Would I be crazy to carry a Horton 681?

[MikeChandler]

It seems like all roads converge for me on the Lew Horton PC 681 - the Performance Center 7 shot, 3", round butt, 681-3, .357 magnum. The only downside is the cost... somewhere between $1,500 and $1,700 dollars I think... but if I did spring for one...

Would I be nuts to shoot it and carry it? I have 1911s that cost more than a LH does, and I certainly shoot those. But none of them are as rare.

Nuts? Or go for it?

 

[DR505]

I'm not a collector, I'm a shooter. I have high end 1911's that cost MUCH more than the LH that are carried and shot, and they show wear (holster, bumps and bangs, etc.).

I would carry and shoot it...that is why it was made.

 

[GCF]

I'd shoot it, but probably not carry it. Same goes for any premium $$ handgun.

Reason being, if I was involved in a shooting - justified or not, I'd expect to lose the gun.

Of course if I DID own a PC 681, I MIGHT feel differently... ;=]

 

[TheMystro]

If I couldn't carry it, I wouldn't buy it. A gun is a tool, so you might as well use it such. Carrying it doesn't equal abusing it.

 

[Dave T]

My daily carry right now is a PC 681 7-shot. As the others have said, they are tools. If I can't use it (both to shoot and carry) I will get rid of a gun eventually. I'm not in the income category to be able to afford having multiple hundreds of dollars, let alone a thousand plus, tied up in something that will just set in the safe.

Dave

 

[TheMystro]

If I was involved in a shooting, the last thing I would ever worry about is the gun involved. Any gun can be replaced. Thats like saying I would rather wreck in a crappy car instead of a big expensive luxury car with 20 air bags.

Reason being, if I was involved in a shooting - justified or not, I'd expect to lose the gun.

Of course if I DID own a PC 681, I MIGHT feel differently... ;=]

 

[crofoot629]

I'd carry it, and three reasons come to mind.
1) it's not really all that expensive of a firearm.
2) what makes you think it's safer at home in your safe exposed to fire and theft than on your hip?
3) you like the gun and it serves its purpose well.

I mostly carry a Glock these days because it's lighter than my Wilson Combat 1911's. I shot and carried one of the WC's enough I had it refinished. I'll sometimes carry a high condition pre 27 or pre 29 too.

You can't take them with you.

Emory

 

[MikeChandler]

Wow - everybody expressed pretty much what I was feeling. It's not really that expensive of a gun (relative to 1911s for example), and why have a gun you can't shoot unless you're a collector?

My feelings on a shooting are that my life and my family's life is worth more than any gun, it would be money well spent.

I think I am going to do this, and I will shoot the heck out of it, as much as possible (thankfully I reload and have a stockpile of 357 components) and carry it too.

 

[Irelander]

I would buy a LH revolver in a heartbeat if I had the money. Part of the draw to the LH models is that Lew carried one...right? Carrying it and shooting it is what it was designed to do.

Get it,
carry it,
shoot it,
love it...

oh, and post a picture of it here so we can all enjoy it.

 

[bronco45]

Carry what you shoot best and is concealable, I carry the weapon I have the most confidence in and that I shoot the best. I've got expensive revolvers (for me) and collectors guns and everyday guns. I carry the one I have the greatest confidence in. Confidence comes from experience with the weapon.

 

[youngda9]

I wouldn't carry that. It costs 1K more than the exact same gun with fixed sights...the 686 7 shot. But if you're a wealthy guy and don't mind de-valuing something that has such an inflated value, then have at it.

 

[GCF]

If I was involved in a shooting, the last thing I would ever worry about is the gun involved. Any gun can be replaced. Thats like saying I would rather wreck in a crappy car instead of a big expensive luxury car with 20 air bags.

Never said I recommend packing a crappy gun. Far from it, in fact.

My dedicated CCW is a 100% reliability tuned Colt LWT Commander. Never misses a beat, w/ a value under $1K.

