I hear you. If I could get a good shooting 4" N-frame with fixed sights in 38 special, I'd buy it, and carry it. Right now I have a model 625 in 45 ACP that I qualified with in Kansas as a PI, and I have been known to carry that one in the winter.Ah! The L frame model 681. That was the very first Smith & Wesson revolver I ever OWNED. The first I ever FIRED was my dad's (now mine) Smith & Wesson PRE model 10, AKA the "Victory" model Military & Police .38 caliber revolver. The first first gun I CARRIED as a police officer was my uncle's Smith & Wesson model 13 with a 3 inch barrel. He offered to sell it to me for $200.
But...like a dipshit...I turned him down because I wanted a 4 incher in stainless.
Anyway...I bought the 681 at the Little Red Pawn Shop in Shawnee, Oklahoma in March of 1990 for $225 OTD. I took it to CLEET in the summer of that year and shot (my best score out of 6 tries) a 94% with it.
I loved that revolver.
I also have a model 627, the 8-shot 357 N-frame, that I'd like to carry, but I can't get any speedloaders for it except for the awkward Max-Fires. I just picked some Bianchi Speed strips and I'll practice with them on the 627.
