The Awesome L-frames

[L Ross]

Well I also sold my only L frame to a friend as I mentioned recently. Nice revolver. Too heavy to put on a 2" Simply Rugged belt and wear around the place. Woulda been fine in a duty rig.

An original Flat Top or a Model 66 is about the upper limit for comfort. But realistically, since I don't have to worry about bears or gun battles I find a 3" Model 60 to be very handy.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

Several years ago, a friend offered a Model 681 to me for $200. The hammer would push off in single action but for that price I figured I couldn’t go wrong. As suspected, the problem turned out to be very minor and I had it working perfectly with no parts and less than 1 hour of work.

That gun was one of the most accurate 357 mag revolvers I ever shot. I ended up selling that gun back to him for a small profit and everyone was happy. I eventually replaced it with another 681 and that one is staying.

I have shot all of the original L-frame models. One of the best DA triggers I’ve ever encountered was on a well-used 581. I don’t know if that gun had an action job or just shot so much that the parts were perfectly worn in, but it was slick.

L-frames are basically K-frame lockwork surrounded by some extra metal where it’s needed for a true magnum revolver. They hit a home run with that line.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

I realized how dainty the K frame really is this morning. The elderly Combat Master Piece with skinny barrel and standard grips looked like a kid's. toy. I regulary shoot a 19-5 6" with target stocks. The 19-5 is just different from the old K frame 38 from the 1950's.

 

[Rick H]

The only .357 that I currently own is a 4" 686 No Dash. I purchased it from a fellow officer when my department transitioned from wheelguns to auto's. When I hired on in '75 I was issued a used 4" Model 66. I trained at the academy and carried it for the next 7 years. I liked it a lot. Easy to carry, accurate, and it seemed pretty durable to me. We used to qualify monthly (90 rd. course) and once each quarter I would shoot the qualification course with duty ammo. For the first year and a half R/P 158 JHP .357 Mag. (full power stuff before SAAMI defanged the magnum) and the last with WW 145gr. HP Silvertips. Other than modifying the stock grips it was an excellent duty handgun. I much preferred it to my 686.
That said as soon as I could I switched to a 1911 (plain clothes) and when back on the road as a Supervisor a Sig P220. I had a less than satisfactory experience with the 357 and switched to a 45. In the early 90's we converted to Glocks in 40 S&W.
I like the 686 fine, it is just too heavy. I don't fire many full house loads in it and to be honest I would just as soon have a 4" Model 66. It fits my purposes better. I am one of those guys the Model 19/66 was designed for. Carried a lot, shot mostly with 38's with the capability of shooting the hot stuff when needed. Handguns should be handy......and neither of them lend themselves to easy concealed carry. Carried in a full duty rig both will do but the advantage (to my mind and purposes) goes to the lighter Model 19/66.
Again, I retired long ago and don't feel the need to buckle on that heavy duty rig around this no longer trim frame and haul around weapon, cuffs, ammo, prep radio, etc. I won't sell the 357. Ikeep it around mainly for nostalgia......as an example and reminder of how it was...............
Damn I'm getting old.

 

[david s]

Just did a daily scroll thru one of the gun selling sites and saw an L frame I didn't know existed. The S&W 386 SC revolver. An aluminum/titanium Mountain Lite (10 ounces) revolver with 7 shots of 357 and a 3 inch barrel. A carry much shoot little piece.

 

[Petrol & Powder]

And just because.....a 681 with the Pachmayr "Gripper"
One of the great "working guns" of its day.

 

[Mowgli Terry]

My 586-no dash was made for lead bullets. Most recently it's been 358477. I basically stopped casting wadcutters for a time. This bullet is very accurate in the 586-The L frame rules.

 

[RBHarter]

Just about the only really nice OM unmolested reasonably attractive specimen I own . It's a 1947 M10 , it missed getting the V by about 1000# .
As far as I know no part has been disassembled . Other than the grips being checked for a build/SN which I knew was unnecessary but I looked anyway .



It was purchased new in 1955 by a Kern county California Constable . The short version is that it was part of an LE consignment from S&W that went from the plant to a distributor of LE then to another in California where it was held until an officer placed a request . I had originally thought that it went through a local dealer in Ridgecrest but it was more likely recieved from the Highway Patrol Armory in Bakersfield CA .

The Constable was also an Inyokern VFF . Wm Wright Allison Mitchell . I took possession of it in 1997 . It's fair to say that the vast majority of honest wear came on my hip and my oldest son's . It's not impossible that in 2 weeks of deer camp and a few scouting trips that my son carried it more than my Grandfather did .

It's likely had fewer than 750 rounds through it in it's whole life .
It is cartridge marked for "38 S&W Special Cartridge" . It has not been refinished and the trigger and hammer colors are still vibrant . No hammer block or safety key , hammer mounted firing pin .

By chance I also had the untouched 74' SS Sec 6 out to add the new used Pachmar Gripper . Hopefully the design will relieve the knuckle bite shooting full snort 357 . The weight of the 2 is about is about even DA , the SA break is decidedly different in the S&W I think it moves a little before the break . It is smoother .