I have two Smith & Wesson Model 624 .44 Special Revolvers. The only difference is the color of the grip and the length of barrel (3 vs. 4 inch). They are both vintage 80's and LNIB. I want to sell one and keep the other. I'm having trouble deciding which to sell and which to keep. I don't plan to carry the one I keep because they're both pretty large and heavy. I love to hear your opinion on which you would keep and why?

In my opinion, there is nothing a 4" wheel gun does that a 3" can't do, and the 3" looks better and carries better.

I don't hate the 2.5" guns, but I don't like them as much as a 3", because of the truncated ejector rod. 3" is the best inch.

I'm a fan of longer barrels . . . less recoil and more fun to shoot, in my opinion.

Two me there's only two factors here...

Which one do you like to shoot more?
Which one is more rare/worth more?


Personally I'd probably keep the 4" if I wasn't going to carry it.

I'd keep both. Every gun I've gotten rid of i later regretted

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The 3" gun is much more desirable to collectors. If you don't care either way, sell that one, it'll bring better money. Too bad you don't have the original wood combat grips!

I had one of the 3" guns, but it wasn't much fun as a range gun, never really considered it for CCW, and I had other revolvers that were better for the woods. But circa 1985, an all-steel .44 Special with 6 flying ashtrays and 6 more on a speedloader was considered an excellent defensive gun.

Longer sight radius (accuracy) versus easier to carry. If you're not going to carry it I'd keep the longer one, but if you change your mind about that you might regret.

You can legally hunt with the 4" one.

Wow, great input everyone. Definitely 2 schools of thought. Now I'm better informed, although no where closer to deciding. I think I will put them both up for sale. The one that doesn't sell first will be the keeper.

BTW hkcavalier, I found one set of original wood grips, so that is a plus!

The 3" would have had combat grips (wood with finger grooves) while the 4" would have had the blockier target set (also wood) with a speedloader cutout at the top. S&W started to fall in love with rubber grips in the late '80s.



and

Washington law is hilarious. You cannot legally hunt with .44 from a 3" barrel, but 380acp is perfectly ok so long as the barrel is 4"

But yeah, being legally able to hunt with your revolver is a plus.

I really like the combat grips for the 3 inch barrel.

What I found are the grips for the 4 inch.


I'm leaning toward keeping the 3 inch, being careful not to hunt with it.

In related news, I also have the gun that killed off the 624 4". The 629 Mountain Revolver.

Barrel length is like wiener length. It all depends on the handler but any length will work with the correct skills.

Another vote for keep both.