S&W Night Guard Series, anyone familiar with them?

[S&W500Mag]

Does anyone own any caliber of the Smith and Wesson Night Guard Series revolvers? (Especially the .44 Mag.) Or do you know anyone who has one? Have your fired it? Do you have any pictures? I'd like to see how big they are in proportion to someone's hands. How is the recoil and noise level on them? Tolerable? I'm pretty intrigued by what I've seen of them so far on S&W's website, and I'm looking for any feedback from any who has one. Check this out:

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/w...category=15703

[P-11 shooter]

Those are some pricey revolvers. Cool looking, but too rich for my blood.

I guess that dosn't answer your question. Sorry, I don't have any personal experience with them.

[TonyF]

I really like the concept and features but I just can't get past the internal lock.

[S&W500Mag]

Internal lock? Do explain.....

[reverserboy]

I've held the 8 shot .357mag. I liked it but it's not a small gun. I'm told that the 8 shot .357 & the 6 shot .44mag are close in size.

I'm also told the lock can be disabled by a gunsmith.

[TonyF]

Internal lock? Do explain.....

All new S&W revolvers, except for the Model 40 (lemon squeezer) have an internal lock that inactivates the trigger.

The small hole right above the cylinder release.

We've seen quite a few failures in training classes.

[TonyF]

I've held the 8 shot .357mag. I liked it but it's not a small gun. I'm told that the 8 shot .357 & the 6 shot .44mag are close in size.

If it didn't have the lock, I'd buy the .38spl.

I'm also told the lock can be disabled by a gunsmith.

You can disable / remove it at home but then you have this gaping hole in the side of your frame.

[S&W500Mag]

Pardon my ignorance, but I'm still not quite sure what lock you folks are referring to. This is going to sound like a really dumb question, but should my 500 Mag have one on it? If it does, I never noticed it, and it has never interfered with my use of the gun. Could you explain a little more how this particular lock that you are referring to works? Is it some sort of safety device that can be flipped on/off? Or is it something that requires you to cock the hammer before firing it? Maybe I should just go see if Cabela's or a local gun shop has one that I can look at. Thanks for all the info so far; I would be glad to hear more.

[Mr_Tom]

I'm also told the lock can be disabled by a gunsmith.

I don't have case-law in front of me, or can even remember the source, but I've heard this can be a gateway of trouble. The situation was a person shot an intruder, the grip safety on a colt government 45 was 'taped' down. The accused(this case the GG) had to first establish it was an intentional shooting (so he/she was protected by self defense laws) not an negligent shooting (which man slaughter comes to mind).

Just saying.....

Tom <not a lawyer, and not remembering the specific case either. old-age>


P.S. Nice looking revolvers, way out of my price range.

[tobor]

I don't have case-law in front of me, or can even remember the source, but I've heard this can be a gateway of trouble. The situation was a person shot an intruder, the grip safety on a colt government 45 was 'taped' down. The accused(this case the GG) had to first establish it was an intentional shooting (so he/she was protected by self defense laws) not an negligent shooting (which man slaughter comes to mind).

Just saying.....

Tom <not a lawyer, and not remembering the specific case either. old-age>


P.S. Nice looking revolvers, way out of my price range.

I think a gun lock is a different thing altogether than a grip safety. Gun locks are not used by gun-owners carrying guns for self-defense. Before the built-in lock, no one used a trigger lock on a carry gun while they carried. And for in-home self-defense, avoid the lock issue altogether by using a shotgun.

If one disables a lock, and that gun is later used by a child to shoot himself or others, than I'd imagine that person would be in a heap of trouble.