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Jim March · February 28, 2013, 10:29 PM

As I'm a "revolver guy" I'll speak to those.

I think they're doing very nicely with the SA series right now. The normal catalog guns are great and there's lots of off-catalog distributor specials coming out on a regular basis. They took the improvements developed on the mid-frames from 2004 on and in 2007 brought them to the large frame. We're also seeing 9-shot Single Sixes in 22Mag, 10-shot in .22LR.

The new 4.2" barrel SP101 with adjustable sights is a jewel. Seriously. It has big-gun ballistics in a small-gun package. It's what the S&W "kit gun" series dreams of being...and among other things, is the best backpacker's gun for the lower 48 ever.

The LCR is a great design. Awesome trigger, cheap to build and sell, both the 38 and 357 flavors work great. Best snubbies around. Yes, there's a keylock buried in the grip frame but it's the same one they've used on most of the cowboy guns since 2004 with zero reported failures - they tested the setup on guns unlikely to be pressed into defensive duty, a very responsible move.

The GP100 is now pretty long in the tooth. Arguably so is the SP101 and for sure so is the Redhawk and SuperRed. I expect one or more to get replaced soon. I think the trigger improvements found in the LCRs will make their way to the bigger wheelguns, although they'll want to get caught up from the current crunch before going there.

What could they do easily from here? Well an eight-shot "Alaskan" in 357 is an obvious move, and would be way cool. Kinda niche but if they made it lighter somehow it would rock hard. So would a lighter version of the GP100 or better yet, bring back the old "Service/Security/Speed" size frame in a six-shot 357 and a lightweight rear end like the LCR has. Or better yet, a 9mm - I have come to believe that we should be seeing and using 9mm wheelguns more these days, for a number of reasons...not least the existence of very good, high-end +P and +P+ rounds that don't really give up a lot to the 357 in a personal defense role. A revolver truly optimized for the 9 would be a jewel.

February 28, 2013, 10:29 PM	#13
Jim March Senior Member Join Date: February 14, 1999 Location: Pittsburg, CA, USA Posts: 7,417	As I'm a "revolver guy" I'll speak to those. I think they're doing very nicely with the SA series right now. The normal catalog guns are great and there's lots of off-catalog distributor specials coming out on a regular basis. They took the improvements developed on the mid-frames from 2004 on and in 2007 brought them to the large frame. We're also seeing 9-shot Single Sixes in 22Mag, 10-shot in .22LR. The new 4.2" barrel SP101 with adjustable sights is a jewel. Seriously. It has big-gun ballistics in a small-gun package. It's what the S&W "kit gun" series dreams of being...and among other things, is the best backpacker's gun for the lower 48 ever. The LCR is a great design. Awesome trigger, cheap to build and sell, both the 38 and 357 flavors work great. Best snubbies around. Yes, there's a keylock buried in the grip frame but it's the same one they've used on most of the cowboy guns since 2004 with zero reported failures - they tested the setup on guns unlikely to be pressed into defensive duty, a very responsible move. The GP100 is now pretty long in the tooth. Arguably so is the SP101 and for sure so is the Redhawk and SuperRed. I expect one or more to get replaced soon. I think the trigger improvements found in the LCRs will make their way to the bigger wheelguns, although they'll want to get caught up from the current crunch before going there. What could they do easily from here? Well an eight-shot "Alaskan" in 357 is an obvious move, and would be way cool. Kinda niche but if they made it lighter somehow it would rock hard. So would a lighter version of the GP100 or better yet, bring back the old "Service/Security/Speed" size frame in a six-shot 357 and a lightweight rear end like the LCR has. Or better yet, a 9mm - I have come to believe that we should be seeing and using 9mm wheelguns more these days, for a number of reasons...not least the existence of very good, high-end +P and +P+ rounds that don't really give up a lot to the 357 in a personal defense role. A revolver truly optimized for the 9 would be a jewel. __________________ Jim March