was 25 yards and I was shooting Lawman 158 grain 38 special ammo. This ammo is not +P but I think it is on the hotter end of standard 38 special ammo.

The week before I did the same comparo shoot between the 3 inch 686+ and my 3 inch 66-6 F Comp. The F Comp was wearing Pachmayr Grippers. So I compared 3 inch J, K, L frames recently at 25 yards. I don't think you will be surprised that the K and L frame guns were about neck and neck in regards to accuracy. Both guns were completely comfortable to shoot. Shooting the J frame with the minimal wood boot grips that are sharply checkered was more challenging. I remember having to pause when shooting one handed lefty. The 60 Pro sights were fine but the grips are too small for my average size hands. Not counting flyers I would characterize the results as a 12 inch group for the 60 Pro and 6 inch groups for the 686+ and 66 F Comp. At 25 yards I think that is acceptable for 3 inch barreled guns free standing DA. A while ago, I shot the 60 Pro with some Pachmayr J frame Grippers and I think the results were similar. After shooting the 60 Pro, I thought it would be interesting if I could shoot a 4 or 5 inch version of the 60. I believe there were some versions made in the past with the longer barrels. I would like to shoot one of those.

I checked the night sight on my 60 Pro by taking it into a completely dark room and sure enough you can see the glow. If you like the looks of the flat sided satin finished 60 Pro than I would recommend it. I think there is a 3 inch 60 with round barrel and standard finish available currently too. I think it might be a little easier to keep clean but it doesn't have the night sight. If you want a J frame for concealed carry, IMHO you would be better served with a Centennial model or the older Bodyguard which have concealed or shrouded hammers that won't snag. I don't think any 3 inch versions are currently made though.

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Accuracy supercedes Speed

I've never shot a longer barrel J frame, but I suppose it fills a need. My experience with J frames is that while great for cc, the stock triggers are straight from hell. If the Pro is better, it might be worth extra money, but a person can also pay to have a good trigger job done, or do it himself. IIRC, I saw that somebody is installing after market big dot front sights on J frames.

I have a 3" GP-100. I like the GP-100 action better than the SP-101, which would be a better comparison to the J-frame. But, the GP-100 is pretty heavy and a stretch for me to carry IWB. So for me, having a J-frame which fits me better than the L-frames, and is far easier to carry than the GP-100, makes the trade-off of 5 vs. 6 shots worthwhile.

I currently carry the 642 either in my pocket or IWB depending on the pants I'm wearing. My thought with the 3" is that it could still be easily carried IWB, would be another 10 oz heavier to aid in recoil control, and give me a longer sight radius. My plan is to carry the 642 primarily in the pocket, the 3" IWB. That also allows me to select a slightly longer grip for the IWB gun which would have an advantage when acquiring the grip during draw and also during firing. The GP-100 will likely reside in the quick-access safe. I have a few Glocks and really like the platform/family but simple fact is that I find myself carrying a revolver most of the time.

I understand the argument against "a longer J-frame" and if the L-frames fit me better, I would certainly go that direction.

I have thought about switching to a .327 but that adds another caliber and a somewhat expensive one at that. It would give the option of 6 shots.

Like you, I just seem to have an affinity for J Frames. I picked up a 60-15 Pro (3") sometime ago, primarily to use as a range trainer and sometime belt carry. I mostly fire stout 38Spl defense loads in it, that I intend to carry daily in my 642. I find it handles extended range practice a lot better, beyond what I'm comfortable firing out of my 642. The advantage of course, is that it's in the same frame family, with very similar handling and identical trigger characteristics, et. I only practice DA firing so again, it's similar to my 642 in operation. As a added benefit, I do think it's a perfect "Kit" size gun, riding in a small OWB holster. A bit too large, IMO for pocket carry though.

For someone with smaller hands(like me), it'd also serve pretty well on a nite-stand, given the sights. The front site on the 60-15Pro is a tritium, although it's a pretty small one.

FWIW, I also have a Model 63 J Frame, in 22LR that my daughter tries to steal from me all the time. She handles that one easily, and then graduated to my 642 in a heartbeat.

Again, for me, I think there's some benefit in staying within one frame family.

Considering that 90+% of civilian self-defense scenarios occur at contact distances out to a few yards, a longer sight radius is of little value. The longer barrel will also be slightly slower on the draw and would be a liability in a close-quarter situation. If you really want more weight for recoil control, a 640 would be a better option IMO.

And single action is really not as asset in a self-defense pistol and in fact could prove to be a liability in ECQ due to exposed hammer as well as legal implications. I would convert any double-action revolver intended to be used in a defense role to DAO. The notion of having single action capability to make a "precise shot" is contrived and unrealistic. You won't be doing any pistol sniping with a snub revolver as a civilian. Even if you did need a precise shot in some bizarre circumstance, you still really don't need single action....

" A smooth DA pull slowed slightly is as accurate as single action fire, and more positive since grip doesn't shift from thumb-cocking movement. Since the hammer doesn't fall quite as far on most designs, DA also has faster ignition time than SA." - Massad Ayoob

There are other uses besides self-defense. By far, SD is the least frequent usage for any of my firearms, since to date that requirement has been ZERO (thankfully). I do, however shoot for other reasons and I find the longer barrel and adjustable sights to be of great value.

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

This. I find my 60-15 to be my perfect belt gun, whether carrying ccw or hiking afield. The longer, heavier barrel and adjustable sights make shots at game and plinking a pleasure, and make rapid double action shooting at IDPA targets much more doable. I have a number of j-frame kit guns in .22, .22 mag, and .357, and find them all much more capable guns than their 2 inch counterparts when pocket carry is not part of that day's plan. Their ease of shooting accurately comes much closer to k/l frames than to 2 inch j frames IMHO.

Groo here
I also have a 60-Pro.
It is a most perfect kit,hike,and light weight revolver.
The size and weight means you will not leave it in camp.
The sights mean you can hit with it.
The 3 in barrel means magnums will get up and go .[see BBI]
Unlike most, I almost NEVER shoot 38's in it.
Usually full power 125gr to 158's magnum.
I have also put some 180gr "Groo Monster Maullers" in it with
no ill effects.
The trick is to NOT think of the gun as a pocket pistol,
but a light belt gun.
Git grips that are larger and fit your hand.[like any other magnum]
For me that is Pachmayr decelerator . [ can't shoot any S&W wood grip
or similar style, magnum bump on thumb]

I think the OP's question was more specific between the 60 pro (which is a 3") and the 60 3" 'standard'.

Answer: you can't go wrong with either. Get one and like it, and you'll eventually get the other also. If you want to carry it concealed, you might be better served by a 2" - which I would strongly recommend.

I have neither but want both. That said, I have the 36-1 3" and find it incredibly accurate out to 30' or so - we're talking groups within a few inches, especially at 7 yards or less. Also, a 36-1 fits in all the same pocket and IWB holsters because the front sight doesn't catch (if that makes sense).

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But then, what do I know?

Just to make it harder, I walked into my LGS today and they have 642's on sale for $359... Not sure how that looks in other parts of the country but I don't remember seeing a lower price for a couple years in SoCal. I think if I went with another snubbie I would get the 640 Pro but it's a pretty tempting price. Especially since I think S&W still has there rebate for retired/active military which would be another $30 off.