Smith & Wesson Mannequin 60 Assessment: A Grasp of None | The Global Today

In terms of firearm upkeep, some supplies utilized in development are extra forgiving than others. Right this moment, many rifles and handguns use chrome steel of their development. Good-looking to have a look at, both within the white or coated with a end, and better of all, corrosion resistant. The Smith & Wesson Mannequin 60 revolver was the primary profitable handgun made solely of stainless-steel. It was a godsend to cops and residents, particularly these of us who dwell and work in humid and marine environments the place conventional blued metal weapons can rust earlier than your very eyes.  

Almost sixty years after its introduction, S&W nonetheless makes the Mannequin 60 in plenty of configurations. However the world has moved on since then. Lately, folks don’t contemplate a five-shot small-framed revolver as a superb combating handgun. Chrome steel development stays, however so did the inclusion of different corrosion-resistant supplies like aluminum, scandium, and, in fact, polymer. The Mannequin 60 is a heavyweight snubby the place revolver expertise has solely gotten lighter and semi-auto pistols have grown in recognition by leaps and bounds. So why does Smith nonetheless make the Mannequin 60 and why would anybody purchase one? This assessment pertains to what I imagine to be probably the most sensible of the road: the Mannequin 60 .357 Magnum 3-inch.

S&W Mannequin 60 Background

Within the Nineteen Sixties, Smith & Wesson surpassed Colt within the regulation enforcement handgun market. Most officers have been now carrying a Smith & Wesson six-shot .38 or .357 Magnum revolver on their belts. Some enterprising males and lady additionally made use of Smith’s then-new Mannequin 36 five-shot snub nostril for off-duty and the backup gun function. Then, like now, most peace officers weren’t firearms aficionados. This meant their revolvers spent most of their lives in a holster left untouched, save for the occasional qualification course. These handguns have been blued, or maybe nickel-plated carbon metal, which was inclined to rust and corrosion over time. Then got here the Smith & Wesson Mannequin 60. 

Launched in 1965, the Mannequin 60 was not more than the Mannequin 36 five-shot .38 Particular however made solely of chrome steel. Though lighter handguns just like the aluminum-framed Mannequin 42 have been accessible, the all-steel Mannequin 36 was extra widespread. That recognition readily transferred to the extra weatherproof Mannequin 60. 

Within the Nineties, Smith & Wesson determined to up their present small-framed revolvers from .38 Particular to .357 Magnum by lengthening the cylinder and cylinder body for the longer spherical. At the moment, the Mannequin 60 is just accessible in .357 Magnum with both a 2 ¼ inch or 3 inch barrel.

Fashions and Variations

There are 4 variations of the Mannequin 60. The usual two fashions (this assessment), one with a 3 inch barrel and one with a 2.25 inch barrel. In addition they have a Ladysmith model for feminine shooters and a efficiency heart variant.

Smith & Wesson Mannequin 60: How Does It Shoot?

Out of Smith & Wesson’s present lineup, their 686 L-Body revolver is maybe their most versatile and controllable gun. Chambered in .357 Magnum and heavy sufficient to soak up recoil, it makes for a really perfect self-defense or woods gun. Nevertheless, that heft can actually weigh on the belt on the finish of the day and could be exhausting to hide. I shortly started to search for a lighter choice and stumbled upon the Mannequin 60. This mannequin comes with a 3 inch barrel, a ramped entrance sight, and a rear sight that’s adjustable for windage and elevation.

From a distance, it seems loads just like the 686. But it surely weighs over ten ounces much less, at solely 24 ounces unloaded. It’s also a trimmer pistol with a smaller cylinder that holds 5 rounds as an alternative of six or seven. Though the Smith & Wesson J-frame is meant as a small carry gun in .38 Particular, the Mannequin 60’s all-stainless metal development would take in extra recoil than a lighter aluminum framed revolver when it got here to taking pictures full-power .357 Magnum ammo. The three inch barrel can be helpful, because the Magnum spherical would nonetheless have loads of vitality over a shorter two-inch barrel. All in all, the three inch Mannequin 60 has plenty of promise as a carry gun over heavier magnum revolvers just like the 686. However I discovered the Mannequin 60 to nonetheless be a .38 Particular at coronary heart masquerading as a .357. 

