This may not interest anybody, and then it may. Just critiquing my newest addition. So I'm not a pistol guy, but every once in awhile, I'll get the itch to shoot pistols. It has also been on my mind to have a good carry option. My other 2 pistols are a Sig P320 9mm Full-Size, and an HK VP40. Both shoot really well, but the Sig is so big and heavy/bulky, with the HK having the worst trigger I've ever encountered on a weapon. Haven't measured the pull weight, but I'd estimate it to be about 9 pounds at least. I modified the Sig to handle +P+ readily. I tried shooting 5 round groups with my elbows on the bench with several different heavy duty ammo samples, and am doing good to hold a pie plate at 15 yards.
Regardless of the Herculean effort required to make the HK .40 to go "POP," I can stack 5 inside 2 1/2" nicely. It actually carries a slightly lower recoil impulse than the 9mm souped up. Full disclosure: I searched out the slowest and lightest weight bullets I could find for the .40 to check it out. When looking for a CC gun, I wanted more than a 3" 9mm could give, plus the P320 platform was a little more bulky than I'd like to deal with in EDC. I wanted power in a small package that felt at home in the hand and had a great trigger. Accuracy was a must. True, you aren't generally going to engage a bad guy in a defensive situation at or beyond 15 yards, but I'd probably engage 4-legged or even NO-legged targets in the outdoors more often.
Enter the S&W Model 60 Performamce Center. I had looked at revolvers extensively, and almost bought both a no-lock Mountain Gun in .44 Magnum, and a 6" King Cobra. Then I got on a 10mm kick. Then I looked extensively at several Taurus 3" .357s thinking they were more pragmatic. I even seriously considered the Model 69.
I subscribe to Grab-a-Gun's notifications, and one came across one day for a Model 60 Performance center. At like $650, I snatched it. I knew I had looked at them, but couldn't get by the fact they were well over twice the price of the 3" Taurus models.
I'm not a fan of short, stubby barrels. Not on my rifles, and not on my pistols. I felt like 3" was bare bones minimum. 2 7/8" would be a deal breaker. What I'd forgotten is the Model 60 is a 5-shot. I read articles leading up to the arrival of my new purchase. The one article that summed it all up was, "A Master of None." Can't recall the author or the publication, but the title pretty well summed up the author's opinion of the Model 60. He compared accuracy, concealability, ergonomics, etc.
Well, I don't shoot pistols often. Maybe once every 2 years. Maybe. In other words, I'm not biased toward any one brand or model (well... I may be now). I don't know the difference because I'm not comparing anything side by side. I didn't want to start with .38 Special ammo to get a feel and then move up. I picked up a box of Ammo Inc. 110gr .357 Magnum advertised to run at 1510 ft/s from a 4" barrel
The hollow points were strategically weakened to aid rapid expansion by cuts made longitudinally from the nose. I'm no ammo expert, but it seemed like over 1500 ft/s from a 4" barrel - even at a lightweight 110 grains is some fairly bad@ss ammo! So from a 3" I'm probably still getting, what - 1450 - 1475? I figured this was the perfect load to rip the bandaid off with before ordering Double Tap or Buffalo Bore 180gr and 200gr hard cast. I've never been crazy about recoil, but I've never shyed (sp.?) away from it, either. I've fired a .454 Casull before, but I was in my prime.
When I unboxed the Model 60 and opened the case, I was smitten. Picking it up, I could see it had been fired twice from the factory, as 2 cylinder holes were stained on the muzzle end. Each hole was littered with some powdery-crystalline substance adhering to the walls so that a cartridge could not be loaded until they were cleaned out. The 2 holes that had been fired from had a decent amount of powder residue, also. The residue was mostly in the distal end of the cylinder. I was worried initially that the substance had pitted the walls, but that was not the case.
