Smith & Wesson 651 Target Stainless

     Notes: This is a large J-frame revolver designed for use as a sporting weapon.  It is a stainless steel rimfire magnum revolver with an optional replacement cylinder for use with .22 Long Rifle ammunition.  It was first manufactured from 1983-1988, and had a 4-inch barrel with an adjustable rear sight, and wide combat trigger.  It had walnut grips until 1994, when they were replaced with rubber grips. 

     In 1991 a batch of 2500 Model 651s were produced with 3-inch barrels.  They then re-introduced the standard Model 651 into their product line; however, production finally stopped in 1999.

Smith & Wesson 681 Quadport

     Notes: This is a shortish high-capacity .357 Magnum revolver has its recoil partly tamed by the four ports near the end of the barrel (hence, “Quadport”).  The revolver itself is made from matte stainless steel, and is somewhat heavy for a revolver of its size, further curbing recoil.  Trigger pull is very crisp, and the workmanship of the weapon is excellent, as would be expected from the Performance Center.  The grips are of black rubber with finger grooves.  The barrel has a full-length rib and a ramp front sight.  This weapon was released as a limited edition and only 300 were made.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: Even rarer than noted above, perhaps 50 made it out of Smith & Wesson’s doors before the November Nuclear Strikes.

Smith & Wesson 686 Distinguished Combat Magnum

     Notes: This is a stainless steel relative of the Model 586, introduced in 1980.   It was introduced at that time with a 4, 6, or 8.5-inch barrel, but in 1990, a 2.5-inch barrel version was added.  The weapon has an adjustable rear sight, and until 1992, the 6- and 8.5-inch versions also had an adjustable front sight.  They had Goncalo Alves hardwood grips until 1994, when the grip was replaced by a rubber Hogue grip. 

     Through the years, there have been several interesting variations on the Model 686.  The Model 686 Classic Hunter was introduced in 1988 and has a 6-inch barrel and a solid round cylinder (identical to the 6-inch barrel version for game purposes); the Model 686 Black Stainless was introduced in 1988 and has a 4-inch barrel and a black finish (identical to the 4-inch barrel version for game purposes); the Model 686 National Security Special was introduced in 1992 and has a 3- or 4-inch barrel; The Model 686 Target Champion was introduced in 1992 and has a 6-inch match barrel, adjustable trigger stop, and walnut Nill grips; the Model 686 Power Port was introduced in 1994 and has a ported 6-inch barrel; the Model 686 Plus was introduced in 1996 and has a 2.5-inch, 4-inch, or 6-inch barrel, 7-shot cylinder, ergonomic wooden grips, Hi-Viz sights, and lockable by a key; and the Model 686 International DX Competition was introduced in 1998, and has a solid round cylinder with a 6-inch match barrel (identical to the Target Champion for game purposes).  A 5-inch barrel version was added in 2005, also known as the Model 686 5”.  Made with more advanced technology, the 5-inch barrel version is actually lighter than the 4-inch barrel version or the 2.5-inch barrel version!

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Model 686 Plus and Model 686 International DX Competition do not exist.

Smith & Wesson British Service

     Notes:  This is a Smith & Wesson 10 Military & Police rechambered to fire the .380 British round.  They were then sent to Great Britain under the Lend-Lease Act, starting in 1940.  They were produced until 1954.  At first, they were made in 4”, 5”, and 6”-barreled versions, but after 1942, production was standardized using 5” barrels; today, other barrel lengths are relatively rare.  The British Service revolvers had sandblasted, blued finishes and walnut grips.

Smith & Wesson Governor

     Notes: There is an ever-growing market these days for .410/.45 snubbies these days, and the Governor is Smith & Wesson’s entry.  The Governor is also lightweight, having a scandium alloy frame and light steel cylinders.  Despite the relatively light weight, it is still a big handgun; it will fill your hand, and possibly bruise your wrist with the recoil too.  The cylinder capacity is six, while most .410/.45 revolvers have a capacity of five.  With the standard cylinder, it can fire the .410 and .45 Long Colt; using a moon clip, .45 ACP rounds can be fired. Unusually and for certain a happy accident, is the fact that with moon clips the Governor can fire .45 GAP rounds. The Governor has semi-soft synthetic grips that take some of the felt recoil. Sights are fixed, with a simple square trough rear sight and a low blade front.  The front sight has a tritium dot on it, making target acquisition easier.  The front sight is also dovetailed in, allowing for some drift adjustments. The 2.75-inch barrel is basically unremarkable, except for its performance with .410 ammunition; most gun writers say that the Governor is best used with .410 shells designed for revolvers, as other shells can damage the rifling and bore of the weapon.

     A second version has a Crimson Trace LaserGrip in the grip; at the short range the Governor is designed for, that’s pretty much point-and-shoot.  Except for the price and a slight weight difference (and the laser sight), it is identical to the standard Governor.

Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector

     Notes:  This was the first Smith & Wesson revolver to use the side-opening cylinder that has since become the standard for almost all revolvers.  The first model introduced the side-opening cylinder; the second model adopted many of the innovations of the Military and Police model such as the push-catch release for the cylinder and the front anchorage for the ejector rod; and the third model added a safety hammer block and a lighter trigger pull.  It was a popular weapon for home defense and also widely used by US police forces before World War 2.  Over 300,000 were made.

Smith & Wesson M-1917

     Notes:  This is similar to the Colt revolver of the same model number.  Like the Colt, it was a standard Smith & Wesson product (in this case, the Hand Ejector) modified to take the .45 ACP cartridge, for the same reason (emergency issue to US troops during World War 1).  Also like the Colt, the cartridges were loaded into the cylinder using clips (3-round half-moon), but the rounds could also be loaded into the chambers without the clips.  There is a slight step in the chambers that will stop the rounds from falling through and ensure they seat properly, but they will not eject properly without the clips being used.  After World War 1, they were sold on the civilian marketplace.  They were also offered to police, but they did not like the cartridge or the clips required to use it. 

     After World War 2 (in 1951), the M-1917 was slightly redesigned and sold to the public as the Model 22.  The Model 22 could fire either .45 ACP or .45 Auto-Rim (basically a rimmed version of the .45 ACP round designed specifically for revolvers).  A batch of 203 were also chambered for .45 Long Colt; these are extremely rare today.  The lockwork was redesigned to make it simpler, and the shroud was removed from the ejector rod.  The Model 22 was available only with a 5.5-inch barrel, and only with a blued finish and plain walnut grips.  Only about 4000 Model 22s were built, though it remained in production until 1966.

     The Smith & Wesson Performance Center 1917 is not exactly a modern reproduction of the M-1917, as the name might indicate; it is, rather, an M-1917 with modern improvements and built with modern methods and materials.  The most noticeable difference is the butt; the original M-1917 has a squared, flared butt, while the Performance Center version has a rounded, more ergonomic butt with checkered grips.  The ejector rod does not have a knob; this saves a few ounces (and some manufacturing time).  The cylinder release catch is reshaped to make it easier to manipulate.  The firing pin is frame-mounted rather than hammer-mounted.  The cylinder has an overtravel stop (overtravel of the cylinder was one of the problems of early revolvers).  The Performance Center M-1917 also uses full-moon clips rather than the half-moon clips of the original M-1917.

     The Smith & Wesson 22-4 (also known as the Thunder Ranch Model) is new version of the Model 22, designed in 2004.  This version has a barrel shortened to 4 inches; under this barrel is an ejector rod shroud which also acts as a counterweight.  It has the modern key-activated safety lock common to most new Smith & Wesson revolvers, and has a frame-mounted firing pin.  The Model 22-4 is fed from full-moon clips.  Construction is of carbon steel, with a blued finish except for the color-case hardened hammer and trigger.  The grips are of African Cocobolo wood, with the Thunder Ranch logo inlaid in them.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The Performance Center M-1917 and the Model 22-4 do not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Smith & Wesson New Century Hand Ejector

     Notes:  This was the ultimate revolver to own in its day (just before World War 1).  It was a long-barreled revolver that was a civilian hunting handgun as well as a favorite weapon for wildcatters to experiment with.  Most were made for .44 Special cartridges (13,000 of the 20,000 built), but others were chambered for .45 Long Colt, .44 Smith & Wesson Russian, .450 Eley, and .44-40 Winchester.  5000 were made for the British Army and chambered for .455 Webley Revolver.  The New Century Hand Ejector was also called the “Triple Lock,” since it had three cylinder locks instead of the one or two that was normal for the time.

Smith & Wesson Night Guard

     Notes: The Night Guard series of revolvers is designed to be small, lightweight, and easy to carry, with a largely dehorned exterior, smooth contours, and a light scandium-alloy frame construction.  The night guard is designed for short-range work, with 2.75-inch barrels for the 10mm/.40 and .45 chamberings and 2.5 inches for the .41 and .357/.38 chamberings.  As would befit the name “Night Guard,” these revolvers are dark gray in color, with black synthetic Pachmayr grips and matte black frames, cylinder, and barrel, with only the small area of the barrel between the cylinder and barrel being brushed silver.  The barrel itself is stainless steel, though with a scandium alloy shroud.  They have fixed U-notch rear sights and blade front sights with tritium inlays. The Night Guard series is designed primarily for police work, particularly as a backup gun or for undercover officers; it is listed on Smith & Wesson’s site as an LE weapon, though not LE-only.  Models 310, 357, 325, 327 and 329 use a large frame; the rest use a medium frame.

Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless

     Notes:  This is like many similar weapons of the period; it is a hinge-break open revolver with a shrouded hammer.  Like several other such weapons, it had a safety mechanism which did not allow the hammer to contact the firing pin unless the trigger was actually pulled.  It changed very little between 1907, when it was introduced, until 1940, when production stopped.

     The Pocket Hammerless is a smaller version of the Safety Hammerless.  The shape is slightly smoothed, the sights lower in profile, and the trigger guard a little bigger to help stop accidental discharges in the pocket.  The biggest differences are the smaller caliber and shorter barrel (with appropriate decreases in weight).