Shootablity

In case you are used to small Smith & Wesson Airweight revolvers, the Mannequin 60 represents a considerable improve within the hand. At 25 ounces, it weighs extra and its full-underlug 3 inch barrel makes the pistol a tad muzzle-heavy and regular to shoot. The Mannequin 60 has a pinned entrance ramp and blacked-out adjustable rear sq. notch for its sight setup. These are miniatures of the sight arrange on bigger revolvers, however larger and simpler to work with than the gutter sights on smaller revolvers. 

They construct the Mannequin 60 on the J-frame and it has a brief rounded butt that’s splendid for hid carry when paired with boot grips. From the manufacturing facility, the Mannequin 60 comes with longer Hogue rubber fight grips that permit for a extra substantial maintain over a standard snub nostril revolver. 

Like the larger weapons on the market, the Mannequin 60 is a double motion/single motion revolver with an uncovered hammer. This permits the person to manually thumb again the hammer for a brief, mild set off pull. Alternatively, the pistol could be shot by merely pulling the set off. Pulling the set off each rotates the cylinder and drops the hammer, a double motion. 

The double motion set off pull breaks on my Lyman set off scale at eight kilos. It’s stagey and never significantly clean, making the Mannequin 60 difficult to shoot in double motion. The one-action pull breaks cleanly at solely 2 1/4 lbs. Thumb cocking the hammer and taking pictures at targets is a enjoyable and helpful technique to hit small targets and get a really feel of the handgun. Nevertheless, as a defensive handgun, double motion taking pictures is extra splendid and is more durable than utilizing different revolvers. Set off apart, the Mannequin 60 has the easy-shooting options of an even bigger revolver however on a smaller body. 

Reliability

I’ve put shut to 5 hundred rounds by way of the Smith & Wesson Mannequin 60, 200 rounds of .357 Magnum ammunition and 300 rounds of .38 Particular. I had no failures to fireplace or cycle. I did have one occasion of a failure to eject. After taking pictures some significantly stout .357 Magnum handloads. A pointy hit to the ejector rod was wanted to kick the empty instances out. However on the entire, the Mannequin 60 will get high marks for reliability. 

Ergonomics

I shot the Mannequin 60 with the inventory Hogue grip and later, an Altamont rosewood fight grip. This setup provides a superb three-finger grip on the revolver, however it isn’t splendid for hid carry. Nevertheless, as an all-around gun, this grip does its job. With a agency grip, recoil received’t jerk the revolver out of your palm, even with Magnum hundreds.

 Talking of recoil, the all chrome steel development of the Mannequin 60 soaks up .38 and .357 recoil higher than smaller revolvers, however not fairly so effectively as bigger ones. The .38 Particular is a painless hoot to shoot, even when firing hotter +P hundreds. The .357 Magnum spherical is far louder and snappier. With each shot, the again strap of the grip digs into the palm. It’s consideration getting, however not painful. However I didn’t make a behavior of firing many Magnum rounds at anybody time both. 

The one controls to be taught on the Mannequin 60 are the hammer, cylinder launch, and ejector rod. The hammer is a small MIM-ed half however isn’t tough to succeed in and the serrations make it straightforward to grip and thumb again. They positioned the cylinder launch on the left facet of the pistol behind the cylinder. It requires a push to be able to launch the cylinder for loading and unloading. It’s situated for a small to medium-sized hand. In my bigger palms, I tended to bump the discharge when taking pictures with a two-handed grip. But it surely takes a deliberate push to actuate it. In terms of ejection, a pointy hit to the ejector rod will clear the empty instances from the chambers. The rod is full size and can kick out empty .38 and .357 brass. Most snub nostril revolvers have a shorter rod that’s higher for extracting the empties as an alternative of ejecting them. 

Throughout testing, I bumped into two different points associated to ergonomics. Early on, I observed the black Hogue grip that comes inventory on the revolver was loosely match and would wobble ahead and backward on the body. It’s straightforward to strip out the tapped metal insert that holds the grips on, so I eliminated them in favor of the Altamont boot grip. I additionally had points with the rear sight, which got here aside throughout my first vary session spontaneously. I by no means had an issue with Smith & Wesson adjustable sights prior to now. Nevertheless, we should put it into thoughts that we will bump adjustable sights out of alignment or break the place fastened sights wouldn’t.  

