The "Chiefs Special" was the first 5-shot J-frame .38 Special produced by Smith & Wesson, all the way back in 1950. Some call it the "most influential compact revolver design of the 20th Century." Maybe it is, but whatever the case, I wanted to shoot mine.
And that's what I did. It's an easy little pistol to shoot and well-capable of sending its 5 rounds of .38 Special downrange with surprising accuracy, partly due to its consistent, short, crisp trigger. But be warned, its short sight plane means working on keeping a perfect sight picture, or you'll miss.
I had a lot of fun blasting away from around 10, 15 and 20 yards and did alright. Nothing special though, if you'll forgive the phrase. So I took a different approach, leaving the paper behind and going for a swinging steel plate that's, well, plate sized. I was surprised to see my shooting improve considerably on target and was pleased to make the metal adversary rock about from beyond 30 yards.
With a bit of practice I'd say you could get on "center mass", at least, from 50 yards, and I'm not a particularly good shooter.
Verdict? The Chiefs Special, or Model 60, S&W is small, accurate and gives you 5 rounds of 945 fps .38 Special to send at the opposition in short order. I'd imagine it'd make a great backup or concealed carry handgun. It looks good too and I can't fault the fit and finish of this pistol. All in all a great little gun.
Get one, if you haven't already. Fun to shoot and handy with it.
Cheers,
LSP
10 comments:
I had a .38 Detective Special back in the mid 1960's. Lovely thing. I miss it. I understand one like that goes for close to a grand now. Sigh...
Pricey... but nice.
More revolvers, please.
Simultaneously fierce and cute. I'm a fan.
I think you have to have one.
An episode of Joe 90, a pioneering thriller puppet show of the 1960s had a clergyman who was an expert on firearms. How wonderful life imitates art! best wishes
I'd quite forgotten Joe 90, with its adventurous puppets and weaponised clergyman.
The series was obviously prophetic!
God bless.
Because of the cylinder release design, that model is often referred to as a "flat-latch." The flat-latch was discontinued in 1966, the diamond on the grips was discontinued in 1968, and the pinned barrel was discontinued in 1981
Interesting. Fun gun to shoot.
I'm stick'n with the little Sig as ccw for now. Blessed Blast'n, Padre!
Gotta love the Sig.
Post a Comment