Two of the guns I purchased over Thanksgiving weekend at auction finally arrived. (The third one was at the FFL, but the shipper forgot to include the paperwork....got them to fax it last night, so I'll pick up the third one today.)
I'm not, I mean I wouldn't describe myself as, a revolver man. While I own a couple that I inherited, I only had the desire for the SW 686 with 8-3/8" barrel that I bought to shoot silhouette. It's a fine gun. My wife does have her Charter Bulldog, but that's about it. So my best buddy and I were shooting together and he chided me on not having more revolvers. He had all the latest short barreled, light weight zir-ti-chro-mium-whatevers Smiths, none of which particularly appealed to me. He pointed out that revolvers still have the edge when ammo fails. Just pull the trigger again and you get a fresh round.
S O - O - O - O - O then came the thanksgiving auctions.
Here is a 6" barreled 586 to go with my 8" 686. And then I got this jewel, a 624, which is basically a 629, a .44 Magnum "N" frame fitted with a slightly shorter cylinder for .44 Special. Smith only made it in 1985 and 1986. Somewhere around ~7,500, I think, were made. Yes, one could just fire .44 Specials in a 629, but this is sort of unique. And it came with a 6.5" barrel also unique. Intended more for the target shooter than anything else. Or one can load the .44 Special up to higher velocities if desired. I think this will become the backwoods gun. Intimidating for 2 legged creatures and capable of stopping most 4 legged ones.
Both "WERE" new and unfired. They went straight from the gun store counter to the range. The 624 came with box and all accessories. Neither gun has the internal lock feature....naturally since they are all pre-2000. The firing pins are integral to the hammer. And yes, before you ask, they work liked jeweled clocks. Very crisp single action and very smooth double action. I haven't pinned down the exact model and revision of the 586 yet.
And for those unfamiliar with S&W numbering, it's sort confusing like Glock, but there is some logic to it. The original numbers were 2 digits, like model 10, 19, and 29. Then they went to three digits with the first digit indicating the metal type. 5xx = blued steel, 6xx = Stainless, and the 3xx and 4xx those zir-ti-chro-mium-whatevers metals. There's more to it but that's the basics. If you asked me they used up (assigned) too many model numbers for slight variations. A 581 has fixed sights and a 586 adjustable. They should have just stuck a letter designator after the model it would have been better system. The 7 shot x86 should have been number the x87 in my opinion, but it isn't my call. Just trying to make sense of it.
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