A different Charles Askins/New Service question...

[mergus]

I didn't want to high jack the other Askins/New Service thread to ask my question, so I'm starting a new thread....

I own 3 New Service revolvers and bought the slim little book by Murphy that gives a history of the guns. In it, the author quotes Askins as saying he choose the New Service for the Border Patrol on account of how much he disliked anything Smith and Wesson. I had never heard that before and was wondering why did Col Askins dislike S&W so much?

Thanks,
Mergus

[Dave James]

Mostly because the Colt fit his hand better, the S&W thin grip allowed the handgun to, well I wouldn't say it the way he did but it wiggled.The Colt he felt was a more rugged revolver and was better built at the time

[Charles]

The Colt and Smith and Wesson are quite different in fit, feel and balance in the hand. The DA trigger action is also quite different. Add to that their cylinders rotate and barrel rifling twist are in opposite directions. All of that adds up to quite a bit of difference and in those days the battles raged between Colt and Smith and Wesson fans.

I am left handed like Askins and have always felt that the Colt cylinder turning clockwise help me a to control the pistol in DA shooting. That and the clockwise twist of the rifling seem to help control the pistol better than a Smith. . Once you got New Service cylinder moving, it could generate a good amount of torque. For a left handed person, the Colt wanted to rotate toward the center of the shooters body and hence the target as well. The Smith wanted to rotate away from the body and hence the target as well. For a right handed shooter this is all reversed.

Whether or not this is just perception or reality I don't know, but I have always been able to shoot a Colt a little better DA than a Smith.

I have no idea what was in Askin's mind, but I suspect it was something like the above.

Shooting single action, I never could detect any difference between the Colt and Smith and Wesson.

Askins was not entirely Smith and Wesson adverse. I remember a Gun's Digest piece ( About 1955) by him on fast DA gun handling and the pictures showed him shooting a 3.5" Smith and Wesson Model 27 in a Berns-Martin speed holster rig.

[Dave James]

Charles you may have hit on the unknown or unsaid by him, I too am left handed and prefered the Colt untill I studied with Mr.Bryce and then went with the 27 3 1/2 its balance is some thing to feel,