Also never said my only worry would be the value of the gun involved, but it is a consideration.

 

[MikeChandler]

Sorry for the late reply, I am still going over this one, haven't purchased one yet, but I am constantly pulled back...

I wouldn't carry that. It costs 1K more than the exact same gun with fixed sights...the 686 7 shot. .

If only it were true, if only it were true... but it's not the exact same gun, by a long shot.

1. Fixed sights are better for CCW, obviously less snag. I've gouged myself already with revolver sights, no fun at all.

2. The ILS is okay with me if I have no choice, though I'd rather not have one if the choice is easy -but obviously the lock is on the new one. The LH has no lock. If this were the only difference, I'd buy the modern 686P with the lock and spend the extra cash on a andrews leather shoulder rig and a LOT of reloading components.

3. Frame mounted firing pins can never fire as nicely as hammer mounted ones. An L frame hammer mounted firing pin like the LH can operate extremely smooth and easy in DA -once tuned by a good gunsmith - and be almost as nice as a tuned N frame (those N frames can get the best trigger jobs of all).

4. Magna porting. Well, on a 3" 686 it *might* make a difference. Obviously I'd be carrying 357 125gr JHP if I bought this gun... I can already carry 38 +p or anemic 357 in my j frame.

5. Non MIM flash-chromed ignition parts. I don't know what the real bottom line is on the MIM parts on the new guns, but the flash chroming certainly will be more resistant to sweat, etc.

Are all those differences worth $1,000? I dunno... that's about $200 per item on the list.

I am still evaluating this - if I get one, I guess it is to me!

But if you're a wealthy guy and don't mind de-valuing something that has such an inflated value, then have at it.

I am not a wealthy guy; I am a pretty typical white-collar professional. That being said, people who carry 1911s typically pay this much or more for their carry gun. It's on the pricey side of modern revolvers, but it's not a truly expensive gun.

What I want to know is if S&W will ever reintroduce this as a regular production gun. I think they would sell a lot of them.

 

[LimaCharlie]

One of the 1911s I carry and shoot is a 1 of 50 Lew Horton S&W 1911.

 

[YogiBear]

Aloha,

Here in Hawaii, CCW is Not issued.

Even if it were, I'd carry a less pricey version.

Mainly because, IF involved in a shooting, I'd loose the gun.

When cleared, I would get the gun back in a worse condition than before.

Not to mention the hoops I'd have to go thru get it back.

A plain version is fine with me.

 

[DR505]

Even if it were, I'd carry a less pricey version.

Mainly because, IF involved in a shooting, I'd loose the gun.

When cleared, I would get the gun back in a worse condition than before.

Not to mention the hoops I'd have to go thru get it back.

A plain version is fine with me.

This makes NO SENSE to me at all...if a firearm saved my or my family's bacon, the very LAST thing I would worry about is if I got a chunk of metal back in my possession! Well, I guess my priorities are screwed up in that I want a solid, reliable, trustworthy handgun I can shoot well, and I value my life more than an object.

 

[hkcavalier]

I think at some point you have to consider the value of a gun made for CC.

Obvious example would be a collector who has a Registered Magnum and a plain jane 27 with the same barrel length. Since the utility is the same, of course he's not going to CC a Registered Magnum!

If the best gun for your CC needs just happens to be expensive, so be it. But if there is a less expensive gun that does everything you need it to you have to consider that. I just picked up a Kimber Solo since I felt it met my needs the best, it's at the upper end of micro 9mm cost (still nowhere near a PC 681 though). If I carry a larger gun it's a G34 or G21 but a part of me would love to CC a 2"-3" N frame 627 PC or 657, both are $1000ish guns. But I wouldn't hunt down an original series Lew Horton 627 to CC, that would be a collector's piece.

My rule is don't CC a very difficult to replace gun or a collector's item.

 

[photoman]

If you're going to worry about it, don't carry it.

p.s. Are those guns ported?