Cy Soto Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Will an S&W Model 610 shooting .40 S&W ammunition be more, less or equally accurate to a 646 PC? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 (edited) There are many small variations between individual guns that will affect accuracy. With 2 guns that are mechanically correct in terms of throat size, bore size, timing, forcing cone, muzzle crown, bullet diameter, etc. they would be equally accurate. Edited October 10, 2011 by Toolguy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R112mercer Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Difficult question, depends on the gun, not the model. Let me preface this by saying that I don't own either gun, but in my experience accuracy in a gun depends more on quality of construction & quality of ammunition. As to using the shorter case in a cylinder for a longer round (e.g. .40 S&W in a 10mm chamber) guys have been running .38 Special & .38 Short Colt in .357 chambers with great accuracy. The key is to buy a gun in good shape and then taylor a load to it. Guns are like children, they're all different and like different combinations of components. To make things easier use a Ransom Rest to remove the humans aspect. Sorry I can't be more explicit in my answer but this is one of those hands-on things that you have to do on your own. I'm not sure of your reloading experience so I don't want to waste your time with a lengthy post about how to go about tayloring a load, but I will if you want! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jasond Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I'll assume that the freebore (distance bullet has to go before it hits rifling) is less on the 646 because it's chambered for a shorter cartridge, which would help it be more accurate. I get reduced accuracy shooting .38 short colt in my .357, for example, all else equal. That said, there's enough variance from gun to gun to give an answer, but people with experience with both I'm sure have noticed some trends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 The reduced accuracy of a Short Colt in a .357 is probably more related to the twist rate than "freebore" in the chamber. With a S&W factory barrel you need to get over 1000 fps. to start seeing the bullet stablilize well. The faster you push them, the tighter group you are likely to see. Heavier bullets will be stable for a longer distance than lighter bullets. Faster bullets will be stable for a longer distance than slower bullets. Factory twist rate is around 1 in 18. My target guns have a custom barrel with a 1 in 10. I can get good groups out to 50 yards with a slow bullet or out to 100 yards with a faster load. The slow target loads don't stabilize well in the 1 in 18 twist rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy Soto Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 As to using the shorter case in a cylinder for a longer round (e.g. .40 S&W in a 10mm chamber) guys have been running .38 Special & .38 Short Colt in .357 chambers with great accuracy. That's what I was thinking but the shooter would still be able to load their .40S&W rounds long (like many do when loading for their 2011's), right? If this is the case, then the jump from the cylinder to the forcing cone would be similar to that of a 10mm but the rounds' pressure would be lower and so would be the bullet's velocity which led me to believe that shooting .40 S&W ammo through a Model 610 would be slightly less accurate than shooting 10mm. Now I am not so sure... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy Soto Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 The reduced accuracy of a Short Colt in a .357 is probably more related to the twist rate than "freebore" in the chamber. Would you happen to know if both the Model 610 and the 646 have the same twist rate? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezco Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I just purchased a Model 610 and have the following to report. I load my .40 cal long 1.24 which is very simular to my 10 mm factory loads and have not seen any change in accuracy between the two loads. The .40's definitely make for an easier follow-up shot. I use the .40 for Steel and 10mm for carry, oh yet 2.5" barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy Soto Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 I load my .40 cal long 1.24 which is very simular to my 10 mm factory loads ... Since you are loading your .40 ammo so long, do you need to use 200gr bullets or can you load that long with 180's? