S&W Night Guard

[Petrol & Powder]

From a sales viewpoint the S&W Night Guard series failed. There are NO mysteries concerning its commercial failure. High price, relatively large size, low capacity, ....did I mention the price? It was a product geared towards a very small market segment.

After the alloy framed S&W model 12 was discontinued in the mid 1980's, S&W no longer had a lightweight K-frame. Sure, you could get all sorts of lightweight J-frames and they thrived. But people were practically giving away medium framed DA revolvers by the late 1980's.
Around 2008(?) S&W revived the concept of the lightweight K-frame with the Nightguard series. There were also several lightweight L frame & N-frame models in the line up.
OK, it wasn't one of their great marketing successes but hey; it was sort of interesting.

The concept wasn't horrible. A lightweight scandium/aluminum K-frame (or L or N-frame) sized DA revolver with: excellent night sights, a stainless barrel in an alloy shroud, a high tech PVD dark finish, compact grips and a proven action. In reality, S&W grossly overestimated the demand for a DA revolver with those features at such a high price point.
You could get a Glock G19 for less than half of what a S&W 315 NG listed for and the Glock was roughly the same size, held more than twice as many rounds and weighed only slightly more when empty. So sales of the Night Guard series were never great. It wasn't the first time a mistake was made in a corporate boardroom. Ford really thought the Edsel would be a great car !

Personally I think if S&W had stayed with the 38 Special and 357 Mag K-frame models only and offered a DAO model in those calibers, they would have faired a bit better. The price was still a huge factor but I think they spread themselves a bit thin with the L and N-frame models. Yes, there was a market for these high-tech, lightweight DA revolvers but it wasn't a huge market.

One interesting aspect of the old Night Guard series is that used models almost never appear on the market. Did people buy those things and just squirrel them away? Or did S&W actually fill the market niche?

 

[RicinYakima]

Both. I know of four that have not seen the light of day in 20 years and three that live in night stands and are shot.

 

[CZ93X62]

I have yet to see or hear of any of my compadres using or owning one of these Night Guard revolvers. So--no hands-on experience with the market niche. In all my years of hauling around hardware for work and play, I have owned exactly one aluminum-framed wheelgun--the Model 642-1 38 +P I bought a little over a year ago. It is growing on me, but it isn't and wasn't Love At First Sight Alignment. I don't and won't shoot it like I do my steel-framed revolvers. It gets 25-50 125 grain JHP +Ps each shooting trip just to refresh the muscle memory, and I call it "good"--then go on to more stalwart and substantial war toys.

 

[Winelover]

Sales were probably flat, due to limited availability in LGS. Never seen one in the Detroit area. I would have been interested, had I ever run across one. Especially, in a caliber that began with a four. Revolvers are a rarity anymore in LGS, around here.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

The list price for most of the Night Guard series was in the $950+ range. The cost alone was a huge factor.

When they were in production, I saw dealers displaying them but that was 10 years ago. A friend that collects S&W's and has the money to support that interest, purchased one of the big bore models. He promptly sold it.

S&W put a lot of technology into that series, maybe too much technology. I'm not sure what segment of the market S&W was hoping to capture, maybe just the people that wanted a super lightweight 2.5" DA revolver?

It was almost as if the line was a "Proof of Concept" that S&W decided to offer for sale.

 

[david s]

I dont have a Night Gaurd series revolver but do have the 329 PD revolver. It's an interesting piece and oddly enough I added night sights. The first time I picked one of these up I couldn't believe how light it is. Now it's like any other gun that's carried regularly. The weight just feels normal nothing out of the ordinary. That is until you then handle a steel N frame and they seem to weigh a ton. I have trouble with it torqueing in my hand when shooting 44 Magnum loads. It rotates counter clockwise as I shoot it. I told myself I was going to master this but lied to myself. Lose of hand strength and an old joint break in my thumb that is becoming arthritic won out. I does make an amazing 44 Special but it's still N frame size.

 

[hporter]

I picked up a S&W 325 PD years ago with a 2-1/2" barrel. This is the Scandium framed 45acp. To say I love this revolver would be an extreme understatement.

So when the Night Guard series came out, I bought the 10mm Auto version with a 2-1/2" barrel. I enjoy shooting it as much as the 325.

These are strictly range guns. They don't reside in my nightstand. That is what tupperware pistols are for. I can shoot them all day long with mild to medium loads. But hot loads will make your palm hurt after a while. I loaded a bunch of 10mm brass up a couple of months ago that used a 200 grain cast bullet in the 40 S&W power range. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face after shooting every single one of them the next range visit.

I buy nickle plated starline brass from Midway for my revolvers in auto cartridge calibers. That way, at a glance, I always know whether it was intended for a revolver or not. One of the things I like about moon clipped revolvers is that you can load them hotter or milder than you might for a 1911, because you don't have to worry about cycling the slide, or battering it.

Ben's recent thread about his new 625 revolver got me thinking about whether I preferred my 625 PC over the 325. And the answer was no, I did not. My love for 2-1/2 barreled N frames is much too strong. And it is strange shooting them both at the same time, with the same loads. The scandium frame is so light it feels unreal after shooting the stainless 625.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

There is no doubt in my mind that a S&W model 310 (Night Guard in 10mm) would rock your world with full power 10mm loads !