I was able to run 5 rounds through it yesterday after finishing with grass cutting chores on some family land up state. I always get butterflies before firing a new gun - mainly because I am anxious to see what kind of accuracy I'll get and whether or not I have mechanical issues. I set up a 2'x1.5' cardboard box with a 3" red target spot with black diamond center and stepped of 17 steps ensuring I had an honest 15 yards. As the first round left the barrel, I had substantial muzzle flip, which was to be expected. Quite similar to my experience with .45 Auto. Nothing I was concerned with. The shot flew out a little low and way left of point of aim. It was likely feeling the effects of residual oil in the barrel. Shots 2-5 landed within 2 3/16" of each other with their collective geographic center being exactly 3" left of dead center of the target spot. This was just offhand, but taking my time. The fine engraving of the beautiful wood grips let me know they were there. Not something I would have wanted to do all day, but certainly fine for a few cylinders worth of practice. Eventually, I'll get around to trying my hand at double action shooting a little faster, but I did fire all rounds yesterday in single action mode. My only gripe is what I've seen on other reviews. When you open the cylinder to eject the spent casings, the ejector rod doesn't drive them 100% of the way out and most of them (4) were still in the cylinder hanging upside down and required me to manually remove them. It wasn't difficult, but if I had needed to use that hand to retrieve and deploy a speedloader under stress, that would have been a problem. So doesn't matter how fast you could insert a new cylinder full with a speedloader, you're going to be limited to 5 shots only for several seconds. I equate this a magazine not releasing from a semi-auto. Actually, that could probably be remedied faster than several cases hanging from your cylinder in a revolver. Another thing I'm questioning is how difficult would it be to reload the cylinder without cleaning. I could see residue down each cylinder hole. So was it a little difficult to get the fired cases out because the brass expanded or because there is minimum tolerance and a tiny bit of soot can bind the now-expanded cases? I will follow up on this later, though, I was able to reload it fairly easily with the .38 Special loads I want to use for home defense. My guess is that after 2 or 3 cylinders fired, I might have a more difficult time ejecting fired brass and greater difficulty reloading if sustained fire was in order.
Overall impressions are that I absolutely love it. I would have been happy with a 4-shot group twice the size I got. I am impressed and a little surprised at the accuracy potential of the little 3" barrel. Fortunately, the Model 60 has sights that are adjustable for windage, so it should be very easy to move that point of impact over to the point of aim. I will buy more of this ammo and actually test it again off a bench with my Garmin Xero to verify speed. I am glad I jumped on the deal when it came up. HOWEVER... I am going to agree with the other reviewers and gun writers. This is not the best option for EDC. Not because itxs too heavy or too bulky or under-powered or inaccurate. It's because when things happen fast, you can only count on having 5 rounds. The time it takes you to get more in and re-engage will likely be detrimental to your well-being. A sidearm to carry while hunting (where legal) or something to keep in the bedroom or hidden elsewhere in the kitchen or trunk or back seat in cade your home or car is invaded and as a last option - PERFECT! I have a solution for myself in EDC. Everyone else will need to find their own. Mine will be a Dan Wesson Guardian (aluminum frame commander) in .38 Super!
Regardless of the Herculean effort required to make the HK .40 to go "POP," I can stack 5 inside 2 1/2" nicely. It actually carries a slightly lower recoil impulse than the 9mm souped up. Full disclosure: I searched out the slowest and lightest weight bullets I could find for the .40 to check it out. When looking for a CC gun, I wanted more than a 3" 9mm could give, plus the P320 platform was a little more bulky than I'd like to deal with in EDC. I wanted power in a small package that felt at home in the hand and had a great trigger. Accuracy was a must. True, you aren't generally going to engage a bad guy in a defensive situation at or beyond 15 yards, but I'd probably engage 4-legged or even NO-legged targets in the outdoors more often.
Enter the S&W Model 60 Performamce Center. I had looked at revolvers extensively, and almost bought both a no-lock Mountain Gun in .44 Magnum, and a 6" King Cobra. Then I got on a 10mm kick. Then I looked extensively at several Taurus 3" .357s thinking they were more pragmatic. I even seriously considered the Model 69.
I subscribe to Grab-a-Gun's notifications, and one came across one day for a Model 60 Performance center. At like $650, I snatched it. I knew I had looked at them, but couldn't get by the fact they were well over twice the price of the 3" Taurus models.
I'm not a fan of short, stubby barrels. Not on my rifles, and not on my pistols. I felt like 3" was bare bones minimum. 2 7/8" would be a deal breaker. What I'd forgotten is the Model 60 is a 5-shot. I read articles leading up to the arrival of my new purchase. The one article that summed it all up was, "A Master of None." Can't recall the author or the publication, but the title pretty well summed up the author's opinion of the Model 60. He compared accuracy, concealability, ergonomics, etc.
