What S&W revolver of yours has the smoothest action ?

[WCCPHD]

Smoothest action, both from the '30's

My smoothest, by far, is this 38/44 Outdoorsman. The gun has a double cockeyed hammer (not King marked) and I have to wonder if it had action work when this hammer was installed.



Second smoothest is Registered Magnum 2269

 

[petepeterson]

1970 19-3 4".

Bought at a gun show. No idea who owned it, but it is a well oiled machine. The SA trigger is almost too light for my comfort. DA is a thing of beauty.

 

[steelslaver]

Hard to make a real hard decision on this. None are bad, and its hard to point out the one "best" trigger. I got an old 38 M&P with the big knob ejector, over buffed and reblued, yoke tube was messed up, so I replaced that with another yoke I had. Yoke doesn't fit quite flush in front of frame and blue doesn't match at all. Ugly, yes, but, it has the smoothest trigger I have ever come across. Its only real +.

 

[austintexas]

The smoothest trigger I have is on a 1936 Registered magnum. Second is either triplelock I have.
SWCA 892

 

[Shark Bait]

My smoothest has to be the British Service Revolver in .38 S&W with a shipping date of November 25, 1940.

 

[Peak53]

It's kind of hard to tell, since so many have great double actions. But, I'm going to go with the least expensive revolver I own - a Model 10-10 Aussie turn in from Bud's a number of years ago. Shoots little tiny groups, too. I guess you get what you pay for

 

[bvoges]

This Outdoorsman from 1947 is smooth as silk....

 

[paragain]

My 14-3. Trigger is slick as snot on a door knob!

 

[robvious]

my old nickle 10-6 pimp gun probably has the best trigger in my collection... my 629-1 is a close second... but I am assuming it has been worked on...

 

[glowe]

OK, first of all is that this section clearly states 1896 - 1961 which hardly any of these revolver fit into. How can you compare long action to short action, 22 caliber to 44 Mag, heavy frame to light frame, hammerless to hammer, double action to single action, etc, etc, etc. My tastes lean toward the unorthodox and pre-WWII hand fitted revolvers made by S&W.

If you are asking about double action shooting, the 38 Safety is hard to beat. Smooth and deliberate pull to a stop point and then a hair trigger to fire the gun, allowing you to hold the trigger/hammer at the break point until you are on target. Not many have had the opportunity to shoot these guns, and some who do own them don't know about the hammer break point. For single action shooting, it is hard to beat the Masterpiece line.

 

[RSinOR]

For me it would have to be my 1916 22-32 HFT. That action is so smooth it's unbelievable.

 

[Fox4Alpha]

Without a doubt it would have to be my 1973 Model 15-3. You hardly feel the cylinder rotate in double action and it is so crisp fired single action. It has never had any trigger work done on it but has been my go to target gun for years. So smooth and accurate!

 

[C Broad Arrow]

I can not remember a Smith having a bad trigger. So many are great!

 

[Bill Bates]

I own three transition guns, two .44 Specials and a M&P .38 Special. They all feel like someone did an action job on them. I think some employees were glad to be back making revolvers for commercial sales and really took time making guns right after the war.

 

[VaTom]

Model 15-3 made in 1974. Bought at an auction a couple of years ago. Haven't done anything to it. Previous owner clearly took care of it and may have had work done on it however there is no signs of disassembly.

Single action is the lightest of all my Smiths and double action is extremely smooth.

 

[Chubbo]

Mod. 15 Combat Masterpiece

My first S&W revolver, a 1952 mod. 15 Combat Masterpiece. This S&W revolver was bought by me in 1953 as a 22year old "Whipper Snapper", to shoot in Bullseye matches, at the Columbus Ohio Police Pistol Range, where I had a membership. I talked to their well known Chief armorer, about doing a trigger job on it, asking for a 44 oz. trigger, two oz. under the minimum allowed by the Bullseye match rules. He agreed to do the trigger job for me. I was a first year apprentice electrician, and had a wife, and son, by that time, and couldn't really afford my shooting hobby, so I awaited the revolver, and what the cost of the trigger job would be holding my breath, hoping that I would have the cash to pay this well known Armorer. When asked what his charge was, he asked "would two dollars be to much?". I quickly paid him with a big sigh of relief. And that folks is the long winded story, about which of my S&W revolvers had the smoothest action, and how, and where it got it.
Chubbohttp://smith-wessonforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=284931&stc=1&d=1495379118

 

[Ranger514]

I have two J frames, one K frame, and one L frame. Of the three, my 686-4 has the smoothest DA, but the snubby 66-3 is a close second.

 

[JohnRippert]

My 19-2, followed very closely by one of my 640-1's.

 

[rct269]

Mr. Lowe makes a good point in his post (#30). What's with all these Model number this and that?! If ANY of these are the smoothest action you have, let me suggest you've led an unfortunately sheltered life.

That said, if you want smooth (and really pretty inside), put any of them (even the Model number guns) in a box, cover it with money, and ship it off to the pistolsmith of your choice----or do it yourself (with a minimum of fuss and bother)----but it'll look pretty much the same as when you started. On the other hand, here's a suggestion for quick and dirty: Miculek S&W Revolver Spring Kit (even for Model number guns)----one size fits all (all K,L, and N frames)---and it's cheap ($20 +/-)---from Brownells or Miculek (BANG, INC.).

You get two springs---and instructions. Read the instructions. Follow the instructions---exactly. I know all about these things, so there was no need to either read or follow the instructions----and the gun was locked up tight when I (sort of) finished. It might have been smooth---if it would move. Plan B: Start over---and follow the instructions.

I started with a 1920 vintage M&P, bought new and carried daily in the hip pocket of my father-in-law's overalls for 50 years----a beater. And Bubba had fixed it somewhere along the line. The only thing I know for sure about Bubba's work is he replaced the rebound slide spring with one selected only on the basis that it would fit in the hole. The DA trigger pull was 22 lbs.------as in STOUT!!

Now it's 7 lbs.----and smoooooooooooooooth. It could/would be smoother, if I'd taken the time to slick some things up---I didn't. I wanted to see what the spring kit would do---all by itself. And while it could/would be smoother if you slicked things up, I seriously doubt you could tell the difference.

End of story.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[RubenZ]

My 29-10 is very smooth! Puts my 28-2 to shame.