The super lightweight guns with the scandium frames and titanium cylinders were even lighter than the Night Guard series that had stainless steel cylinders (albeit coated in a black PVD finish). If you were looking for the lightest full size DA revolver possible, S&W had the answer. Unfortunately all of that technology doesn't come cheap.

 

[david s]

The Scandium/Stainless or Scandium/Titanium revolvers as made by S&W pretty much had to be considered carry guns. There primary place isn't a night stand. Do you really consider weight as a factor when it's going to sit on or in a piece of furniture? With a night stand pistol a bit of extra weight isn't a bad thing with in reason a little extra is actually desirable. For most people the "K" frame is outsized for concealed carry. An "N" or "L" frame with any of it's barrel lengths is going to be judged against a full size auto with two to three times the 6-7 or 8 shot capacity of the revolver. These are pretty niche pieces of hardware. Some times I think companies do a specialized product like the Scandium/Titanium revolver just to make the competition sit up and take notice and maybe tell the market place "hey we aren't that old fashioned". Weather it's a good idea to create a product line like the Night Gaurd series that has that small of a market share I don't know. Smith and Wesson had to have seen an opportunity some where in there. I'd be interested if they consider it a successful run. Being they didn't do a second run in at least the last decade I'm guessing not.

 

[hporter]

I think I paid just over $900 for my 310 NG. It was hard pulling the wallet out...

But at the time, under the darkness of the last administration, 40 S&W was about the only ammo I could find in the small town near the shipyard we were at. I didn't have enough time to load when I drove home on the weekends to keep up with the demand during the week. So I justified the purchase in that I could always shoot the cheap (relatively) 40 S&W.

That didn't quite turn out to be true. Ignition with 40 S&W ammo has not been 100% in that revolver. I changed out the frame mounted firing pin with a longer Apex pin. That helped, but never fully resolved the issue of light strikes. But with 10mm Auto brass, I have never experienced a misfire.

I still hope (probably in vain) that Ruger will come out with an LCR in a bigger frame size to accommodate 40 & 45 caliber cartridges. I have an LCR in 38 special and 327 magnum. I find the trigger smoother than my S&W snubbies. I wasn't sure about the resin/plastic revolver concept. But I have to admit that it is a nice gun. Having one in 45 acp would be even better.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm not sure what S&W was thinking when they produced the Night Guard series. Very expensive materials, probably a lot of development cost and what turned out to be a rather limited run.
Even though I don't own one, I'm glad they did it. I was some cool designing.
As I said earlier, it was almost (but clearly not) as if the project was a "proof of concept" that made it into retail sales.
Maybe S&W believed the potential market was bigger than it turned out to be or maybe they knew from the start it would be a limited production run. Either way, there was a lot of engineering that went into that.

I agree that a super lightweight gun is designed for carry. That's not a night stand gun.
I really think if S&W had taken a smaller bite and just started with a short barreled DAO K-frame in 38/357, they would have had a winner on their hands. If those models sold well, then they could have expanded the Night Guard line to include L & N frame models. I think they bit off too much.

 

[RicinYakima]

I believe they were made when S&W was owned by the Brits and they had made a deal with Bill Clinton on registering fired cases and bullets. Their stock went down 60% in two months and sales fell more for several years. If it wasn't for making M-16's for the military, they would have folded. Their custom shop made a living reblueing guns and working on old stuff, pre-numbered frames, for a couple of years. I had several pre-war 2 guns rebuilt and reblued in that time.

"Maybe S&W believed the potential market was bigger than it turned out to be or maybe they knew from the start it would be a limited production run. Either way, there was a lot of engineering that went into that." Anything to make a buck.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

The Night Guard series was circa 2008-2010,

and I don't believe they made a buck. I'm not even sure they broke even.

 

[david s]

I doubt that S&W thought they would set the gun industry on fire by offering HI-Teck revolvers. I'd be willing to bet they knew to the gun how much larger the auto side of the business was compared to the revolver side. It's the large frame revolver carry gun thing that has me guessing. Maybe like Petrol & Powder mentioned if they had committed to the "K" frame to establish the market and then offered the larger frames things would have worked out differently. But I'm still of the impression that most people consider the "K" frame as being on the largish side of things. The thought of a Scandium/Titanium round butt "K" with a simple 3" round barrel would intrigue me personally. Something like the old model 64 but up dated.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

In terms of overall length and height, a 2" K-frame will almost exactly fit the same "box" that a Glock 19 or SIG 228 style pistol will. When looking at a gun that will be carried, that's a natural comparison to make. For the same overall dimensions of a 2" K-frame you can get a pistol, that is flatter and has much more capacity. Some people have a strong desire to select a revolver over a similarly sized pistol and they will give up capacity to select a revolver. So an ultra-lightweight revolver may have some appeal in those situations.

Back when the DA pistol options were limited, the DA revolver ruled the market. If S&W had been able to produce the Night Guard series, in say the 1970's, (and it would not have been economically feasible in that era) they might have found a larger market.
By the time the Night Guard series came out, there were far too many semi auto pistols that filled the same criteria and most of them cost significantly less.

S&W has made lightweight J-frames for decades and they sell very well. S&W dropped the the model 12 in the mid 1980's and removed the only lightweight K-frame from their line-up until the Night Guard and PD series revolvers were introduced years later. I find it interesting that when S&W returned to the lightweight K-frame (and added lightweight L & N frames to the line up as well), that they went really high tech.