A .40 caliber wheelgun....

W

warhammer357

Moderator
For a couple of years now, I have wondered why Colt, Ruger and Smith and Wesson dont bring out a .40 caliber revolver?
Think about it.
An L-Frame or King Cobra chambered in .40 caliber. It would most likely be more accurate than a .40 semi-auto (every .40 auto I ever fired sucked) and the blast and recoil should be less than a .357.
I think it would be a perfect (what used to be called by Bill Jordan) "gunfighting" weapon. I also think it would be a viable alternative to any cops out there who are wheelgunners that could not get away with packing something that said "magnum" on the barrel.
What do you guys think? Did somebody put crack in my cheerios this morning or what?
 
Been done.
The S&W M-646.
You didn't buy one, so they dropped it.

Actually the problem was, they built them in the Performance Center with a titanium cylinder which jacked up the price too high for a service revolver. Even competitive shooters ignored them - they complained about the floppy moon clips and the need to pick the right thickness clip for the ammo on hand - and stuck to their 625s. I heard that there were two 646s at the IDPA Nationals, out of 31 revolver shooters, from 327 total entries. I only saw one of them.
 
Smith & Wesson made the 610.

Shoots 10mm or .40S&W

L-Frame, I believe, and not a Performance Center gun.

There's one for sale over at the S&W forum(not mine)
 
S&W 610

Yes, I know that it's a 10 mm, but everyone I know who owns one shoots .40 S&W in it in IDPA Stock Service Revolver. And you have the option of a .41 Magnum power load for other things.
 
The 610 is an N-frame and heavy even for one of them because of the small size of the chambers and bore vs .44 or .45. I doubt it is popular as a carry or service gun. And it is a 10mm, not a .40, no matter what you can get away with in clips.
 
4" M610 is great.
M646 had some ejection and binding problems as I recall.
Check S&W forum for sure.
 
...hmmm...don't know if I should, but...aawww, what the hell...knowing about the 646, I've mentioned an idea to a couple of EXCELLENT revolver mechanics...both think it MIGHT be "Do-able", so...What if you took a 686--or a 586, for that matter--and re-chambered the cylinder for .40 S&W, and had the barrel rebored to .40/10mm??? Hhmmm??? Got yer juices flowin' YET???
Oh, yeah, I DO KNOW that the resulting revo will NOT be IDPA legal...
Well, I MAY be offering up an L-frame to the God of ballistic experimentation in the not-to-distant future...I'll keep you posted....mikey357
 
Less expensive to just find one of these.


pc646large.jpg
 
I think a standard L-frame in .40 caliber would outsell the five shot .44 spl L-frame for two reasons. Number one, six rounds. Number two, 40 ammo is a lot CHEAPER than .44 magnum.
All I want is a standard L-frame or Colt King Cobra in .40 caliber. I dont want an N-Frame, as I have three of them in .44 magnum caliber.
I think the .40 would be right at home in the King Cobra, L-Frame or GP 100 series. It would be lighter than the same gun in .357 also.
 
...well, ViLLain MIGHT be right, EXCEPT that the L-frame I may "Sacrifice" is ALREADY in the safe, and "Converting" it will cost $350-400...try buying a used 646 for that!!!....mikey357
 
Hmmm. If you make a revolver in an auto pistol round like .40 or 10mm, they will come. When you make a revolver in a lot better forty caliber and call it .41 Magnum, they stay away in droves. Puzzling.

Jim
 
I like the .41 magnum too, but its an N-frame and got three of those. 4 if you count a .45 long colt Mountain revolver. 41 is nice, but does not do anything .44 wont, and the ammo is even MORE expensive than .44. I just want a viable big bore alternative to the .357 or the 44 spl or .45 acp in a middle size gun package that costs less to shoot than .41, .44 or .45.
 
I've had a 610 and a 646.
I would like a .40 cal L-Frame with a fluted SS cylinder. I'm not sure why they went titanium unless it has to do with the .40 S&W pressure and the thickness of the remaining cylinder wall. Anyway I did not like the "Dynamics" of the 646 while shooting in IDPA and went back to K-frames and the occasional bout with my 625.
(When it comes to revolvers, NOTHING reloads like jacket, round-nose, moon-clipped, .45 acp. NOTHING!). :D
 
(When it comes to revolvers, NOTHING reloads like jacket, round-nose, moon-clipped, .45 acp. NOTHING!)
Click to expand...

Actually using the 250 grain RNFP from lasercase and crimping into the crimp groove gives me even fewer hangups. Course I haven't had the chambers champhered.
 
The local police leave 40 S&W brass all over the place.

When Smith's Performance Center introduced their 40 S&W revolver I bought one.

The gun had just one problem. IT DID NOT WORK!!! Jammed constantly. I think that the problem was the full moon clips. Regardless, however, these guns don't work and now have been dropped.
 
Someone figured out the problem with the 646PC. Titanium cylinder requires a firm and consistent crimp of the 40 S&W cartridge. Lee crimp die or similar solves any lockup problems and the use of size specific moon clips.

Its an extremely accurate and handy gun. Just needs a little extra attention with ammunition selection.

Mating a high pressure rimless cartridge to a titanium cylinder is not an easy task. Ask Taurus which tried making a 40 S&W revolver a few years back and failed.
 
I don't think that it was that simple.

There were several cures recommended for this revolver and each seemed to work on a gun or two. Still on mine I tried everything ever suggested and got no where. Jammed every time no matter what.
 
I saw a Ruger single action in .40 S&W at the Kittery Trading Post recently. There are some out there, but not many. I believe these were a special run that Ruger did a while back.

mdlowry
 
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