Wheelguns Rock
By Roy Huntington
I carried a beloved 6″ hard-chromed S&W Model 19 as a reserve on the Chula Vista PD in the middle 1970’s. I learned to shoot accurately with that gun in DA-only competing in PPC matches. My trustworthy Smith came with me when I got hired full-time on the San Diego PD beginning in 1978. At the time we weren’t allowed to carry a “custom” gun but the range master knew I was a gun-guy (was top gun in my academy) so he signed off on it as a “test” gun. Bless him. Those early years found me relying on revolvers for front-line work daily and I never felt under-gunned — ever. When we transitioned to autos in the late 1980’s I still kept a J-Frame tucked away in an ankle rig. And off-duty — more often then not — found me armed with a revolver.
These two admirable guns from S&W represent some of the best stock revolver engineering I’ve seen, period. Both functioned perfectly out of the box, both are as accurate as I can hold and both offer power, reliability and amazing value. You couldn’t build a custom revolver from a basic gun for the money you’d spend on either one of these. And, being engineered from the beginning as a unit, most stock guns tend to be reliable and well-sorted right off the bat.
The M637 has a delightfully smooth action which is indeed noticeably lighter than a stock gun’s. The grips are a departure too, a bit like the old-school “Fuzzy Farrant” stocks that were smaller at the bottom, and fit your hand well. Pretend to grip a gun, now look at your hand. You have more room at the top of your grip than at the bottom. Yet most revolver grips are big at the bottom. Fuzzy’s grips looked funny, but they worked. I think the fact they looked different than traditional stocks eventually killed them. Fortunately, S&W doesn’t think the idea is a bad one. I’m pleased to see this, and they are especially comfortable in my medium-sized hands. I also like the fact the gun has a hammer. Watching it helps new shooters better learn to stage a trigger, and, it simply looks right to have a hammer there to my eye!
It’s rated for .38 Special +P with no bullet weight limits. While snappy with high performance ammo, I think it really shined with some 148-gr. wadcutters. At 15 yards, shots to the head-zone were a snap, but about 3″ low and a bit to the left — not unusual with fixed-sighted guns of any sort. I ran about 150 rounds of assorted ammo through it and it ran fine. This is a classic “grab it and go” J-Frame, light, smooth and very shootable. Do I need another J-Frame? No, but this one is so delightful, it’s not going back.
The 586 L-Comp showed the fit and finish the Performance Center is known for. Grips are Spegle-like in design and feel comfy but a bit square at the back. The gun is hefty (over two pounds) but digests full-power .357 Magnum loads easily because of that. Hearing protection is a must as that comp blasts like hell-fire. Sights are classic S&W with a Tritium insert in the front. The chambers (seven) are all chamfered and there’s a trigger stop nodule on the rear of the trigger appearing to be hand-fitted as there are delicate file marks on it.
If you loved the 3″ round-butt K-Frames you’ll love this. Adding a bit of beef to the mix offers a certain stability as you move from target to target. At 15 yards this seems to be easily a 2″ gun with everything put through it. I’m thinking it will outshoot me with wadcutters “out there” but it rained cats and dogs here when I was going to do that. If you’re a weekend gamer/shooter, need a solid home defense gun, or are focused and dedicated enough to haul around a hunk of iron, you’ve found a new friend here. The term “personal firearm” comes to mind when I see it on my desk. “Oh that? It’s my personal firearm,” you might say to someone. It sends out self-confidence vibes all on its own. “I’m here, I can help protect you.” I believe it.
What would I do? I’d round off those grips some and possibly add a bit of skateboard tape to the back-strap. Then I’d be 100-percent happy. But — I’m pretty happy now. Wheelguns still rock. No fooling.
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