Accuracy

Revolvers are oven very correct, however there’s extra variation between hundreds than you may discover in a comparable semi-auto with commonplace grain-weight ammo. I initially sighted within the Smith & Wesson Mannequin 60 at fifteen yards for .38 Particular 148 grain hand-loaded wadcutters. Federal 158 grain lead .38s grouped the very best, at an inch and a half at that distance. However the group favored low. Hornady Important Protection .38 Particular 110 grain +P and .357 Magnum 125 grain hollow-points, in addition to Federal American Eagle .357 Magnum 158 grain jacketed comfortable factors diversified in group and in level of affect. I attribute a few of this to the spongy double motion set off pull and partly to completely different bullet weights and velocities.

From a bench relaxation, I shot these hundreds once more in single motion. I received the identical 1 ½ inch group with the Federal .38 Particular lead load. The Hornady .38 and .357 hundreds and the Federal .357 load grouped into three, three and a half, and five-inch teams respectively. With correct load preparation, the Mannequin 60 could be fairly correct, however I used to be shocked by the diploma of variation which may make the distinction between a success and a miss relying on what you’re doing. 

Worth

The Mannequin 60 lives between the smaller .38 Particular snub nostril revolvers and bigger framed .357 Magnums that Smith & Wesson gives. It has neither the concealability of the previous nor the shootability of the latter. It exists to do a little bit of each and in value, it’s simply as center of the highway. The Mannequin 60 3 inch has an MSRP of $839. I received mine new for one Benjamin much less. Is that definitely worth the value of admission over my 3-inch Mannequin 686 seven-shooter? No. It doesn’t shoot like an even bigger revolver. It’s a thinner gun that’s simply heavy sufficient to be tolerable when taking pictures .357 Magnums, if it may place them precisely. The Mannequin 60 doesn’t do this. Though it’s extra feature-rich and extra highly effective than a .38 Particular Mannequin 642, it’s 1 ½ instances the worth. Is it 1 ½ instances higher? I say no. The Mannequin 60 is cursed to be a jack of all trades, which means it may be a grasp of none. 

Smith & Wesson Mannequin 60 Professionals and Cons

Shootability	Higher appointed than the same old snubbie.	B+
Reliability	No malfunctions.	A+
Ergonomics	Inventory sights, grip, and set off pull overwhelm an honest entry.	C
Accuracy	Ergonomics problem accuracy.	C
Worth	Extra versatile than a snubnose revolver, however not a substitute for one thing bigger.	C

Our Grade

B-

Reviewed by Terril Hebert

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S&W Mannequin 60 Starter Pack

Eye Safety –Listed here are some of our favourite eye safety.

Listening to Safety – Having some high quality listening to safety to stop listening to loss.

Gun Cleansing Package – A superb cleansing kits will aid you maintain your weapons working.

First Assist Package – Its at all times good to have a primary help package readily available in your vary journeys.

Upgrades and Equipment for the Smith & Wesson Mannequin 60

For the Mannequin 60 we now have a brand new set of grips, velocity loaders, and a holster.

Greatest Ammo for The S&W Mannequin 60

Listed here are our picks for ammo to make use of in your S&W Mannequin 60. Whereas it could possibly shoot the 357 Magnum, on this revolver we a lot most popular the 38 Particular.

Different Revolvers of its Class to Examine Out

In case you are in search of our favourite 357 revolvers, we now have a complete article devoted to them. However you wont see the Mannequin 60 on the listing. Listed here are two Ruger revolvers which have carried out effectively thus far in our testing.

Ruger LCRx

This little wheelgun brings the concealment of any semi-auto available on the market, however with the power of a 357 magnum.

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A-

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Ruger GP100

A sturdy revolver from Ruger with both 6 or 7 spherical cylinders, SS or blued end, a number of completely different calibers, and many alternative barrel lengths.

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Tips on how to Look after Your S&W Mannequin 60

Here’s a video strolling you thru learn how to clear your S&W revolver.

Essential Hyperlinks and for the Smith and Wesson Mannequin 60

Try the hyperlink beneath for the producer’s web site and homeowners guide.