questions on these new classics they're bringing back

[weider1717]

ok I love my 586-2 4" 3.57 mag I bought 6 months or so ago.

I went after a k frame 19 .357 my uncle had that I LOVED well eneded up with this L frame which I found it is a litter better so bought it.

ok s&w has some older guns from yers ago they're putting back out but they don't seem to be exacatly the same. From just looking the grip is a little different...they have a star in the middle of the grip..is this the only change?

are they ever going to do the 586? i may buy one if they do.

is there anything wrong with buying one of these classics if I see one I like or is it better to go after the real deal and find a nice original one in good cond.

just curious about these classics, thanks!

 

[weider1717]

ok I love my 586-2 4" 3.57 mag I bought 6 months or so ago.

I went after a k frame 19 .357 my uncle had that I LOVED well eneded up with this L frame which I found it is a litter better so bought it.

ok s&w has some older guns from yers ago they're putting back out but they don't seem to be exacatly the same. From just looking the grip is a little different...they have a star in the middle of the grip..is this the only change?

are they ever going to do the 586? i may buy one if they do.

is there anything wrong with buying one of these classics if I see one I like or is it better to go after the real deal and find a nice original one in good cond.

just curious about these classics, thanks!

 

[Gunhacker]

The new "classic" are made to look like the originals, but they are difinetly not the same.

First off, they have the internal locks... and then there is the MIM parts. There has been a lot of discussion on the forum about the locks and comparison of mim parts to the older parts. I just bought my first new S&W with those features, I haven't formed an opinion one way or another yet. It's a 432PD with an internal hammer and is DAO. The trigger pull is heavy, but so were my other pre lock/pre min S&W's first out of the box.

S&W stopped making their own grips and now has them made by Hogue and Altamount, that is why they look different now than the ones on the older guns. I think the current target and service style grips look cheap.

Hands down, if you can find an original version for a good price...that is the better choice, the value on them just keeps going up, and why settle for an imitation when you can have the real thing.

 

[BobK]

They just ain't the same!!!!

I still prefer the originals, made the old fashioned way.

Bob

 

[catdad]

I think it's a slap in the face of the original classics, to give the new junk their model numbers.

 

[charles isaac]

To me they just look and feel WRONG.

 

[Wyatt Earp]

You people need to get on with the program.

 

[Poohgyrr]

I like both.

The originals are classics for good reason. They also cannot be made anymore, at least for now anyway.

The new classics have stronger metals, and are not only cheaper then the originals but much easier to find.

I'm keeping both our old family 3 1/2" .357, and the new PC 3 1/2" M27. Both are special.

 

[KJacques]

Originally posted by catdad:
I think it's a slap in the face of the original classics, to give the new junk their model numbers.

LOL! Listening to the crotchety tone on here you'd think this thread was populated by a bunch of grumpy old men who don't just resist change, but want to beat it back with their canes.

Until 1985 I've owned mostly S&W revolvers until I felt the quality was going down so much that I wasn't going to spend another dime with them...and I haven't until I picked up the new M29. I've owned maybe a half dozen or so 29's since '78 both brand new and pre-owned, and quality wise, the new one has it all over the older ones I've had, and I know not everyone of them was a dog. Fit and finish is better, cylinder lock-up is as tight as my old Python, much better than any 29 I've ever owned and the action is crisp and smooth. I don't care for the infernal lock, but I have to admit that it has functioned invisibly with no problems and I would prefer a set of the old style target grips...even though the wood on these new ones are beautiful and they do feel good...and I can use a speed loader without trimming the edges. I can certainly confirm the accuracy hasn't fallen at all. Maybe after 20 years of service I'll be able to tell, but none of the ones I've previously owned made this gun seem any lesser a pistol.

Maybe I just got a good one, but that's the same thing I used to qualify the gun with whether it was good or bad back then. But the last one I had...a 6" not 6.5"...was so bad that I had to send it back for rebluing and it still looked poor. And the pistol was sloppy feeling. There's always something you can condemn about anything and the way it's done today, but you cut yourself off from ever experiencing the good. It's only my opinion, and that's all that matters to me, and maybe I tend towards looking towards the positives, but it sure does make me happy seeing a very high quality modern version of an old favorite lying in that velvet lined mahogany display case. Fortunately for me, no amount grumpiness takes that pleasure away.

