Best option for current, off-the-shelf 3" .357? King Cobra vs 66 vs Ruger vs Kimber?

[Borderland]

I think @03RN would disagree. He has a pretty nice newish Model 66, I believe.

There are two newish Model 60s in my household (-13 and -15), both 3". They've been reliable guns, though they're not really range toys.

I have a reliable 625-8. That's about all I can say about it. I almost cry when I compare the quality to a 19-3.

But it's all just a matter of what one needs a revolver to do. We aren't talking about Rolex watches here.

[03RN]

I think @03RN would disagree. He has a pretty nice newish Model 66, I believe.

There are two newish Model 60s in my household (-13 and -15), both 3". They've been reliable guns, though they're not really range toys.

I think most people "in the know" pass on new smiths because they dont want the soul to leak out of the hole.

Quality wise? I have 5 other pre lock smiths and the 2.75" m66-8 has the best trigger and is the most accurate.

When i was working in a gunstore/range the prelock rentals saw a lot of rounds and we seldom had people bring the new ones back with issues.

I dont think their QC is any worse than beretta or ruger with their customer service somewhere in the middle.

[Spartan1980]

3" MR73 here if you dare

It's got a goodly amount of carry wear but may go at a somewhat reasonable price. Currently $1160.

I posted this in the above linked thread by accident.

[Baldanders]

Little to add, but after trying a 3" fixed sight GP a few months back, I would have no hesitation in buying one for anything except maybe for carry. It tames full-power .357 better than even a 4" 686, IMO. Heck, it tames recoil better than my 4" Trooper MKIII of similar weight.

[Salamander]

I have a reliable 625-8. That's about all I can say about it. I almost cry when I compare the quality to a 19-3.

But it's all just a matter of what one needs a revolver to do. We aren't talking about Rolex watches here.

That's a good point. My 625-9 is reliable and accurate and occasionally gets carried in the backcountry. My 19-3 is much prettier, which is why it lives in the safe and hardly ever goes to the range (I have a beat up old 19-5 for that).

The way I'd phrase it is that I'd be hesitant to buy a new S&W without being able to hold it and examine it first, because I've seen more than a few clocked barrels and other issues on store shelves. On the other hand my M&P 340 no-lock was purchased new several years ago and runs fine, and I keep being tempted by that Model 66 2.75-inch, just haven't seen one on the shelf yet locally.

[Borderland]

I think most people "in the know" pass on new smiths because they dont want the soul to leak out of the hole.

Quality wise? I have 5 other pre lock smiths and the 2.75" m66-8 has the best trigger and is the most accurate.

When i was working in a gunstore/range the prelock rentals saw a lot of rounds and we seldom had people bring the new ones back with issues.

I dont think their QC is any worse than beretta or ruger with their customer service somewhere in the middle.

Yeah, you might as well have a Tokarev.

[HCM]

Yeah, you might as well have a Tokarev.

Tokarevs are for making souls leak out of the back of the head. Usually at the edge of a ditch.

[gato naranja]

As a follow-up to my earlier post(s), a short addition on "general purpose" holsters for my "general purpose" revolver...

I wanted an OWB holster that would allow me to wear strong-side or cross-draw, and I wanted a hammer strap. The latter might be an old guy thing, but whaddaya gonna do? The two tried so far are a Simply Rugged Sourdough Pancake and a DeSantis Dual Angle Hunter; the former is recent, the latter has been on gn's island of forgotten holsters since the Great Revolver Purge.

While I like the idea of the Sourdough, the thing is huge. "It's like a planetoid... has it's own weather system..." Nice, thick leather, and acres of it. It is dandy as a chest rig if you have a harness that will accommodate it, but it slops over my own subjective size limit on a belt holster. Bigger cats than me (a paunchy 5' 9-1/2") may find it more to their liking.

The Dual Angle Hunter is much more trim, but the leather of the belt loop is depressingly thin.

After some walking about with both of them, I will say that both do work, though the DeSantis is far more useful as a cross-draw rig for me due to the more "horizontal" orientation of the gun due to the belt loop configuration and resulting angles thereof. The Sourdough covers the trigger, a feature I have come to prefer but am not insistent upon. So, much to my chagrin, I remain on the hunt for the right utility holster for my utility sixgun.*


*Anyone out there ever use a Galco Switchback with a GP100? If so, speak into my good ear and tell me about it. I am not a leather snob, and actually used to like nylon holsters for hunting and woodswalking. There. I said it. Flame away.

[Chuck Whitlock]

As a follow-up to my earlier post(s), a short addition on "general purpose" holsters for my "general purpose" revolver...

the DeSantis is far more useful as a cross-draw rig for me due to the more "horizontal" orientation of the gun due to the belt loop configuration and resulting angles thereof. The Sourdough covers the trigger, a feature I have come to prefer but am not insistent upon. So, much to my chagrin, I remain on the hunt for the right utility holster for my utility sixgun.*

These features are combined in the Bianchi 111 Cyclone.

https://safariland.com/collections/h...-holster-10814

[HeavyDuty]

If I’m strictly applying your rules of “off the shelf” and “NEW” I’d recommend taking a hard look at the K6s with the only addition being the new Hogue bantam grips. Though the other revolvers on the list are excellent, each of them would require me to do some fine tuning for my preference. The K6s comes “off the shelf” with sight options and a super slick action. For me, the K6s shoots like a larger framed revolver with the Hogue grips.

If you plan on running a “torture test” sized round count of max pressure magnums then the GP100 would get the nod.

If you didn’t mind investing in enhancements, don’t intend on running solely max pressure magnum loads, the S&W K frame might be the top runner with a smooth and tune action job, aftermarket grips and upgraded sights.

I’m rather fond of my 3” K6s, and I wasn’t aware that the rubber Bantams were finally out. I’ll have to track a set down, no one other than Hogue has them in stock right now that I can find.