Ok so I might be a geek but shooting this today was a zen like experience. All that came to mind was the following.
"This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not
as clumsy or as random as a blaster. An elegant weapon for a more civilized time."
Geeky, hell yes, but that is how I can describe my first range outing with this guy.
So lets go through it shall we. All rating are out of a total of five rounds with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best.
FIT AND FINISH - 5 ROUNDS
Stunning craftsmanship on this firearm. Locks up tight as a bank vault, beautiful and useable grip choice, no tool marks anywhere. Just a fine piece of industrial art.
TRIGGER - 5 ROUNDS
Double action is just as smooth as a baby's bottom. It is heavy but not too heavy, it is real use perfect as far as I am concerned. It can be staged easily and it is just very very very good. Single action is draw dropping. It is almost set trigger wonderful. No creep, no grit, no nothing just an instantaneous mechancial snap and bang. The single action pulls is just spectacular.
ACCURACY - 4 ROUNDS
At this point I can only give 4 rounds because 1 I was using generally crappy ammunition and two it was my first time out with this gun. That being said The gun shot as well or better then any gun I have ever shot and will most likely rate a 5 as I get a feel for her.
RELIABILITY - 5 ROUNDS
I ran about 100 rounds through her today, lead round nose, JHP, Semi Jacket Hollow Point, standard pressure .38, .38+P, full on defensive .357 magnum. Everything ran as it should, no timing issues, no extraction issues, no issues of any kind. It just plain worked.
CONCEALABILITY - 4 ROUNDS
Even though this is a full size 7 shot .357 magnum revolver the three inch barrel and fixed smooth rear sights make this gun eminently carryable. You can tell it was designed as a defensive/carry weapon. Now it isn't a J-Frame but she is more concealble then many of the semi-autos I own, at least for how I carry.
FEATURES - 5 ROUNDS
This thing has everything but leather. Moon clips, 7 shot capacity, can be used with speed loaders, moon clips, or single rounds, wonderful grips, great trigger etc. etc. etc. The only thing I would have liked is a tritium front sight but that is just being picky.
VALUE -2 ROUNDS
All in all what we have here is a very very nice 3 inch .357 Magnum revolver. Now as nice as it is it is just a .357 magnum revolver. In an era of excellent firearms for little money this piece is a bit pricy for what you get. You are paying more for the aesthetic value and workmanship then for any real utility. I feel that if one was looking for a pure workhorse revolver to fill this same roll then a 3 inch fix sight Ruger GP100 would be just fine. Part of owning this gun is a certain level of appreciation for the art of it. I don't know if I am making sense here. Basically if you just want a 3 inch .357 magnum to plink, carry etc. and care not about anything else but its function then go with a cheaper gun. If you are looking for a piece of function art that is also an extremely well thought out firearm look into something like a PC gun.
COOL FACTOR - 4 OR 5 ROUNDS
To a revolver guy the cool factor of this piece is off the chart. To your semi-auto folks it is very cool but not quite as cool or functional in their minds as a more modern bottom feeder. I have gotten quite a few compliments from semi-auto folks and that has surprised me.
OVERALL - 4 ROUNDS
I really think this is a 5 star gun with only it's price dragging it down. If price is no object and you are looking into a functional yet almost custom level gun look into the Smith PC guns. I have owned two now and neither has dissappointed.
Any that my friends is that.
"This is the weapon of a Jedi Knight. Not
as clumsy or as random as a blaster. An elegant weapon for a more civilized time."
Geeky, hell yes, but that is how I can describe my first range outing with this guy.
So lets go through it shall we. All rating are out of a total of five rounds with 1 being the worst and 5 being the best.
FIT AND FINISH - 5 ROUNDS
Stunning craftsmanship on this firearm. Locks up tight as a bank vault, beautiful and useable grip choice, no tool marks anywhere. Just a fine piece of industrial art.
TRIGGER - 5 ROUNDS
Double action is just as smooth as a baby's bottom. It is heavy but not too heavy, it is real use perfect as far as I am concerned. It can be staged easily and it is just very very very good. Single action is draw dropping. It is almost set trigger wonderful. No creep, no grit, no nothing just an instantaneous mechancial snap and bang. The single action pulls is just spectacular.
ACCURACY - 4 ROUNDS
At this point I can only give 4 rounds because 1 I was using generally crappy ammunition and two it was my first time out with this gun. That being said The gun shot as well or better then any gun I have ever shot and will most likely rate a 5 as I get a feel for her.
RELIABILITY - 5 ROUNDS
I ran about 100 rounds through her today, lead round nose, JHP, Semi Jacket Hollow Point, standard pressure .38, .38+P, full on defensive .357 magnum. Everything ran as it should, no timing issues, no extraction issues, no issues of any kind. It just plain worked.
CONCEALABILITY - 4 ROUNDS
Even though this is a full size 7 shot .357 magnum revolver the three inch barrel and fixed smooth rear sights make this gun eminently carryable. You can tell it was designed as a defensive/carry weapon. Now it isn't a J-Frame but she is more concealble then many of the semi-autos I own, at least for how I carry.
FEATURES - 5 ROUNDS
This thing has everything but leather. Moon clips, 7 shot capacity, can be used with speed loaders, moon clips, or single rounds, wonderful grips, great trigger etc. etc. etc. The only thing I would have liked is a tritium front sight but that is just being picky.
VALUE -2 ROUNDS
All in all what we have here is a very very nice 3 inch .357 Magnum revolver. Now as nice as it is it is just a .357 magnum revolver. In an era of excellent firearms for little money this piece is a bit pricy for what you get. You are paying more for the aesthetic value and workmanship then for any real utility. I feel that if one was looking for a pure workhorse revolver to fill this same roll then a 3 inch fix sight Ruger GP100 would be just fine. Part of owning this gun is a certain level of appreciation for the art of it. I don't know if I am making sense here. Basically if you just want a 3 inch .357 magnum to plink, carry etc. and care not about anything else but its function then go with a cheaper gun. If you are looking for a piece of function art that is also an extremely well thought out firearm look into something like a PC gun.
COOL FACTOR - 4 OR 5 ROUNDS
To a revolver guy the cool factor of this piece is off the chart. To your semi-auto folks it is very cool but not quite as cool or functional in their minds as a more modern bottom feeder. I have gotten quite a few compliments from semi-auto folks and that has surprised me.
OVERALL - 4 ROUNDS
I really think this is a 5 star gun with only it's price dragging it down. If price is no object and you are looking into a functional yet almost custom level gun look into the Smith PC guns. I have owned two now and neither has dissappointed.
Any that my friends is that.