Smith & Wesson No-Lock Revolvers

Peter Allen, a songwriter who crafted hits for Olivia Newton-John, Melissa Manchester and others—and who co-wrote the hit theme to the movie “Arthur” —crafted the title and song “Everything Old is New Again” in 1974, which was just about the time I began learning how to run a double-action revolver, specifically a Smith & Wesson Model 19.

In 2001, the then-management of Smith & Wesson added internal locks to the line, and the Model 19 and others were ever-after marred with that unnecessary encumbrance. If the vitriol they generated could have been used for electrical generation, a decent-size town would have stayed brightly lit as a result.

Well, no more. The company’s new “Classic No Internal Lock” (we’ll call them “No Lock” for brevity’s sake) line is, for now, three revolvers; the Model 36, Model 10 and Model 19, all in blued steel, and all lacking that infernal lock.

The Model 36 first saw the light of day at the 1950 International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) annual convention, where it gained the name “Chiefs Special.” Later in the 1950s, when Smith & Wesson revolvers gained model numbers, it became the Model 36 in blue and Model 60 in stainless steel. For this generation, Smith & Wesson has brought back the round front sight (the Model 36 No Lock has fixed sights), but unlike the originals, it isn’t a narrow blade. Rather, it is well-proportioned for proper aiming and use.

Apart from the retro sight, the rest of this Model 36 is as up to date as the company can make it. The cylinder-retention stud was long-ago replaced on all models by a vertical retention shoulder on the frame, which is a sturdier system. And the Model 36 No Lock has the benefits of decades of refinement in the action. Comparing it with some of my Models 36 and 60, the double-action trigger pull of the new Model 36 No Lock was much-improved. Gone is the stacking of the old trigger press at the end of the travel, and now it has a smooth press-through in double action.

One limitation this revolver might have in some eyes is its capacity. Five rounds is a good number for a back-up handgun, but there are those who feel that five rounds is not enough for an EDC pistol. Others will disagree, and they are ready to reload if need be. For that, the new No Lock revolvers (all three of them) have the same cylinder size and spacing as earlier generations, so every speedloader made for the familiar models with the infernal internal lock will work just fine in Smith & Wesson’s new Classic No Internal Lock models.

Another potential limitation of the Model 36 is its barrel length. At just shorter than 2 inches, it will cost you some velocity with any load. Moreover, the barrel is so short, the ejector rod is not long enough to fully eject .38 Spl. brass. That’s not a huge problem, though; just learn to eject with the muzzle straight up, and gravity will be your friend.

If you want more than the five rounds of the Model 36, or if you want a longer barrel, the Model 10 No Lock is next up on the list. Hearkening back to the 1940s and the era of the Victory Series, this Model 10 also has a round front blade—again not narrow—on a tapered, 4-inch barrel. To add to the retro vibe, the wooden grips are much like the ones on my Victory Model (a World War II-era production revolver originally made for the Lend-Lease effort) and give the new Model 10 No Lock a no-nonsense, businesslike appearance. However, if you want something different, Smith & Wesson has not changed the frame shape, so any K-frame aftermarket grips, of which there are many, will bolt right on.

The K-frame is the epitome of a nice, single-action/double-action trigger system, and the number of pistolsmiths who can slick it up (if you wish) are legion. You don’t have to, as the trigger pull of the Model 10 No Lock is entirely usable right out of the box. Four inches of barrel gets you most of the benefits of the .38 Spl.’s ballistics. Six inches of barrel, to my mind (and handling tastes) doesn’t gain you enough extra velocity in the .38 to be worth the extra bulk, especially if you plan on using the Model 10 No Lock as a daily-carry handgun. As far as accuracy is concerned, competitive shooters have proven for decades that a 4-inch .38 Spl. like the Model 10 can put all of your shots into one ragged hole on the target.

That said, the top dog here for me is the Model 19 No Lock. With a 4-inch barrel and an adjustable-rear sight, the Model 19 can be dialed-in with precision. The front blade is a ramp with a red insert and was what we all wanted back in the day. It still works great in the 21st century, too.

