Gun Review: Smith & Wesson Model 638 Revolver

By Ammoland Editor Joe Evans

By Terril J. Hebert

USA -(Ammoland.com)- I admit being a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to concealed-carry revolvers. I like them with slim grips, fixed sights, and exposed hammers. Why? I couldn’t possibly answer that.

But I am a person of changing tastes. Glock pistols have grown on me given how oddly shaped their subsequent imitators have become. In revolvers, the ugly duckling for me must be Smith & Wesson’s shrouded hammer revolvers. And it has grown on me a bit.

Stuck between traditional exposed hammer guns and enclosed “hammerless” designs, shrouded hammer guns were desirable long before Smith & Wesson made it a production reality with their “Bodyguard” revolvers in the late 1950s. These five-shot small-framed 38 Special handguns were later called the Model 38 and 49, depending on an alloy or steel frame, respectively. These guns featured a shroud built up over the hammer that stops it from snagging on the draw or in the pocket, but the hammer is exposed enough to be grasped and cocked for a single-action shot.

Today Smith & Wesson is still producing their shrouded hammer revolvers, the 638 and the 649, the designations changed to …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand