S&W .44spc

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subhuman

New member
In the last 2 months i have ran across 2 S&W pistols chambered in .44spc. a nickle 21-4 for $680 a few weeks ago and this weekend a stainless 624 priced at $750 that was beautiful, the 624 is realy calling to me :), do any of you guys own a 624, i have found maybe 3 articals or write ups on this gun, allof wich gave it pretty high praise so im thinking about saving up several hundred and making one my own,the 624 i looked at this weekend is in a small town pawn shop and at that price may be there for a few weeks but my cash flow is still recovering from my hospital and drs. visits last month so it may or may not be there in a few more weeks. if it is i may be posting yall some pictures soon, of course i would like to see what yall have too :D
 
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salvadore

Moderator
I once owned a 624 and currently own a CC 21. They both had issues but I shouldn't have sold the 624. before you decide I would check cylinder gap on both shooters. The grips on the 21 are pretty but not the best for shooting. Depending on condition the prices don't sound too bad.
 
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Mike Irwin

Staff
I own a 24-3, the blued steel version of the 624.

Wonder, wonderful gun. Lots of fun to shoot.

Here it is with a box of circa 1920 Winchester .44 Special ammo.

262378060.jpg
 
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Ozzieman

New member
I have a number of N frame 44 specials including 21’s. 24’s and a 624.
I would have to say that my least favorite of the bunch is the 624. There's nothing wrong with the gun. It has a good trigger and is tight and accurate but it’s a 6 inch and the balance for me is way off.
If I ever find a 4 inch I will trade if off in a second.
The second thing is the finish. Mine was bought used and it was built in the late 90’s early 2000’s from what I can tell and for a stainless gun the finish just isn’t comparable to my 629 built in the same time frame. Don’t know why.
Without looking at them it’s hard to say but I would snatch them both up if they are in good shape. The 21 most of all if it had a barrel pin. Not a big fan of nickel but that wouldn’t stop me on that gun.
I will give you one piece of advice. You’re walking down a dark street that there’s no turning back from.
Once you buy your first N frame S&W in 44 special you want all S&W 44 specials then you start buying Charter arms bull dogs and even some company guns named taururres that make 44 specials.
Then you spend day after day combing the gun shops for one more 44 special and it’s never enough, never enough.
You need that fix of buying one more 44 special you don’t have.
But it’s not a problem I have.:eek:
 
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BigJimP

New member
Model 21-4 ...( according to the S&W 3rd edition / catalog ) is a re-introduced model in August 2004. According to the book - the Nickel finish / in this model was introduced in 2006 and there were only about 225 manufactured in Nickel. Most of them were only blued.

... but the 21-4's should be a 4" pinned barrel, round butt, N frame, Thunder Ranch Special / pinned half moon front sight / square notch rear sight --- about 2,600 were made.

I don't know that I've seen many of them around / but I would think any price around $ 700 would be very fair...if its in very good shape.
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model 624 is a square butt frame ( which personally I prefer )...and was made in 3", 4" and 6 1/2" ....starting in 1985....
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I really like the look of the older Nickel finishes ....but you'll have to decide if you like the round butt or the square butt frames ( I have trouble shooting the round butt frames - in rapid fire / they get away from me ), so I'd have to put an aftermarket stock on it that converts it from a round butt to a square butt feel.

I think its a nice gun in a 4" ...whichever model you pick ...
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Personally, I'd go with the model 29's in .44 mag / and shoot .44 spl's in it if I wanted to ....and 4" models are easy to come by / all square butt frames / and I really like them in Nickel.
 
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Frasier

New member
I have the Model 21-4 Classic that I got about two years ago off Gunbroker for $600. The wooden grips had been replaced with Hogue rubber grips and the keylock was disabled. My favorite revolver, hands down. The action is super smooth and it is very accurate. Now if I could find .44 Special ammo again....
 
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Webleymkv

New member
I owned a 21-4 for a while.



It was a nice enough gun and I probably should have held on to it (particularly since I got a very good deal when I bought it), but I lost interest in it for a few reasons. Probably the biggest issue for me was that the sights were regulated for 200gr bullets. S&W did this because most .44 Spl JHP loadings use 200gr or lighter bullets, but that meant that it wouldn't shoot to POA with the 245gr cast bullets I'd already been buying in bulk for my .44 Magnum loads.

Secondly, the gun was just light enough to make shooting the types of ammo I'd envisioned using in it unpleasant. When I bought the gun, I had intended to use it as a sort of "light .44 Magnum" to be used with handloads up to and including the Kieth heavy .44 Special load. The closest I ever got to that was Kieth's powder charge under a 200gr JHP and while the gun handled it just fine, my hand didn't. I understand now why S&W went with a heavy barrel when they brought out the .44 Magnum.

