New S & W Model 60

[Sky Dog]

New addition to the fold.....CC for the Mrs. Very manageable .38 spl recoil for a 60 year old commando.

 

[200Apples]

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Yes, sir. I do like mine, but I while it is quite accurate with commercial .357 Magnum loads I prefer to shoot it with .38 Special +P. It was suggested elsewhere that one load the first three chambers with .38 +P then the final two bores with .357...

 

[Drail]

One of the old S&W's finest models. The great thing is they made so many they are available on the used market all the time. Sky Dog, is your name possibly in reference to Duane Allman? (or perhaps you're an old pilot?)

 

[RealGun]

My 60-10 that I carry with Speer Short Barrel but practice with my "357 Lite" using 125 gr lead and SR4756, always using cases that match what is stamped on the barrel.

 

[bannockburn]

Sky Dog

Great choice for concealed carry for your wife! I gave a friend of mine a Model 638 with a slightly longer barrel for his wife to use for concealed carry. She carries it in a purse that has several inside pockets with a built-in holster for them.

 

[.308 Norma]

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Yes, sir. I do like mine, but I while it is quite accurate with commercial .357 Magnum loads I prefer to shoot it with .38 Special +P. It was suggested elsewhere that one load the first three chambers with .38 +P then the final two bores with .357...

Yeppers, I like mine too. I picked it up last summer, and was going to make it my "bummin' around in the hills and creek fishin' gun." But mine shoots about 4" high at 25 yards with the loads I'm using. Does yours shoot high with .38+P loads? I load my own, using .357 brass loaded to .38+P pressures. I've lowered the rear sight as far as it will go, but because it's still grouping higher than I want with .38+P loads, I'm considering installing a taller front sight. What do you think?

 

[Hanshi]

I have an earlier M60 from a few decades ago. I shoot it with wadcutter loads but keep it loaded with standard pressure lead HP cartridges. I'm a fan of those little revolvers.

 

[RealGun]

Yeppers, I like mine too. I picked it up last summer, and was going to make it my "bummin' around in the hills and creek fishin' gun." But mine shoots about 4" high at 25 yards with the loads I'm using. Does yours shoot high with .38+P loads? I load my own, using .357 brass loaded to .38+P pressures. I've lowered the rear sight as far as it will go, but because it's still grouping higher than I want with .38+P loads, I'm considering installing a taller front sight. What do you think?

That is not a gun for 158 gr bullets. Try 125, which should group lower.

 

[.308 Norma]

That is not a gun for 158 gr bullets. Try 125, which should group lower.

Thanks RealGun!
I was wondering about that. About the same time I bought my Model 60, I bought 500, cast,158gr. SWC-HP gas checked bullets from Rim Rock Bullets of Montana. I guess I'll have to find another use for them. Oh well...

 

[RealGun]

Thanks RealGun!
I was wondering about that. About the same time I bought my Model 60, I bought 500, cast,158gr. SWC-HP gas checked bullets from Rim Rock Bullets of Montana. I guess I'll have to find another use for them. Oh well...

Now you need to buy a 357 rifle to go with your bullets.

 

[200Apples]

I've lowered the rear sight as far as it will go, but because it's still grouping higher than I want with .38+P loads, I'm considering installing a taller front sight. What do you think?

Real Gun brings up a good point regarding bullet weight... and, too, I've not used this little gun outdoors or at any ranges past 10 yards. What distances were involved for your groups? I may have been using a six o'clock hold but I've had satisfactory results at 7 and 10 yards on paper with the above-posted 125 and 135 grain .38 +P. Many shots were touching, offhand, in single action. I should try to ring some 35 and 50-yard steel silhouettes and report back at that time (it will be weeks yet).

I have a larger Hogue Monogrip for it; I installed it for .357 practice but that practice lasted for five cylinders. That was enough of that. Even with the big, comfy grip the gun gives a good smack. I must remember, though, the infamous words of Clint Smith, paraphrased as, "Handguns are meant to be comforting, not necessarily comfortable..."

Overall, I like this gun's diminutive size, and I prefer the factory grip because it's a bit smaller than the Hogue. I had originally purchased this svelte silver whirlenpopper to dispose of a pile of .38 Special that my Marlin 1894CS357 wouldn't digest, but found that .38 +P is a great load for it. Yes, it's a J-Magnum frame and because of that I do run a cylinder full of .357 from time to time so that I remain familiar with recoil.

 

[Sky Dog]

One of the old S&W's finest models. The great thing is they made so many they are available on the used market all the time. Sky Dog, is your name possibly in reference to Duane Allman? (or perhaps you're an old pilot?)

I always thought it was a really cool internet handle. The fact it's the same as the all time greatest blues guitarist is purely coincidental.

 

[.308 Norma]

Now you need to buy a 357 rifle to go with your bullets.

