Why s&w over xyz service size?

[Rex G]

There have been some excellent responses, so I will just mention a few things.

For a while, S&W was owned by Bangor Punta. This was a sad time for consistent tolerances, and quality control. When I first started using S&W revolvers, during the hiring process with a large PD, then academy training and my early LEO-ing career, it was during this era, which has affected my views on S&W since that time. Things got better after the Bangor Punta era, until the MIM parts made their appearance, and actions became rougher. Then, the keyholes started, and I started seeing credible anecdotes of malfunctions caused by the key-lock system enaging unintentionally, during recoil, so I again held S&W in low regard.

To be clear, however, there are plenty of excellent individual S&W revolvers available. Learn to select a good one, before buying.

The Ruger Security/Service/Speed Six revolvers, that I handled, had quite rough actions. When the GP100 became available, I found that careful selection could result in finding one with a smooth action. My most-favored duty handgun, period, is the GP100 I bought about 1990 or 1991. I did move to lighter-weight duty handguns, later, but still have, and cherish, my first GP100. My newest firearms purchase, a few months ago, was a Wiley Clapp 3” GP100, with a tritium front sight.

Sometime around the turn of the century, according to at least one account, a noted gunsmith familiar with Rugers, (perhaps Weigand?) helped Ruger factory personnel learn to deliver a consistently better trigger pull. Sorry, I am unable to recall or cite the source. Every post-2002 GP100 and GP100 I have bought has had a quite decent, to excellent, DA trigger, except one 5” GP100, and I settled for that one because it was the only one of a limited run I could find.

My 1990-era Colt Stainless Python had a rougher DA trigger than my GP100. The single-action trigger was, of course, excellent. I did not keep it very long. In hindsight, I should have keep it locked-away, as a financial investment.