 

[deanodog]

Here is my two classics. I have been very satisfied with them but I am old and don't know much.

Model 22 and Model 21

 

[djohns6]

I just think that they are overpriced .

 

[batmann]

This lock, MIM thing has been beat to death.
I have a MG in .44M and it has both. I has a tight lock up, great finish, is accurate and goes bang when I pull the trigger.
But then,I guess I'm getting to old for the forum-- if it ain't blued, pinned, forged and hand fitted-- no one in this forum has any use for you opinons.

 

[Geronimo Jim]

"I think it's a slap in the face of the original classics, to give the new junk their model numbers."

That pretty much sums up my feelings as well. I would much rather have an older, used gun for the same money as the new ones. Most of my guns are from the 70's and 80's and the quality is excellent. All my 29's, 27's etc lockup and timing is dead on. While I don't have any modern guns, from what I read on this forum about current quality, I don't think current quality is anywhere close to my guns.

 

[SAWBONES]

Let's see; crappy-quality with MIM parts and the obligatory lock, packaged to look like and named for older good-quality, non-lock models...sounds like a form of counterfeit to me!

I'll stick with the real, older guns, bought used when I can find 'em, thanks very much.

 

[bk43]

Rarely does a company release any quality control figures but S&W did in 1987. After the company was bought by Tomkins they released a list of new corporate goals and one was to reduce the rework level from the then current 6%. IOW, quality in the seventies and eighties sucked! If you have/had a lot of S&Ws from that era many were reworked before you got them or you had it done and forgot about it, or both.

Current quality at S&W is best its ever been out of the box. I own .44 specials covering roughly 100 years and the classic I added recently holds it own with all the others...thank you very much.

Bob

 

[stevieboy]

I've got pre-lock and post-lock Smiths, forged parts and MIM parts Smiths. I love 'em all. They fire equally well, are equally rugged, and I've never had a problem with either the locks or the MIM parts. My "best" Smith is a 686-6 that I bought new a couple of years ago, with a lock and with MIM parts. It's a wickedly accurate shooter and has never missed a beat after several thousand rounds. The older versions may be more aesthetically pleasing to some but that doesn't make them more accurate nor does it make them more reliable. Without empirical evidence as to product reliability all of the anecdotes I see on this forum are simply meaningless.

 

[DaveWW]

Up until three weeks ago, the newest Smith I owned was made in 1977. Yeah, I finally got the M66-6( Pictures will follow soon). With some hastily assembled reloads using 6.5grains of Unique and a 158 SWC it groups into about 1-1/2" at fifteen yards off a bench and two inches standing on my hind-legs.Smooth trigger too. I did grind off the nub on the lock, no problems so far with about 150 rounds through it. I even worked up a .357 equivalent of the 158gr.LSWCHP 'FBI or Treasury-load' for it using 8.7grains of AA-5. Clocks 948fps average velocity out of the 2.5" barrel. Great little gun.

 

[batmann]

BK43/stevieboy----WELL SAID!
Nothing like having someone insult you and your choices based on internet chatter!

 

[SAWBONES]

Current quality at S&W is best its ever been out of the box.

That's an ignorant opinion, from someone who obviously knows nothing of the older guns before Bangor Punta.

 

[winchester1]

Boy, this topic never fails to get everybody cranked! I've never weighed in before but will now. I love the old Smiths, blue, nickel, pretty wood grips - awesome guns. Up until this year I didn't own an MIM gun, or one with the lock. I now own two that have both, and you know what I found out, they are still Smiths

. As good, not as good, who knows, but I have to admit I enjoy shooting them too. Guys, unfortunately (or fortunately) things change. The cars we drive are different from the cars we drove in the 70s, clothes are different, homes are different, and so on. It would be great if our beloved Smiths were still the same, but like everything else in our world they have changed. At least they are still making fine revolvers and for the folks that want them, the Classics give them a chance to own a gun they otherwise may not be able to.
Sorry for the rant,
Jeff