An ultimate J-frame

American Handgunner, July-August, 2009 by Roy Huntington

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I was at Gunsite with the crew from S&W not long ago for a specific reason--to explore capabilities of S&W's small J-frame revolvers. Paul Pluff of S&W brought over 25 variants, virtually all shapes and sizes, from short barrels to their longest, but all built on the J-frame chassis. Our goal was to simply find out the dynamic range of these classic, handy guns. What we learned stunned some of us, wasn't surprising to many--but the experience left lasting impressions on us all.

We came away knowing that a steady hand with a J-frame, regardless of barrel length, can hit a man-sized target at 100 yards, can defend themselves if needed and can rely on these little guns to deliver when called upon. The specifics of what we learned will be covered in a later article, but some points need to be explained.

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The little Smiths are interesting in that most handgunners own one, or something like them, but don't like to actually admit it's more than likely their daily carry gun. l asked for the attendees to show, with a raise of their hands, if they had a J-frame in their pocket somewhere right then. The majority of those in attendance (mostly cops and gun-industry people) admitted they had one tucked away. From ankle rigs to pocket holsters to "bags" of all sorts, there was a passel of .38s in the room.

Then I asked the important question: "And when was the last time you shot it?" There was silence, dead silence. Some even admitted they shot theirs a cylinder-full or two when they bought it and hadn't fired it since--I won't name any names. But before you judge here, honestly, when was the last time you fired yours, much less actually trained with it? See.

So we learned we needed to train with them more. We also learned the tiny 2" (more like 1 7/8") barrel can be challenging at times. They are, admittedly hard to hold steady, hard to hit with and sort of "fumbly" as one fellow said. They are plenty accurate, and most would easily keep head shots at 25 if you took your time, but that short sight radius works against you unless you are steely-nerved when it comes to trigger control. The idea then? Go to a 2.25" or even 3" barrel, keeping the round butt in place.

It Works

So we did--and it worked. The 3" guns were markedly easier to hit with and one 2.5" version on-hand was about as good. But, I found the 3" guns a bit "un-handy" in a pocket holster or ankle rig. I had to keep that in mind later. This led me on a quest for an "ultimate" J-frame. Nothing can be "the ultimate," but l would be happy to settle for something somewhere in the "ultimate" category at least. I'd want it accurate, reliable, easy to conceal, easy to train with, a "real" fighting gun--as opposed to something simply easy to carry. As Clint Smith says, "a handgun should be comforting, not necessarily comfortable."

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Which led me to the American Pistolsmith's Guild, that august group of talented pistolsmiths, and to select members therein. When the dust settled, Marc Morganti, owner, operator and sole-pistolsmith at his shop Gemini Customs, took on the task to build this gun, with other Guild members lending able hands. But it gets easier, because, you see, Marc was way ahead of me it seems. He already knew what needed to be done--and was already doing it on J-frames.

The Raw Goods

Since this gun was going to get shot lots, we started with a S&W Model 640, the all-steel, hammerless model. Then the magic really started. Marc agreed we wanted to end up with a smooth, reliable premium revolver, a carry piece, but something you would be proud to own. And the funny thing is if something looks like it works, it generally does. And Marc's stuff looks like it works. I pointed him in that direction and said, "go please?"

The barrel had to be a bit longer for sure, and Marc had that answer already. He used a custom barrel blank produced by William Jarvis, of Jarvis, Inc., and CNC-machined to spec and to profile by Jack Weigand of Weigand Combat Handguns. Nothing like getting the best.

Then Marc went to work. He custom-machined it, including Hybraport Porting in a V-8 configuration, keeping the barrel at the "stock" length, or a bit longer. A longer barrel allows that better handling, and also allows the ports to have the leverage to do their job better. Marc de-horned, fine-tuned it and eventually fitted it to the action.

As Marc said to me, "This is lots more work to do it this way, but if you want a top-notch, premium result, you have to take the time and use quality parts to get that finished product meeting your expectations." And he's right. That 640 was beginning to become something special, and my mind's eye started to see something in steel--always a delight.

The Touches

Marc worked the DA into agreement and left me with a sound, reliable trigger pull, but not something too light or iffy. Many people equate "light" with "good" in an action. In reality, a genuinely smooth trigger can be several pounds more than a light one, and not only be more reliable, but feel better and offer some authority and controllability to it when pulled.