Ha! If a person didn't love handloading and shooting, that could be considered a "vicious circle."
Actually I already have a couple of guns in mind for trying those cast, 158gr SWC-HPs in. One's an old Ruger, Security Six, and the other is an old Smith, .38 Special that I don't know the model number of, but it's a larger frame than the Model 60.

 

[.308 Norma]

Real Gun brings up a good point regarding bullet weight... and, too, I've not used this little gun outdoors or at any ranges past 10 yards. What distances were involved for your groups?

I'm talking 25 yards, and I always use the 6:00 o'clock hold too.
Actually though, I'm not quite ready to give up on those 158gr bullets for my Model 60 just yet. The fact is I have about 50 loaded rounds, using those bullets with a couple of different powders and varying charge weights, sitting on my loading bench right now. I just haven't been able to get out and try them yet because of the weather in the last few months. My shooting "range" is a county gravel pit, about 2 miles south of here, and it's been filled with about 3 feet of snow since last October. Spring will get here someday though, and I'll be able to get out and shoot all of the "experimental" ammo I've accumulated on my loading bench this winter.

 

[200Apples]

My shooting "range" is a county gravel pit, about 2 miles south of here...

Outstanding.

I hope the snow melts soon enough for you.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I guess I'm old fashioned. I never wanted a 357 Magnum J frame. 38 Special is all I care to fire in a J frame.

I found this Model 60 about two years ago. It shipped in 1975 and is 38 Special only.

 

[Drail]

Very nice. Nothing at all wrong with being old fashioned.

 

[tubeshooter]

Very nice - congratulations to the OP.


I picked up this exact same model about a month ago. Still haven't gotten a chance to fire it yet. I like the balance and the classic look. Like many, I regard it as more of an "ultimate .38" than anything. I am glad the gun is magnum-capable, but I have other guns for that role.

 

[Brian Williams]

I have one of these, a 38spec 60-4 and it is a great gun. I have a 9mm cylinder that is fitted to it and this make for a very versatile and compact gun. Shoots well with all ammo I have used.

 

[RealGun]

Howdy

I guess I'm old fashioned. I never wanted a 357 Magnum J frame. 38 Special is all I care to fire in a J frame.

I found this Model 60 about two years ago. It shipped in 1975 and is 38 Special only.

But you can load it beyond +p using 357 cases. But that is where that grip would no longer serve in my hands.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

But you can load it beyond +p using 357 cases. But that is where that grip would no longer serve in my hands.

Nope, no can do, even if I wanted to.

My old Model 60, no dash is 38 Special only. It will not accept .357 Mag cases, I just tried. They will not fully chamber by about 1/8".

Not interested in shooting anything other than standard 38 Speical 158 grain lead round nose of 158 grain Semi Wadcutters out of any J frame. No +p loads, thanks very much, just not interested.

 

[RealGun]

Nope, no can do, even if I wanted to.

My old Model 60, no dash is 38 Special only. It will not accept .357 Mag cases, I just tried. They will not fully chamber by about 1/8".

Not interested in shooting anything other than standard 38 Speical 158 grain lead round nose of 158 grain Semi Wadcutters out of any J frame. No +p loads, thanks very much, just not interested.

Sorry, both of my 60s are 357, and no, I wouldn't care to shoot in-spec 357 Magnum in either one. That has as much to do with the size of the grip as the weight and size of the gun. My hands are just too tender these days.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Sorry, both of my 60s are 357, and no, I wouldn't care to shoot in-spec 357 Magnum in either one.

Howdy Again

The S&W Model 60 was the first Stainless Steel production revolver that S&W made. Sometimes called the 38 Stainless Chief's Special.The Model 60 was a Stainless version of the Chief's Special/Model 36. Here is a photo of an early Model 36 for comparison.

Originally introduced in 1965, it was chambered for 38 Special, just like the Model 36. It was not until 1996 with the Model 60-9 that the gun was chambered for 357 Magnum. The Model 60 was the first S&W revolver to use the number 6 in the model number to denote a Stainless gun.

There have been so many variations of the Model 60 over the years that I can't keep up with them. Target sights, 3" barrels, full lug barrels, you name it.

 

[JFrame]

Love the 60 form factor...!

I have a fairly recent 60-Pro with the dad-blasted Hillary hole. A Pachmayr grip has replaced the inner-tube since the photo was taken.

When and if it comes time to start divesting the inventory, I'm sure the 60 will keep making the "cut"...

 

[340PD]

I bought a Mod. 60 Pro back a year or so. Took my 42 year old daughter to the range for her first shoot with any firearm. Twenty rounds through a Ruger/Volquartsen MKIII and on to the Mod.60 with Crimson Trace LG305's. Nice to have steady nerves. No, she does not have an eye problem, it is the angle of the glasses in the pic.
BTW. MY gun now resides in HER bedside gun vault.