New revolvers at SHOT/Lipsey's release

[D-der]

Me, too--Still have 4 or 5 Boxes left out of the last Case I bought--In 1988 or '89--Wow, was it THAT long ago???

Jeez, I'd pretty much sworn off on any new S&W and, 38's for that matter...might have to rethink this. The video was very informative. I may have to have one but, I'm curious about the trigger, they said improved but, now much, how consistent will the improvements be gun to gun...

[Totem Polar]

Neighbor is over and seeing the safe open with ten full speed loaders, points and asks Totem Polar what exactly he is afraid of? Totem Polar answers "not a goddamn thing!"

LoL! I have more HKS 10-A loaders than J-frame. That’s where it gets sort of silly in an autoloading world.

@JEC, I’m pretty sure I’m not alone in saying that we are glad you are posting here. Please feel encouraged to stick around.

[Hideeho]

The 32 vs 38 debate is one I struggled with too until I shot them. After putting hundreds of rounds through both, the 32 is around 30% less felt recoil in my opinion. Way easier to get quick hits. The 38 with wadcutters running 750 fps or so isn’t bad but the same 32 100gr wadcutter at 800 fps is noticeably softer to shoot. 32 S&W Long is like a 22 LR recoil wise and would be a great choice for practice or the super recoil sensitive shooter.

A 432 0r 632 might make my 351c unnecessary. Especially when you compare the cost of Punch to wadcutters.

[Wingate's Hairbrush]

Hey everyone I was traveling to Vegas for SHOT today and have been getting the booth setup. I’ll try to answer a few questions I’ve seen.

The guns will start shipping to dealers end of February. MSRP is $759 which puts the UC right in the middle of the standard 642 and the M&P 340.

This isn’t a one run and done deal. Our initial order is 1000 of each of the four models. We already have plans for more orders staged throughout the year.

For those disappointed that it’s not a K frame don’t fret, I have a lot more in projects in the queue. The J-Frame was where we could get one done the quickest. I think 2024 and 2025 will be great years for revolver fans.

The 32 vs 38 debate is one I struggled with too until I shot them. After putting hundreds of rounds through both, the 32 is around 30% less felt recoil in my opinion. Way easier to get quick hits. The 38 with wadcutters running 750 fps or so isn’t bad but the same 32 100gr wadcutter at 800 fps is noticeably softer to shoot. 32 S&W Long is like a 22 LR recoil wise and would be a great choice for practice or the super recoil sensitive shooter.

Sight regulation is something we spent a long time on and shot everything from 110gr to 158gr +P in the 38. The 130’s gr ammo along with 148 Wadcutter ammo hit dead on out to 15 yards. As you get out to 25 yards the bullets impact a couple inches high. This actually works well because a slight six o clock hold puts the round where you want them and you can see the target better. The 110gr -125gr ammo only shot a couple inches low at 15 yards and the 158’s only shot a couple inches high at 15. I think the new grips allow a higher hold on the gun and helps reduce the muzzle rise thus decreasing the bigger disparities in point of impact.

For the 32’s we shot everything from Double Tap 60gr all copper loads to heavy 120gr hard cast. Same phenomenon here. The 60gr stuff shot about 3” low at 15 and the 120’s shot 2 to 3” high at 15. 85gr to 100gr ammo shot to the sights at 15. The 32 Long ammo shot to the sights as well.

I had Darryl Bolke and Bryan Eastridge come down to help with the sight regulation shoot. I wanted several experienced shooters to shoot the same guns with the same loads to get a consensus. It was cool to see DB, Bryan, Andrew Gore from S&W and myself all put the a cylinder of ammo in the same group. That’s when we knew we had something.

Some people bemoan the two piece barrel but there are some advantages and in my opinion was a better option here. First, the two piece allows the factory to set the cylinder gap more consistently. All the samples I measured came in at .006. The other benefit was Smith could adjust the height of the ramp for sight regulation for the 32 and the 38 and that allowed the use of the same front sight. Working with third parties like XS it makes it easier to have one sight height to contend with.

I hope this answers some of the questions and or concerns. I’m very happy how these turned out. S&W was very accommodating to all my request and they made several trips down with sample guns to make sure they were exactly what we wanted. When I pitch a project to a manufacturer I ask for everything and hope to get 75% of it. This time I got 100% and actually a little more with the Endurance Package.

Thank you for the nice words about the video. Our marketing team worked really hard to get footage of the process from the beginning. For 3 guys they did a great job.

Jason

Great post -- thank you. Can you tell us a little more about alterations to geometry and springing?

[alohadoug]

I had been contemplating getting a Model 31 and doing something similar (LCR just didn't work for me).

Now I guess I'll save the money and pray it gets submitted for Mass compliance..

[Stephanie B]

Crossing my fingers for an alloy-frame L-frame .44 Special with a thicker forcing cone.

[JWintergreen]

Since a D frame size Smith is unlikely, a new Model 12 or 612 (Stainless version) with all of these features would be fantastic.

[CCT125US]

@JEC in regards to sight regulation, are they shooting drive the dot / cover hold, or top of the dot / front sight? May be splitting hairs, but curious either way.

Also assume holster compatibility and the Crimson Trace LG-405 fitment remains the same.

[okie john]

If resale value is a consideration, the .32 S&W J frame revolvers have brought crazy prices, and a limited run with this feature set might be even more valuable.

These new Lipsey's J frames are making it hard for me to not spend money at a time in life when I am getting unlikely to consider them truly worthwhile investments.

Yep.

If the value of a "truly worthwhile investment" depends on usability, then this may not check all of the boxes. If the value depends on the price climbing, I think you'll be OK. Lipsey's guns tend to languish on shelves at full retail for a while, then prices nearly double and keep climbing. Try to find a Ruger New Model Blackhawk Flat Top in 45 Colt these days. The convertible and Bisley versions are even more expensive.


Okie John

[Stephanie B]

Lipsey’s is going to cost me money.