.32 revolvers, chapter 1: S&W model 631

Written on December 9, 2013   By Tony   in Revolvers

The Smith and Wesson Model 631 was only made from 1989-1992, and as a result, can be hard to find, and when you do find one, they are generally expensive. I looked for one for a number if years before finally finding one for a price that I could afford, at a time that I had the money to afford it.

S&W model 631 4″ barrel and adjustable sights

The 631 is a stainless steel J-frame revolver chambered for the .32 H&R magnum cartridge. Of course, the chambering also allows shooting the .32 S&W long and .32 S&W cartridges as well. The original run had two variations, the ‘kit gun’ and a snub nosed version. The kit gun is the type I wanted, and was able to find, it features a 4″ barrel and adjustable sights, the snubbie features a 2″ barrel and fixed sights.

My version of the 631 is accurate, and a joy to shoot, liking any ammo I’ve fed it. The gun weighs about 24 oz, and as such is very light and enjoyable to carry in the field, packing enough punch to give peace of mind when dealing with the various things that might give one problems in my neck of the woods, while still being tame enough to take small game for the pot without being needlessly wasteful.

In 2011 S&W introduced a new revolver that they called the 631. It has a 3″ ported barrel and is chambered for the .327 federal magnum cartridge. It also has adjustable sights. I had the opportunity to shoot one shortly after they came to market, but found that the porting made even light .32 S&W long loads unpleasant to shoot without good hearing protection.