28 August, 2007

THE WHEEL GUN - SNUFFY SR.

Smith &Wesson
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Model 27, N-frame, 4" barrel in .357 Magnum, matching serial number: S-129924,
stamped with ".357 CTG ~ Highway Patrolman" on the right side of the barrel.

A couple of months ago over at http://www.sondrak.com/ The Kisp'ers had a somewhat heated debate over a pic of Tammy Bruce and her lil' wheel gun, "Snuffy"...in which the stunning Ms. Bruce holds onto the pistol in a seemingly cavalier fashion with her index finger neatly wrapped around the trigger.

Not A Good Thing! ...according to most "experts".

However, it did prompt me to put these thoughts together concerning my favorite pistol, the S&W .357 Mag. pictured above. The frame has been refinished, bead blasted and Parkerized and fit with Pachmyr grips. The double action pulls at about seven pounds when uncocked and about two pounds when cocked with absolutely no creep and as crisp as a new two-dollar bill.

This is my favorite sidearm while hiking, fishing and hunting. It also resides next to the bedstead while Deb and I sleep at home. Its big and somewhat heavy. Which is actually a good thing, given that I have it stoked with hand loads which are brutally powerful. I stuff a maximum load of powder into clean and primed Win. cases (ask me, maybe I'll share) that are topped with Hornady's 158gr, HP/XTP bullets.

Just its presence is sufficient to scare most folks. And those who aren't scared would do well not to test its authority in close quarters.