please advise s & w 60 purchase

[gadgetgal]

I have the chance to purchase a 5 year old s & w 60, .38, in beautiful condition, for about $400. Just wanted opinions as to whether this is a good deal. This will be my first handgun, and will be used for personal protection.

Thanks for any thoughts!

GadgetGal

 

[Ringo]

I have the chance to purchase a 5 year old s & w 60, .38, in beautiful condition, for about $400. Just wanted opinions as to whether this is a good deal. This will be my first handgun, and will be used for personal protection.

Thanks for any thoughts!

GadgetGal

Welcome to the forum. The price sounds right to me, and it's a quality firearm. Curiosity, what finish and length barrel? I have a M60 .357 2" in SS and love it.

 

[Vencil]

It is a typical price, but it is an excellent revolver! I have one and it is what you use if you want to remove the X from the target. The 60 has the target trigger job from S&W so it is perfect. Hope this helps.

 

[trainor]

with full power ammo in it, the j frame 38 is pretty hard to control adequately in rapidfire, and it's really not all that powerful. It also bulges in a pants pocket holster and it's not all that durable, either. The 357 variant is even harder to control, much less durable (if you practice with full power magnum ammo) and except for the 110 gr and 125 gr jhp's, the short barrel prevents your obtaining enough velocity for a jhp to expand in flesh.

The plus P lhp's, at 800 fps in a 2" barreled .38 special, don't expand much, if at all, in animals, either. So what you end up doing is practicing with the 650 fps full wadcutter load, or you beat the gun to pieces in a very few thousand rds. Then the full power loads don't handle as easily as the wadcutter target load, when you are already under a lot of stress and tend to miss (ie, during an attack) The price is fair, but if I were going to carry such a gun, and $400 were my limit, I'd be looking to buy a PAIR of used Taurus .38 snubs. One to practice with and one to carry.

I heartily recommend that you take a look at the PF-9 Keltec pocket 9, or the Ruger LC 9, or one of the excellent .380 autos available. the Keltec P3AT 380 is just 9 ozs, and it's very compact and thin, too. While 380's dont hit hard, neither does the .38 snub, and the 380 is a lot more controllable, a lot more concealable, can be found in good used condition for $200 or so and it's more durable than the .38 J-frame, if the latter is used a lot with plus P 158 gr loads, for sure. the Keltec 380 is also a lot easier and more comfortable to carry concealed than is any .38 snub. The Sig, Star and Colt 380's have a locked breech, enabling you to safely hot load them to much more power than is safe in blowback action 380s, such as the S&W Bodyguard, or the Walther series, Berettas, etc.

The Sig, Star, and Colt 380's (Mustangs) are SA, which means that you have to carry them cocked and locked, and disengage a safety lever as you draw, or you have to carry them with the hammer lowered, and thumbcock the hammer prior to firing. If you use a front pants pocket holster, it's easy to thumbcock in your pocket, prior to drawing the gun. If you don't see trouble coming, in the 1 second advance time needed to get your hand into your pants pocket, it's unlikely that a fast draw (and a .38 snub) are going to save you, either.

 

[gadgetgal]

Wow, this forum is awesome! Thank you folks for the great information and opinions! I guess I have a lot of reading to do.

Trainor, I belong to a club that allows me to fire any firearm in the place, and I have tried to take advantage of that. I have fired the bodyguard (the .380 and the .38) as well as all the pistols they have, and they have many. I am leaning towards a revolver because I have arthritis in both hands and I have a lot of trouble with the pistol-type handguns. Can you recommend something for me, as a woman with weak hands, that might be right for home defense as well as for concealed carry?

Thanks again, everyone, for your time!

Nance (GadgetGal)