Introducing Smith & Wesson Revolver Frames – Cameron Curtis
Revolvers and Semi-Automatic Pistols
When I was growing up, I was introduced to two pistols. My grandfather’s and uncle’s service 1911s, and my dad’s Smith & Wesson Model 53 revolver in the unusual Remington .22 Jet Magnum caliber. It fired an odd cartridge that looked more like that of an M-16 rifle. Nothing like the blunt .45 ACP. For some reason, I gravitated to 1911s. They were worn and scuffed, and I can’t explain the attraction. Go figure.
However. Over time, I found that revolvers were pretty cool too. Dirty Harry came to the theaters, and who couldn’t help being awed by that big .44? My dad said, “You’ll never use that,” but I watched every movie in that franchise. More than once. When Magnum Force came out, the stars were the S&W Model 29 and the Colt Pythons the bad guys carried.
Since then, the military and law enforcement have given up on revolvers, and everybody seems to be into pistols out of gun-foo movies. There are, however, reasons to own and shoot revolvers. I have gone on a bit of a revolver kick and will write a series about these pistols over the next few weeks. I’ll keep it mostly to the Smiths and Colts, but might stray here and there. There’s still a big market out there for revolvers, and they have strong advocates.
This will be an introductory article. I’ll go through the different Smith & Wesson frame sizes and the kinds of revolvers one might encounter. It’ll form the basis for some of the other pieces I’ll write later on.
Smith & Wesson Frame Sizes
Browse Smith & Wesson revolvers, and you’ll find they’re described as .38 caliber J-frames, .357 Magnum N-Frames, .38 Special K-frames, .50 caliber X-frames, and so on. You’ll want to buy a vowel, the choice is so bewildering.
In simple terms, these designations refer to the size of the pistol. A lot has to do with the size of the “window” into which the cylinder fits. Heavy-caliber rounds are bigger and require a larger window. By the same token, more rounds make for a bigger cylinder, and that requires a larger frame.
There are more subtle issues. A more powerful round produces more recoil. A heavier pistol with a larger frame will better absorb that recoil.
Revolvers and Semi-Automatic Pistols
When I was growing up, I was introduced to two pistols. My grandfather’s and uncle’s service 1911s, and my dad’s Smith & Wesson Model 53 revolver in the unusual Remington .22 Jet Magnum caliber. It fired an odd cartridge that looked more like that of an M-16 rifle. Nothing like the blunt .45 ACP. For some reason, I gravitated to 1911s. They were worn and scuffed, and I can’t explain the attraction. Go figure.
However. Over time, I found that revolvers were pretty cool too. Dirty Harry came to the theaters, and who couldn’t help being awed by that big .44? My dad said, “You’ll never use that,” but I watched every movie in that franchise. More than once. When Magnum Force came out, the stars were the S&W Model 29 and the Colt Pythons the bad guys carried.
Since then, the military and law enforcement have given up on revolvers, and everybody seems to be into pistols out of gun-foo movies. There are, however, reasons to own and shoot revolvers. I have gone on a bit of a revolver kick and will write a series about these pistols over the next few weeks. I’ll keep it mostly to the Smiths and Colts, but might stray here and there. There’s still a big market out there for revolvers, and they have strong advocates.
This will be an introductory article. I’ll go through the different Smith & Wesson frame sizes and the kinds of revolvers one might encounter. It’ll form the basis for some of the other pieces I’ll write later on.
Smith & Wesson Frame Sizes
Browse Smith & Wesson revolvers, and you’ll find they’re described as .38 caliber J-frames, .357 Magnum N-Frames, .38 Special K-frames, .50 caliber X-frames, and so on. You’ll want to buy a vowel, the choice is so bewildering.
In simple terms, these designations refer to the size of the pistol. A lot has to do with the size of the “window” into which the cylinder fits. Heavy-caliber rounds are bigger and require a larger window. By the same token, more rounds make for a bigger cylinder, and that requires a larger frame.
There are more subtle issues. A more powerful round produces more recoil. A heavier pistol with a larger frame will better absorb that recoil.
As one progresses up the alphabet from I, J, K, L, N, X and so on, frames get bigger. It’s not always true. There are exceptions, but I won’t get into those here. So let’s do a quick tour through the alphabet.