Well, I don't shoot pistols often. Maybe once every 2 years. Maybe. In other words, I'm not biased toward any one brand or model (well... I may be now). I don't know the difference because I'm not comparing anything side by side. I didn't want to start with .38 Special ammo to get a feel and then move up. I picked up a box of Ammo Inc. 110gr .357 Magnum advertised to run at 1510 ft/s from a 4" barrel
The hollow points were strategically weakened to aid rapid expansion by cuts made longitudinally from the nose. I'm no ammo expert, but it seemed like over 1500 ft/s from a 4" barrel - even at a lightweight 110 grains is some fairly bad@ss ammo! So from a 3" I'm probably still getting, what - 1450 - 1475? I figured this was the perfect load to rip the bandaid off with before ordering Double Tap or Buffalo Bore 180gr and 200gr hard cast. I've never been crazy about recoil, but I've never shyed (sp.?) away from it, either. I've fired a .454 Casull before, but I was in my prime.
When I unboxed the Model 60 and opened the case, I was smitten. Picking it up, I could see it had been fired twice from the factory, as 2 cylinder holes were stained on the muzzle end. Each hole was littered with some powdery-crystalline substance adhering to the walls so that a cartridge could not be loaded until they were cleaned out. The 2 holes that had been fired from had a decent amount of powder residue, also. The residue was mostly in the distal end of the cylinder. I was worried initially that the substance had pitted the walls, but that was not the case.
I was able to run 5 rounds through it yesterday after finishing with grass cutting chores on some family land up state. I always get butterflies before firing a new gun - mainly because I am anxious to see what kind of accuracy I'll get and whether or not I have mechanical issues. I set up a 2'x1.5' cardboard box with a 3" red target spot with black diamond center and stepped of 17 steps ensuring I had an honest 15 yards. As the first round left the barrel, I had substantial muzzle flip, which was to be expected. Quite similar to my experience with .45 Auto. Nothing I was concerned with. The shot flew out a little low and way left of point of aim. It was likely feeling the effects of residual oil in the barrel. Shots 2-5 landed within 2 3/16" of each other with their collective geographic center being exactly 3" left of dead center of the target spot. This was just offhand, but taking my time. The fine engraving of the beautiful wood grips let me know they were there. Not something I would have wanted to do all day, but certainly fine for a few cylinders worth of practice. Eventually, I'll get around to trying my hand at double action shooting a little faster, but I did fire all rounds yesterday in single action mode. My only gripe is what I've seen on other reviews. When you open the cylinder to eject the spent casings, the ejector rod doesn't drive them 100% of the way out and most of them (4) were still in the cylinder hanging upside down and required me to manually remove them. It wasn't difficult, but if I had needed to use that hand to retrieve and deploy a speedloader under stress, that would have been a problem. So doesn't matter how fast you could insert a new cylinder full with a speedloader, you're going to be limited to 5 shots only for several seconds. I equate this a magazine not releasing from a semi-auto. Actually, that could probably be remedied faster than several cases hanging from your cylinder in a revolver. Another thing I'm questioning is how difficult would it be to reload the cylinder without cleaning. I could see residue down each cylinder hole. So was it a little difficult to get the fired cases out because the brass expanded or because there is minimum tolerance and a tiny bit of soot can bind the now-expanded cases? I will follow up on this later, though, I was able to reload it fairly easily with the .38 Special loads I want to use for home defense. My guess is that after 2 or 3 cylinders fired, I might have a more difficult time ejecting fired brass and greater difficulty reloading if sustained fire was in order.
Overall impressions are that I absolutely love it. I would have been happy with a 4-shot group twice the size I got. I am impressed and a little surprised at the accuracy potential of the little 3" barrel. Fortunately, the Model 60 has sights that are adjustable for windage, so it should be very easy to move that point of impact over to the point of aim. I will buy more of this ammo and actually test it again off a bench with my Garmin Xero to verify speed. I am glad I jumped on the deal when it came up. HOWEVER... I am going to agree with the other reviewers and gun writers. This is not the best option for EDC. Not because itxs too heavy or too bulky or under-powered or inaccurate. It's because when things happen fast, you can only count on having 5 rounds. The time it takes you to get more in and re-engage will likely be detrimental to your well-being. A sidearm to carry while hunting (where legal) or something to keep in the bedroom or hidden elsewhere in the kitchen or trunk or back seat in cade your home or car is invaded and as a last option - PERFECT! I have a solution for myself in EDC. Everyone else will need to find their own. Mine will be a Dan Wesson Guardian (aluminum frame commander) in .38 Super!
