Why does S&W Faux "Case Harden" Their Retro Wheelguns?

[XavierBreath]

Did S&W do away with the little drain hole by the cylinder release?

S&W didn't do away with the lock. The older Heritage Models were produced right before the lock. I'm not sure if the upcoming ones will have the zit lock or not.

You will note that each Heritage revolver also has a trigger stop screw. Cylinders are recessed on the Model 17-8 and on the Model 24. The upcoming Heritage model 29 will also have recessed cylinders, as well as an engraved blue finish and presentation box. FWIW, the blue on these guns is gorgeous. The bluing exceeds the Python in luster.

Making fun of how another person's gun looks is rather gauche. If you don't like 'em, don't buy 'em.

 

[Grey54956]

Frankly, they don't look too bad to me. I have seen a lot worse looking finishes on a revolver. And at least they don't have some incredibly ugly 1/2" tall text running down the barrel or a gold stencil Thunder Ranch logo.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Some folks like nickel, some like blued, other color case finish. To each their own.

 

[Golddog]

Nice-looking guns, except for those who hate everything that happened to firearms after 1940. Doug Turnbull's probably the best in the business.

Functionally, the three centerfire Heritage guns I've shot were outstanding in every way - nice triggers, great accuracy, excellent recoil control with the new factory wood grips. And Gun Tests Magazine, which is pretty finicky, said something to the effect that the Heritage guns were the best DA revolvers they'd ever come across.

 

[Jim March]

If a gun's mechanical action and feel are OK I'll forgive a LOT in the cosmetics dept. That includes holster wear, dings or Ruger's sometimes Godawful looking fake color case .

A Turnbull color case process is NOT fake. It's sometimes done purely for cosmetic purposes but it's not ever a crude chemical etch process like Ruger's or the lower-end Italian SAs.

I still say Taurus had the right idea though: forget fake case, just go all-blue on their SAs and other older-period guns like the Thunderbolt rifle.