J-Frames: the “detective” pistols
I’ll skip the I-frames, which were some of the oldest Smiths. A lot were .32-calibers that dated back to the turn of the 19th century. The J-frames are usually small, pocket-sized pistols. If you watch crime movies dating back to the thirties, you’ll see detectives carrying these under their jackets or in ankle holsters. They’re the perfect backup piece. Today, they are arguably a good choice for concealed carry. These weapons are typically .38s, though you can find .357 Magnums. They can be double-action/single-action, or just double action. A lot of that has to do with their hammer configuration. Pistols with shrouded hammers can be DA/SA, pistols with internal hammers DA only. Usually, these are five-shot affairs.
Fig. 1 Smith & Wesson 442 Airweight. 5-shot cylinder, .38 Special, with covered hammer
Figure 1 is a S&W Model 442 Airweight with a 5-shot cylinder. You can see the hammer is completely covered. There is no spur visible; it’s internal so it won’t snag on clothing. Look how flat the top and front sight are. It’s double-action only. A perfect ankle or pocket piece. If a bad guy gets you in a bear hug, you can shove this piece against him without pushing the weapon out of battery.
There’s no slide to foul inside your pocket.
Of course, you can find DA/SA models with shrouded hammers that can still be thumb-cocked. And unshrouded models with hammer spurs.
K-Frames: the workhorses
A step up in size from J-Frames are the K-Frames. These are usually six-shot cylinder pistols, chambered in .38 special. You will also find more .357 magnums in this class.
For a long time, the law enforcement workhorse was the S&W Model 10 Police and Military pistol shown in Figure 2. This is the piece you’d see cops carrying in the fifties and sixties.
Fig. 2 K-Frame Smith & Wesson Model 10 Police and Military in .38 Special.
Later, law enforcement wanted to carry a weapon with a more powerful cartridge. The Model 10 was modified to fire the .357 Magnum. The Model 13 shown in Figure 3 was widely adopted and became the last revolver issued by the FBI.
Fig. 3 K-Frame Smith & Wesson Model 13 in .357 Magnum with 6-shot cylinder
N-Frames: heavier calibers, higher capacity
There were two reasons to move up a step in frame size. Ammunition capacity and caliber. Let’s look at caliber first. The iconic Dirty Harry pistol is the six-shot Smith & Wesson Model 29 in .44 Magnum. It’s an N-Frame, shown in Figure 4.
Fig. 4 N-Frame Smith & Wesson Model 29 in .44 Magnum with 6-shot cylinder
But the N-frames are not just about heavy calibers. To increase the ammunition capacity of revolvers, N-frames were designed with seven and eight-round cylinders. Figure 5 shows a Model 327 with an 8-shot cylinder that fires .38 Special and .357 Magnum.
Fig. 5 N-Frame Smith & Wesson Model 327 in .357 Magnum with 8-shot cylinder
The Model 29 and Model 327 show the wide range of pistols that fit into the N-frame class.
X-Frames: the Scud hunters
My dad told me one would never use a .44 Magnum. Back then, we couldn’t imagine the Smith & Wesson 500 X-Frame, loaded with Smith & Wesson .500 ammunition. To be honest, I will have to research uses for this weapon. Big-game pistol hunting, perhaps. Anti-materiel missions like Scud hunting? I jest. The muzzle energy of this pistol, shown in Figure 6, is untrue.
Fig. 6 X-Frame Smith & Wesson S&W500 in .500 Magnum with 5-shot cylinder
Conclusion
That’s the tour. Small-arms experts will have skipped this article. But hopefully there was something in this short article for readers to find interesting. In the coming weeks, I’ll indulge in revolvers a bit more and invite you along.
Cameron Curtis has spent thirty years in the financial markets as a trader and risk manager. He was on the trade floor when Saddam’s tanks rolled into Kuwait, when the air wars opened over Baghdad and Belgrade, and when the financial crisis swallowed the world. He’s studied military affairs and warfare all his adult life. His popular Breed series of military adventure thrillers are admired for combining deep expertise with propulsive action. The premises are realistic, the stories adrenaline-fueled and emotionally engaging.