The Model 19 No Lock comes with larger wooden grips that fill the space behind the trigger guard and provide more surface area on which to bear, which helps mitigate felt recoil. At just heavier than 37 ounces, recoil of the Model 19 when using full-house .357 Mag. ammunition can be sharp (an understatement). With lighter bullets, it can also be flashy, producing a muzzle blast other shooters might find a bit annoying, particularly on an indoor range.

One update on the Model 19 that the other two No Lock revolvers lack is a two-piece barrel. On the Model 36 No Lock and the Model 10 No Lock, the barrel is bored and rifled from a forging that includes the front sight and the ejector-rod-locking-latch lug. The front sight on those is fixed and not user-serviceable (or replaceable), and the ejector rod is the forward locking location for the crane.

On the Model 19 No Lock, however, the front-sight blade is pinned into a slot in the barrel shroud. The barrel itself is a threaded-at-the-rear cylinder. The barrel slips into the shroud, screws into the frame and then compresses the shroud in place on the front of the frame. It is a secure and simple solution to solve a number of problems. What it means is the front latch must be moved, so Smith & Wesson moved it. It is now a spring-loaded plunger built into the frame that engages the crane to keep the cylinder locked in alignment, which is reminiscent of the third lock on the old “Triple-lock” Smith & Wesson revolvers like the ones Elmer Keith used to develop the .44 Mag.

When the Model 19 first came to be, it was at the behest of Bill Jordan. His idea was to marry the power of the .357 Mag. with the compact size, handy proportions and light weight of the Model 19 when compared with the larger, N-frame Model 27 that had been the common Smith & Wesson revolver in that chambering. Now, even Jordan suggested that officers practice a lot with .38 Spl. and carry .357 Mag., which remains a good idea both for reasons of cost and shooter comfort. As a gunwriter, I put almost as many rounds downrange as a professional shooter, and back when I was shooting enough to be in the pro ranks, even then I found a regular practice routine with the .357 Mag. to seem a lot like work. Do yourself a favor and do a lot of shooting with .38 Spl. Even +P loads are easier to take, while still keeping you in shape for occasional bouts with the .357 Mag. Of course, if you want to use nothing but magnums in the Model 19 No Lock, go for it—the revolver can take it.

The skills developed in learning to shoot a double-action revolver in double-action can carry over to build the skills used to more-effectively shoot your much more common striker-fired pistol. The whole process of shooting well can be summed up as “sights on target, trigger pressed straight back.” So, if you have developed the skills to do that well with a double-action revolver, a 9 mm semi-automatic is going to be a lot easier to manage. Plus, shooting an accurate, soft-recoiling revolver is just plain fun. Now, most .38 Spl. ammunition is going to be relatively easy to shoot, but in the Model 36 No Lock it may be a bit more difficult due to the gun’s small size, lighter weight and short sight radius. Defensive ammunition will be downright snappy. Shift those loads to the Model 10 No Lock, and the task becomes a lot easier, and in the Model 19 No Lock, it will just be fun.

All three No Lock revolvers are entirely suitable for daily carry. Don’t believe me? What do you think we were carrying back in the days before anyone had ever heard the name Microsoft? We carried good revolvers chambered in either .38 Spl. or .357 Mag., and while guns have evolved, criminals mostly have not.

You might object that spending from $850 to $1,100 is a bit much just to have fun. Perhaps. But a good-quality 9 mm striker-fired pistol, complete with a fistful of magazines, isn’t going to run you all that much less. Just to check, I did a quick search for the original pre-lock models of these new No Lock models. When you can find one, the prices for which they sell made me reconsider how much I want to be using my old ones instead of one of the new ones—and to re-examine my estate planning. Unless you are a collector, the best (and only affordable) way to acquire a true “go-to-the-range” .38 Spl. or .357 Mag. Smith & Wesson revolver without the hated internal lock is to buy one of these new Classic No Internal Lock models.