I REALLY like the small .38's that Smith & Wesson offer. I just can't justify buying one from the company that was totally trying to railroad everyone. Can you guys give me a few reasons why/why not, buy one? I know its a company under new ownership, but I still don't know all the details. Should S+W die?

Buy a used one. That way S&W gets nothing and you get the gun you want.

Kyle

I think smith and wesson makes great guns but I won't buy any more of them. They now have locks built into their guns. It takes a key to lock and unlock the gun. Some people might like this feature but I don't. If I want to lock my gun up I'l put it in my safe. I guess we will be seeing more and more of locks built into guns, which is a damn shame that companies are willing to do this crap. I just want a gun to be a gun, I don't want a bunch of extra silly shit that could cause problems when I need my gun in an emergency. If you definately want a S&W find a nice used one without the locking feature.

Quoted: Buy a used one. That way S&W gets nothing and you get the gun you want. Kyle

                                              And there`s a ton of them out there at excellent prices...........

I agree, its time to start looking in the pawn shops.  That's where I found my SW 38, got a good deal, and I've been very happy with it.

dp

The little Airweights are nice.  I carry mine all the time in the summer because it's so small and light--you can just slip it in your pocket.

I just got home from the Tulsa County Sheriffs auction. In my hand now resides a perfect I would say as new Colt detectives special.  If you knew what I paid for it you would crap your self.  I could take a couple of pics to show you. Evidence sticker and all.   I carry a 640 smith j frame from time to time.  Everybody should have at least one j frame in their lifetime.

Quoted: I think smith and wesson makes great guns but I won't buy any more of them. They now have locks built into their guns. It takes a key to lock and unlock the gun. Some people might like this feature but I don't. If I want to lock my gun up I'l put it in my safe. I guess we will be seeing more and more of locks built into guns, which is a damn shame that companies are willing to do this crap. I just want a gun to be a gun, I don't want a bunch of extra silly shit that could cause problems when I need my gun in an emergency. If you definately want a S&W find a nice used one without the locking feature.

Actually, you're wrong.  I believe that internal locks maybe an option on some revolvers, but all of the new ones I've seen don't have the feature.

Springfield is putting the ILS system in all of there 1911 series pistols though.



To pighelmet:  Buy a Model 60.  It's a great gun, chambered for a serious cartridge.  Accuracy with my 2 year old 60LS is excellent and reliability is absolute.  The trigger is stiff in double action, but it is very smooth.

S&W is not putting any internal trigger locks into any of their revolvers at the moment. What might happen in the future is anyone's guess.  They do package an EXTERNAL trigger lock with their new guns, but most of the industry is doing that now.

Re the political thing, Smith caught a lot of crap from the shooting world in general, when they signed an agreement w/ the Clintonistas some years back. THEY NEVER INSTITUTED ANY OF THAT AGREEMENT.  Understand, they were facing lawsuits, the costs of which would have put them out of business, even if they had won every single suit.  That's why the bastards who filed the suits did so in the first place.  They didn't expect to win. They wanted to force S&W to close up. Given that; it really hurts to see the people that Smith wanted to stay in business to serve (us shooters), try to do what the antigunners wanted in the first place, by boycotting Smith.

Well, S&W has new owners now, and more importantly, new on site management.  They make good guns.  The guns they make feed the families of the AMERICANS who make them, not some Turkish cluck being underpaid in a Kraut factory, or a Brazilian who'll never have enough bucks to get out of the slums because he's got 8 kids and the wife's pregnant again.

Hey, buy what you think is a good piece at a price you want to pay, where ever it's made; but for pity's sake don't make it a political issue.  Yeah, it was during the Clinton/Gore years.  THAT'S WHY WE VOTED FOR BUSH.

If you don't like S&W, then take a look at some of the Taurus Model 85's. These are pretty nice little revolvers. But out of all the small revolvers, the model 36 S&W chief's special is still my favorite.

Redmanfms and shamayim, You guys are wrong I have a S&W 686 that has the lock on it. The lock actually locks the hammer. The reason I kept the gun was that I had already paid for the gun at the time I ordered and didnt want to hassle with having to look for another gun and reordering. When I picked the gun up it had keys with it which were for the lock. The gun has the same quality as the other revolvers they make but the more I think about the lock they put on them the more it pisses me off. Go to their web site there are some articles about the locking device and its also in their new firearms manual.They make good guns but I won't purchase from them again as long as there is a quality gun out there without any internal locks.  



added-> They still give you a trigger lock with the gun.

Whoops---I stand corrected.  That's what I get for not checking the S&W site before shooting off my mouth---egg on my face.

If you don't like the internal lock, and I don't like the idea either, I guess you unlock it and throw away the key.  My only concern would be that it not crap up the smooth double action or the traditionally good trigger pull on the S&W revolvers.

Thanks for updating us on this Illinois.