Finally, once I resigned myself to the use of more moderate .44 Special ammo in the revolver, the gun began to seem overly large and bulky for the power of the ammunition I was shooting. Eventually, I wound up selling the gun to finance the purchase of my 4" 629 which was what I'd really wanted all along.

Looking back, I now realize that my problem was that I'd been trying to turn the gun into something that it wasn't. Were I in the same situation today, I'd keep the M21 to appreciate for what it is and simply buy a 629 outright. Unfortunately though, I was a poor college student working at a very poorly paying job at the time and my finances wouldn't allow that.
 
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salvadore

Moderator








They also made 21-4s with color case frames, mine is extremely accurate with 260gr cast bullets six oclock hold just like the rest of my shooters. The 396 takes 203gr cast bullets similar to the Anderton bullet of 110+ years ago. Somewhere around 700/800fps because of the vigorous recoil.

I'd love to know how many of the color case models were made.
 
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spacecoast

New member
I have a shooter grade Lew Horton 24-3 with a 3" barrel and it is a joy to shoot. Very accurate at 25 yards too, I usually shoot 90+ on a standard Bullseye target in both slow and timed fire (two hands) using my tame 185 grain hand loads.

This is a poor picture, but you get the idea. The Hogue grips are my preference, not necessarily for looks. ;) The stock wood grips were just a bit too big around for a comfortable grip. This is also my primary HD handgun with 225 grain LRNFPs.

01e59580-81d8-41e5-a267-2ff193669a4e_zpse2ae714d.jpg
 
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McShooty

New member
I have a Model 624 and mine actually has a 6-1/2" barrel. Mine has a satin finish on the stainless which I prefer to a highly polished finish. The action is as smooth as any N-frame I have every had and the single-action trigger pull is very crisp. It is a bit picky about handloads, but does really well with 5-6 grains of Unique and a Keith-type 240-gr cast bullet. I like to shoot targets and test handloads and I therefore prefer my N-frames have adjustable sights, like the 624. You really can't go wrong with the large frames, but I think the price you quote is a bit high. Maybe not. Keep in mind there are not a lot of thesearound.
 
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Driftwood Johnson

New member
Howdy

I bought a used 624 a few years ago. Very nice piece. I did not like the oversized target grips that came on it so I replaced them with a set of Magnas. One thing you should know about the 624 though. S&W found out that they got a bad batch of steel and some cylinders were made from that batch. If you buy the 624 call up S&W and tell them the SN so they can tell you if yours is suspect. Mine was OK.

Or better yet, find out the SN and call S&W before you buy.

624_MagnaGrips02_zpsc66d3bdf.jpg




I will admit I too prefer the older 44 Special guns.

44handejectornumber202_zps4b43d341.jpg


44handejector4thmodel01.jpg


triplelock03_zps8bd6cc58.jpg
 
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BigJimP

New member
My mistake on the pinned barrel ..../ I know better - just wasn't thinking ...looking at the S&W book, phone rings, forgot what I was thinking...typing foolish things...:D
 
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tulsamal

New member
I love S&W and .44 Special as well. And the newer "reintroductions" sounded good. At least as shooters while the vintage ones rested. But then I realized they put the darn ILS in them. If you are going to reintroduce a really old style revolver… what makes you think your target market wants/needs or will buy that gun with a hole in the sideplate? If it was totally reliable and hidden under the grips like the lock on SA Rugers… I could live with that. Although I would still consider it stupid and unnecessary.

So if you are going to buy one, buy an older one without the ILS. Lots of them out there.

Gregg
 
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Real Gun

New member
In the last 2 months I have ran across 2 S&W pistols chambered in .44spc. a nickel 21-4 for $680 a few weeks ago and this weekend a stainless 624 priced at $750 that was beautiful, the 624 is really calling to me , do any of you guys own a 624, I have found maybe 3 articles or write ups on this gun, all of which gave it pretty high praise so I'm thinking about saving up several hundred and making one my own, the 624 I looked at this weekend is in a small town pawn shop and at that price may be there for a few weeks but my cash flow is still recovering from my hospital and Dr's visits last month so it may or may not be there in a few more weeks. if it is I may be posting y'all some pictures soon, of course I would like to see what y'all have too. (spell checked)
Click to expand...

The pawn shop that does my FFL service takes deposits to hold something for a limited time.
 
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Ozzieman

New member
Driftwood Johnson Thank you.

Driftwood Johnson Thank you.
I sent S&W an e mail yesterday about your statement concerning the 624 cylinder and I got an answer this morning. They are sending me a shipping label and insurance to send it back.
OUT STANDING S&W
 
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