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S&W would be my vote. I've never shot the Ruger but I have a S&W 51 (.41mag) and love it. Used to have a S&W model 10. It was well used but still a sweet shooter. One of those I probably shouldn't have let go.

A 4" 586 or 686 is on my wishlist. A friend has one and I think it might be the perfect fit and balance short of a Colt Peacemaker.

Gunner4640 wrote:A 686 S&W wouldbe my pick, because I have one. it is a great shooting revolver.. it's my avatar

I agree.

It is my favorite .38/.357 wheelgun and a very smooth shooter.

I carried it as both an on duty and off duty gun when we were required to use revolvers. (Yes, there was such a time during the Pleistocene era when we used manual typewriters instead of computers).

I can shoot full power .357 loads all afternoon without discomfort. (Not that I do that a lot, but I could.)

I like the Lady Smith 60L.

Just to muddy the waters a bit more, you might be intereted in the GP 100MC: http://ingunowners.com/forums/handguns/ ... sions.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Revolvers are some of the most fun revolvers to shoot.

You might also consider a Single Action Army revolver. My Cimaron Frontier in 357 mag is a great shooter.

MechAg94 wrote:Revolvers are some of the most fun revolvers to shoot.

I agree totally...

Love the M64 stainless .38 K frame made before MIM parts and the lock. Fun shooting, reliable, and smooth trigger. If you find one in the 3" bbl, it makes a good carry gun too.

TexasGal, I see you and your revolvers bringing more sheep into the fold...cool...lol

Generally speaking, S&W revolvers are slicker than Rugers and deliver a superior trigger pull, both SA and DA; when "tuned" they're even better. I'd look for an L-frame S&W, either a 686 or 586 from "pre-lock" days, gently used, of course.

K-frames are nice, too, assuming you're not going to be shooting a lot of full power .357s.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Rugers - it's just that in my experience, they're typically not as smooth as S&Ws.

Taurus? Uhhh . . . no. While NO gunmaker is perfect, from what I've seen Taurus seems to produce more "lemons" than the other biggies.

Live my big old N frame 629-1 for range work and farm carry. It is just a joy to shoot with my practice reloads. I've shot some of Rugers revolvers and to me the smiths are a bit nicer. It's like comparing a very nice AR with an AK. One is finesse, the other is rugged get er done.

TexasGal wrote:Love the M64 stainless .38 K frame made before MIM parts and the lock. Fun shooting, reliable, and smooth trigger. If you find one in the 3" bbl, it makes a good carry gun too.

HankB wrote:Generally speaking, S&W revolvers are slicker than Rugers and deliver a superior trigger pull, both SA and DA; when "tuned" they're even better. I'd look for an L-frame S&W, either a 686 or 586 from "pre-lock" days, gently used, of course.

K-frames are nice, too, assuming you're not going to be shooting a lot of full power .357s.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Rugers - it's just that in my experience, they're typically not as smooth as S&Ws.

Taurus? Uhhh . . . no. While NO gunmaker is perfect, from what I've seen Taurus seems to produce more "lemons" than the other biggies.

Taurus got two gun designs right - - - Their small and medium frame revolvers and the PT 92/PT 100 semiautos. I own and carry Taurus snub-nose revolvers they aren't S&Ws or Rugers, but they aren't junk either. Lifetime transferable warranty too.

Since OP is in Austin, thought I'd mention that GT Distributors just got in a whole bunch of used revolvers - old S&W K- and J-frames, Rugers, etc. seemed to start around $275 up to about $475 depending on your selection.

A-R wrote:Since OP is in Austin, thought I'd mention that GT Distributors just got in a whole bunch of used revolvers - old S&W K- and J-frames, Rugers, etc. seemed to start around $275 up to about $475 depending on your selection.

Perfect. Thanks for the info. I was planning on heading there in the next week or so anyway.

It all depends on your purpose. I have snubbies and larger. My two favorites are a S&W 625JM and my competition rig...the M&P R8. If I was picking a home defense/competition rig it would be the R8, although with the 5" barrel it would be hard to conceal. The 625 would be a good choice for competition, plinking, home defense and carry with the right rig. I love them both and will never part with them. In fact I'm buying another R8 so I can have one with iron sights, and the one I have with the Leupold Delta Point.