I just saw a smith performance center 646 in 40 S&W, opinions?

R

Raymond3

New member
Wow, what a beautiful performance center gun. Titanium cylinder, full moon clips, rosewood grips, 4 inch barrel, looks like a K or L frame, which I just love. It is really hard to resist.

I am looking for reasons to curb my appetite. CAN anyone help me keep my hands off???

Some reasons to avoid might be: the Price ($770); I don't have any gun in 40 S&W so that means more reloading supplies etc; it shouldn't matter that the gun was probably built before the sellout, I shouldn't buy any *&* products as a matter of principle.

If I can't turn to you guys and gals to help me not buy this gun, to whom can I turn?
 
well.... I doubt you will find many 646's that are pre-agreement.

as an aside - hopefully a GWBush administration will not allow the sellout/agreement to continue/be enforced,

the other thing preventing my purchase of new S&W's is foreign ownership of S&W.

if and when the Brits sell it back to us Americans I am looking at getting
S&W610fourinch.JPG


ps- thx to robert the 41 mag fan for posting this on gunspot
 
The 610 shoots 40 auto also. I don't understand why anybody'd want a revolver that would shoot only the .40. It's like having a .38 Special... Wait. Nevermind.
 
I ordered mine "PA" and waited months for one to come in. It is a fine revolver. My problem is that I want one with a steel cylinder and a heavy half-lug barrel. Blue would be prefered, but all stainless would do. I use mine in IDPA revolver class, alternating with my "PA" S&W model 19.

The 646 is on the L-frame and the 610 is on the N-frame.
This probably works out about right when you look at the pressures your dealing with and the thickness of the cylinder walls in the two frame sizes. I actually prefer the K- and L-frame revolvers to the N-frame. It has to do with my hand size and grip strength with arthritic paws.

Anyway, I really do like my 646.
Neil Casper
 
The original 646 were built for TALO group at about the time of the agreement. They did not take the entire lot of required guns and Lew Horton took in the balance of the contract. Trying to remember who supplied my 646 (Not enough coffee in the stream yet!), but they are available from one of the distributors, Possibly RSR.

Have not shot my 646 as of yet. The quality is what you would expect from the Performance Center. Trigger pull is a bit too hard in double action, but I'm an N frame guy and N frames have better triggers than the rest of the S&W line of revolvers. Two small problems, the hammer spur is a bit pointed when cocking and the lightness of the titanium cylinder makes the timing feel weird. The big plus for this gun is being able to shoot .40 S&W without the use of the Moon Clips. They are great for carrying and speed loading, but stink when it comes to range work. That is unless you purchase a few dozen moon clips and have the ammunitions ready to fire. But that creates another problem. Going through ammo quickly!

As an alternative, the four inch 610 is a great idea. Moon clips will have to be used when shooting 40's, but you get a larger, more stable platform and able to shoot 10mm ammunition. Biggest problem is going to be politics. According to the Agreement with HUD, anyone selling S&W after December 31st has to sign and abide by the agreement. And, they are scuttling their own ship! Don't know if these new 610's will make it in time.

Robert

pc646_med.jpg
 
S&W 646

Ray- This is not the season to curb your appitite. Gorge yourself and get into the spirit of the season.Might be a little pricey, but in 100 years it could cost twice as much and besides you may be too old to enjoy it then.

If you can't decide between that and the 610, get one of each. They are both superb pieces.I have each and they will be close to the last ones I unload.

If you are very experienced at reloading you can load for each so that clips aren't even necessary.

It was my understanding the 646 was to be a limited production item, so you may want to jump if you really like it. Good luck.-Wally
 
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