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Posted on 08/12/2008 3:43:29 AM PDT by Pistolshot
Posted on Tuesday, May 24, 2005 12:09:16 PM by Jack Black
Among the many excellent handguns available perhaps none is so beloved by so many as the classic Smith & Wesson N-Frame.
The N-Frame is the biggest traditional frame size available in a Smith & Wesson handgun. It dates back to early in the last century when it was offered as a military and police pistol in various guises, including the legendary Triple Lock. Originally offered in .38 Special and other old-school calibers it began its rise to flagship and icon with the introduction of the .357 magnum. One can argue, did the calibers make the gun or did the gun make the calibers? Following on the great and popular .357 - THE standard police caliber for much of the 20th Century - the ever popular .44 special was "magumized" and turned into the legendary .44 Mag. Filling the percieved gap between these two the .41 Mag was introduced and quickly became a cult favorite that some feel is the "just right" size for the N-Frame. The older but still popular .45 Colt and .45 ACP have continued to be chambered in the N-Frame as well.
Aside from being chambered in a variety of the most popular and very powerful handgun rounds generally available the N-Frames have achieved their popularity in part because of the wide variety of configurations they have been offered in. Major variations include he square and round-butt frames, blued and stainless finishes and barrel lengths of staggering variety. These include 2.5", 3", 3.5", 4", 5", 6", 6.5", 7.5", 8.3" and 10", with the four and six inchers being the most popular.
Recent years have seen some innovations and deletions in the product line. All N's are now round butt, but square butt grip styles are still available. Blued guns have mostly disapeared, although the occassional special edition will still feature Smith's beautiful bluing. Rubber ergo grips predominate.
Perhaps the most controversial feature is the inclusion of an intergal lock behind the cylinder release. Many old time users dislike the presence of this rather unnecessary feature, somewhat forced on S&W by a combination of bad laws, Clinton-era threats and ever increasing litigation threats from land shark lawyers everywhere.
The N frame has moved from ubiquitous police side arm to being more often owned by civilians. It remains a perennial favorite of hunters as backup, and the choice of a surprising number of individual citizens for both open and concealed carry.
The N-frame lost it's position as the biggest and baddest handgun a while ago. Smith finally bowed to the inevitable and introduced the super-jumbo sized X frame and the awesome .500 magnum.
But the N-frame remains what it has been since it's introduction. A supurb, large but not bulky, handgun, built to excellent standards of fit and finish and chambering a variety of useful and powerful cartridges. As long as a need for such a gun exists the big N-frame will no doubt continue to find favor.
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S&W 625 .45 ACP 3-inch with Nite-Sites.
I have owned all the Lew Horton special runs of 3-inch N-frames. The 44 and 41 Mag were brutal, to say the least, even with reduced loads. BUT, they were wonderful for field carry, portable, accurate, powerful, and a great conversation piece at the range.
Is the Model 22, Model of 1917 an N-Frame?
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It's pretty but it's also ridiculous with the eight inch barrel. I would have liked to have gotten the six inch but after the "Dirty Harry" movie came out, you couldn't find them. The revolver was sent out to Michigan to get Magna-ported.
The first N-frame was called 38/44 Outdoorsman. It was a 38 Special mated to the 44 Hand Ejector frame. Creating a large, heavy, wonderfully accurate 38 Special for heavier loads. The 357 Magnum was a pretty direct decendant for use in the heavy frame. These were the 'Registered' 357 Magnums.
Both are highly collectible. The N-frame has been used for calibers from 38 Spl to the 44 Mag.
You do know the ‘44’ used in the movies was really a .41?
No, I did not. I always thought it was a Model 29 Combat Magnum. I am a wimp, therefore I own the Model 19 Combat Magnum with 4” bbl.
When each new 'Dirty Harry' movie would come out I was guaranteed to be able to purchase a lot of 44 Mags for cheap.
All the ads ran the same: "S&W Model 29 44 Mag for sale. Shot 6 times. Box of ammo less 6 shells. $250 OBO."
It is a good/bad thing. The guns are lighter, recoil needs more management and the guns will shoot themselves loose after a steady diet of magnum loads, Hence, the L-Frame was born, just for the 357.
I beleve the Triplelock or .44 Hand Ejector 1st Model is the first N, coming out in 1907. It was supplanted by the Second Model which did not have the crane lock or shrouded ejector rod in 1915. The shrouded rod reappeared in 1926 with the 3rd Model (Wolf & Klar) .44.
The Outsdoorsman (1931) and Heavy Duty (1930) were the first .38 N frames.
Thanks for the corrections. I don’t have my library here so I can get the ‘right’ information. Just going from memory, which I am losing rapidly. :)
I will admit I pulled the SCSW 3rd off the shelf. ;)
Yup. Straight out of the box, the first batch of 158 grain SHP .357 through it managed to back out the ejector rod from the cylinder. After about the fourth speedloader, I couldn't open the cylinder anymore.
I mainly feed it a diet of semi-wadcutters, and load it with .38 +P for defense.
The most brutal, and the one that 'hurts' EVERY time is the 4 inch 44-Mags. The others people in the shop tell me they can hear me scream in pain after each shot.
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