New Smith M67 opinions

[Jaywalker]

Racking a slide uses the whole hand. With proper technique (Gun held close to body, hold slide, push frame) it should be easier than a DA trigger pull. Even thumbing a hammer requires one digit to do most of the work. A gun like the S&W EZ also makes slide racking easier.

re: M67s -nothing is guaranteed in life, if you want a M67 - get one.

Here is a long time S&W Armorers take on the new guns vs the "Good old days"

One of the most common hand surgeries is basal joint (base of thumb) trapeziectomy, the removal of the small bone at the base of the thumb and repair using replacement tendons. Until it reaches the point of needing surgery, the ability to grip a slide (or a jar lid) is not possible. I know people in this condition. For me, call it a form of insurance.

[HCM]

One of the most common hand surgeries is basal joint (base of thumb) trapeziectomy, the removal of the small bone at the base of the thumb and repair using replacement tendons. Until it reaches the point of needing surgery, the ability to grip a slide (or a jar lid) is not possible. I know people in this condition. For me, call it a form of insurance.

that would also preclude thumb cocking or gripping well enough to pull a DA trigger.

to use a handgun you will need at least one functional hand. If that is the case a semi auto can be loaded and manipulated much more easily with one hand than a revolver.



Hooking rear sights to rack a slide is the most common method but you can rack slides off friction alone with proper technique. Some have fancy machining on the top of the slide to facilitate this and others put strips of skate board tape on top of their slide but it can be done with standard slides.

[Jaywalker]

that would also preclude thumb cocking or gripping well enough to pull a DA trigger.

to use a handgun you will need at least one functional hand. If that is the case a semi auto can be loaded and manipulated much more easily with one hand than a revolver.



Hooking rear sights to rack a slide is the most common method but you can rack slides off friction alone with proper technique. Some have fancy machining on the top of the slide to facilitate this and others put strips of skate board tape on top of their slide but it can be done with standard slides.

Right. I do assume to one usable hand and thumb.

[RAM Engineer]

This thread has got my mind wandering...

1. I wonder if the current .38 Models 10, 64 & 67 incorporate as many of the improvements that the new Models 19-9 and 66-8 have as possible.
2. I'm not sure if the ejector rod improvements would be possible with the lug configuration of the .38 models, but that would be nice if they do.
3. For 2-legged antagonists, I think the same bullet technology improvements that helped the 9mm to obsolete the .40 and .45 should also cause the obsolescence of the .357. I think it still has a place in woods-work, but is it maybe overkill on the streets and in the homes?
4. Given #3, a 66-8 with a .38 cylinder would be a sweet practical setup. A modern day Model 68 in 2.75", 4", 6"

[revchuck38]

Re: your third point, projectile development in .38/.357 hasn’t kept up with autoloader development, other than ammo developed specifically for snubs. IMHO, if you’re carrying a 4” revolver in these calibers, you’re better served with 20th century tech with the exception of intermediate barrier performance. That said, I’m HST all the way in bottomfeeders.

[Dave T]

Racking a slide uses the whole hand. With proper technique (Gun held close to body, hold slide, push frame) it should be easier than a DA trigger pull.

Sorry young fellow but it isn't. Because of arthritis in my hands, wrists, elbows, and shoulders plus the onset of age and the attendant weakness it can create, I can no longer wrack the slides of my G36 or G30S with confidence. I can manage the G21 but it is a bit much to carry concealed.

However, I can shoot all of my DA revolvers and the only way I shoot them is DAO. Haven't cocked the hammer on one in more years than I can remember. Do not assume your circumstances, or the circumstances of the tough guy in the video, apply to everyone. They don't.

Dave

[Wingate's Hairbrush]

...Given #3, a 66-8 with a .38 cylinder would be a sweet practical setup...

Given that the .357 cylinder fires .38 Special, and claims that .38 fired from a .357 cylinder have perhaps minute negative affects on accuracy due to the deeper shoulder cut are at best overstated, and if you do shoot .357 after .38 stuck cases are a non-issue if you passingly clean the charge holes (and likely a non-issue even if you don't), why a 66-8 with a .38-only cylinder?

[RAM Engineer]

The cylinder is shorter, thus has less rotational inertia. Less force on the trigger to get it turning quickly, less force peening the cylinder notches when it stops turning.

Given that the .357 cylinder fires .38 Special, and claims that .38 fired from a .357 cylinder have perhaps minute negative affects on accuracy due to the deeper shoulder cut are at best overstated, and if you do shoot .357 after .38 stuck cases are a non-issue if you passingly clean the charge holes (and likely a non-issue even if you don't), why a 66-8 with a .38-only cylinder?

Plus less weight to carry, and zero need or want for a K-frame .357.

[Wingate's Hairbrush]

Plus less weight to carry, and zero need or want for a K-frame .357.

After S&W nixed recessed cylinders (forty years ago), .357 and .38 K-frame cylinders became functionally identical; practical differences in rotational inertia and carry weight approach zero.

[Pizza Bob]

S&W has been using EDM to 'cut' rifling since the 90s, IIRC. If it didn't shoot cast, it wasn't that.

Agreed - just more Internet lore. BTW, it's ECM - Electro Chemical Machining, not EDM which is Electro Discharge Machining.

When Smith first let it be known that they were going to use ECM to rifle their barrels the ATF was very worried. It seems that ECM produces such smooth lands and grooves the ATF was afraid that you wouldn't be able to tell, forensically, if that particular gun had been used in a crime because there would be no identifying marks on the bullet.

Along the lines of the OP, here is my 65-5 that was worked over by Mike LaRocca of MA (Mike was Frank Pachmayr's head gunsmith and he, literally, wrote the book on building a combat 1911).



Adios,

Pizza Bob