GUNS Magazine Smith & Wesson Model 67

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The M67 just keeps running even after hundreds of rounds without cleaning. Brad used several
brands of colorful polymer-coated handloaded bullets for shooting steel plates.

The .38 Special has been one of America’s darlings for over a century. Most Smith & Wesson .38/.357 reviews focus on the .357 Magnums or snubby .38s. But what about Smith & Wesson’s 4″ .38 Special-only guns?

Today Smith & Wesson offers little in the way of a 4″ or longer-barreled .38 Special-only revolver. They have three — two of the guns are stainless steel, the Model 64 and Model 67, and one is blued carbon steel, the Model 10. The Model 64 is the stainless steel version of the Model 10.

The remaining Model 67 is the stainless steel version of the no-longer-produced Model 15. All three guns are rated for .38 Special +P ammunition and hold six shots.

Models 10 and 64 have a heavy barrel and fixed sights while the Model 67 adds an adjustable rear sight and red ramp front sight. All three are built on the medium-sized K-Frame that has been around since 1899 under different names.

One might ask why chamber a gun in just .38 Special when it can be chambered in .357 Magnum and have the option to shoot either cartridge? Simply put, some folks are not interested in the .357 Magnum. The .38 Special does all they want and the special guns tend to cost less than .357 Magnum guns. Why spend more money for something you don’t want?

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From a Ransom Rest at 25 yards, Brad’s gun managed a six-shot group with Hornady 125-gr.
XTP ammo measuring 0.97" and a tight 1.37 for 24 shots. Good shootin’ indeed!

Testing

The Model 67 round-butt frame features a nice consistent brushed finish, a frame-mounted floating firing pin, a top strap drilled and tapped for a scope mount, and comes with hard rubber finger-groove grips.

Unfortunately, the gun was not without flaws starting with the locking bolt pin being a little loose. The pin didn’t fall out but I noticed it protruding to one side and I could push it back and forth with finger pressure. This means it would probably walk during firing and because of where it’s located, might fall out unnoticed and stop the gun.
Single-action trigger pull measured 4.5 lbs. while the double-action measured 13 lbs. The DA pull was a little stagey but in a new gun wasn’t unexpected — it will smooth out with use. However, there was creep in the SA trigger pull and it was gritty. This might be a first for me as previous S&W SA triggers I’ve experienced have been crisp and precise out of the box.

There has been much discussion on internet forums regarding some S&W revolvers coming from the factory with the barrel or barrel shroud under- or over-rotated. On close inspection there was some misalignment on my gun but it’s really minor — if I hadn’t been looking specifically for barrel alignment, I wouldn’t have seen it.

I emailed S&W with my observations, they sent me a FedEx return label and off it went. It was back in my happy hands in four weeks. The locking pin bolt was replaced and the new one doesn’t budge. The barrel rotation was better aligned. The SA was better but still had a bit of creep in it.

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The Model 67 is a well-balanced full-size +P .38 Special revolver with classic S&W good looks.

Note most current S&W revolvers have an internal key lock just above the cylinder release latch.

Accuracy

The gun was certainly capable of producing some very nice groups. Only one load produced an average 6-shot group size over 2″, the Remington 148-gr. wadcutter. The gun really disliked this particular load, producing groups well over the 1.81″ average of all other ammunition.

If the Remington WC data is removed from the overall data, the average 24-shot group aggregate drops to 2.18″, which is very consistent shooting with a wide range of ammo. Not many guns will do this.

With the accuracy testing out of the way, it was time to knock down some steel plates. I had a delightful time running 600 to 700 mild handloads with cast bullets on a plate rack from 10 to 25 yards. I expected the gun to get fouled up and malfunction because of the high round count but it didn’t. It got dirty but just kept plugging along. The cases ejected easily even though the chambers were getting very dirty.

With all the shooting, the creep in the SA trigger pull became less obvious because the grittiness was gone and sometimes I can’t detect the creep at all. As expected, the double action smoothed up, too.

In the final analysis, this is a very nice revolver and reflects a quality gun that will serve the owner well though I think Smith & Wesson can do better from the start. The gritty, creepy single action trigger pull right out the box was an unpleasant surprise and the loose locking bolt pin is a problem. The barrel rotation misalignment on this gun was not a big deal and most folks would have never noticed it, but it’s something S&W needs to pay closer attention to.

I like the Model 67 very much. It’s a wonderful example of a 4″ barreled .38 Special revolver, a great range gun, kit gun, target gun or for small game hunting where good sights are needed. If you’re considering a gun for self-protection, it’ll work well and is even rated for +P ammo. If you’re looking for a very capable .38 Special revolver, the Model 67 deserves a close look.

www.smith-wesson.com

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