Originally posted by animalmother:
There are some pics of the new S&Ws coming out in 2009. All you 327 Federal fans will be happy.
http://www.gunblast.com/SHOT_2009_3.htm
I'm not happy! We patiently wait for years for some model/caliber, then finally S&W comes out with it, BUT it looks weird, with an extra long barrel, or a set-back front sight, or a funny looking ejector shroud, or holes at the top of the barrel!
What they should do with a new caliber or reintroduced caliber, is come out with a NORMAL looking gun first, that is a proven style and proven seller. If that works well, THEN come out with a radical style later. However, if that first one is radical, they will soon discontinue it, and blame the caliber for poor sales, rather than the style of the gun. (Mod. 657 with full rib long barrel only, ditto non-classic for Mod.16-4, Mod.627, and now the .327 Fed.
People who missed getting a K32 (Mod.16) would love a .32 Mag or .327 Mag that looks just like the original K32, or a Mod.627 that looks like the classic Mod.27, or a small .327 Fed just like the J-frame 631. The big disaster was the Mod.647 in .17 HMR, available only in a full ribbed 8 3/8 inch barrel. I suppose that was to tame the HUGE recoil generated by a .17 caliber rimfire cartridge. It should have been a 4 or 6-inch normal J or K frame. The caliber was blamed for discontinuance in less than 2 years.
I have a Ruger medium frame revolver that shoots dual cylinder .17 HMR and .17 Mach2 (custom). Both are accurate and reliable. S&W did it right in the 1980's when they reintroduced the Mod.24 and came out for the first time with a stainless version Mod. 624. Both of them were faithful to the original style. (But a little lower in quality)