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 The reduced accuracy of a Short Colt in a .357 is probably more related to the twist rate than "freebore" in the chamber. Would you happen to know if both the Model 610 and the 646 have the same twist rate? Most (maybe all, but I don't know for sure) Smith revolvers have the same twist rate. The distance from the case mouth to the throat doesn't matter for accuracy. The bullet itself (good quality, doesn't lead the barrel, proper diameter), velocity, timing, forcing cone, throat size, bore size, cylinder gap (affects velocity but not accuracy), muzzle crown, powder, primer, and case are what regulates accuracy for better or worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cy Soto Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 Most (maybe all, but I don't know for sure) Smith revolvers have the same twist rate. The distance from the case mouth to the throat doesn't matter for accuracy. The bullet itself (good quality, doesn't lead the barrel, proper diameter), velocity, timing, forcing cone, throat size, bore size, cylinder gap (affects velocity but not accuracy), muzzle crown, powder, primer, and case are what regulates accuracy for better or worse. Good to know... As you can imagine, I am not much of a revolver shooter and I thank you for the good info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aircooled6racer Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 Hello: I have a 646 and have shot a couple of 610's. They are very accurate but feel different. The 646 is lighter and quicker for me to shoot faster(I'm not that fast). The 610 with the 4" barrel shoots softer with the same load since it is heavier. The 610 with the 6" barrel shoots very well and is a nice shooter. Hope this helps. Thanks, Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COF Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I have a 646 and had a 610. The 646 is more "nimble" but the 610 handles major loads a lot better because of the extra weight. I just didn't like the flywheel effect of the unfluted cylinder on the 610. I never saw a difference in accuracy between the two. Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopalong Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 I'd listen to Toolguy, He knows what he's saying. He also recrowned a 6" barrel I installed onto a 646 after getting it rebored from 38/357 (686 Bbl) to .40 S&W. He told me it would be a good shooter...........Yep, way better than all my .45 cal revos (2-625, and 2-25s) by 50% @ 50 yds. Now having played with it some, I've decided the 6" 646 is the gun to play the game with. Btw, the 610 generally has been the best shooting revo from smith out of the box (as a whole, there are always exceptions) Hopalong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toolguy Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 Thanks for the generous compliment Hop! I'm glad that 40 is working out for you. Some day when I'm rich and famous I'll come down and shoot with you. For now I'll just have to get by on my good looks and charming personality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SauconValley Shooter Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I'd listen to Toolguy, He knows what he's saying. He also recrowned a 6" barrel I installed onto a 646 after getting it rebored from 38/357 (686 Bbl) to .40 S&W. He told me it would be a good shooter...........Yep, way better than all my .45 cal revos (2-625, and 2-25s) by 50% @ 50 yds. Hopalong Good Morning, Where did you have the 686 barrel rebored? I have been thinking of doing the same thing. I love my 646's but I would like a longer barrel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COF Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I'd listen to Toolguy, He knows what he's saying. He also recrowned a 6" barrel I installed onto a 646 after getting it rebored from 38/357 (686 Bbl) to .40 S&W. He told me it would be a good shooter...........Yep, way better than all my .45 cal revos (2-625, and 2-25s) by 50% @ 50 yds. Hopalong Good Morning, Where did you have the 686 barrel rebored? I have been thinking of doing the same thing. I love my 646's but I would like a longer barrel. Ditto that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopalong Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 Now......IF I told you guys that, I would not be the only one having one like it !!!!!! I'll dig up the info when I get back down to my Mothers house where I my paperwork is. HOP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sargenv Posted October 17, 2011 Share Posted October 17, 2011 If I had a choice between the 610 and 646, I'd go with the heavier gun.. but I prefer that the gun I fire move as little as possible under recoil for a faster follow up shot. I have the 610 in both lengths and feel that the heavier frame is better for me (I prefer the 6.5" tube over any shorter tube). Longer sight radius being one of the main things I like.. not to mention not having to load the round as hot to make power factor. The 610 cylinder is so long that you could load your 40 S&W or 10 mm to 1.600".. or about what the 44 magnum can be loaded to.. For me, I load to 1.26" for my 610. I load 1.24 for my Limited gun.. so there is no confusion on which loaded round is for which gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyT Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I have both a S&W 646 and a 4 inch 610. I mounted a red dot on each one and could not see any difference in acuracy at 25 yards with 40 S&W ammo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hopalong Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 I found the information for the Reboring for the 686 barrel, to .40 cal. www.deltagunshop.com contact Allen. Hopalong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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