Thanks, everyone. On style, it isn't just S&W but the sweetly angled underlug of the pro series. The trigger lock isn't just mechanically complicated but a black mark against the beauty of these guns.
It would be ideal to hold them side by side but it is rare to find even one of these in stock somewhere. One or two dealers have told me that they have had trouble selling the pro series in the past so stopped stocking them before the demand craze. It seems that most dealers in Vermont have focused on the S&W standard models and a bunch of Taurus. Now they barely have anything.
A local dealer ordered both of the topic models here with the expectation that I'll buy one and he'll stock the other. Both are on indefinite back-order. Let's just hope that he can actually get both sometime this year.
I've also opened myself to the possibility of the newish model 632 pro series if I come across one. Some dealers have told me that anything in .327 is a silly investment and one even called it a "lady's caliber". My first semi-automatic pistol was a Bond-style .32acp and I loved it. I feel like the power problem is reasonably remedied with 32 H&R magnum or the more impressive .327 Federal Magnum. A 6-shot J-frame is novel too. There are problems beyond ammo shortages though. There are style limitations. The sleek 632 has that cool underlug but do I really want an exposed hammer in a CCW J-frame? I'd really prefer a small shrouded DAO for light carry and .327 seems like a perfect fit for this task. It seems like .327 could also do in K-frame what the 686 plus did in L-frame and I'd be all over that. Since we might never see either, I guess I'll just stay open to all three choices here, and maybe even a 432PD... You'd think with four choices and three in current production, it wouldn't be so hard to start my foray into revolvers.
