Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Smith & Wesson brought a legend back from the vault, and they didn’t do it alone. Teaming up with Davidson’s, the company has reintroduced the Model 20, a revolver that hasn’t rolled out of the factory since 1966… until now.
And this new production gun doesn’t just imitate history. It honors it, then adds modern horsepower.
Table of contents
From 1920s Experiments to Modern Magnums
The Model 20 traces its lineage back to the 1920s, when the .38 Military & Police (today’s Model 10) ruled the duty world but couldn’t safely handle hotter ammo.
Shooters wanted more velocity and better terminal performance, but the K-frame simply couldn’t take the punishment.
Enter the N-frame — originally built for the .44 Special back in 1908. When someone had the bright idea to put .38 Special into that beefier frame, the result was the .38/44 Heavy Duty and the .38/44 Outdoorsman.
SEE ALSO: Smith & Wesson Model 1854 Stealth Hunter Review
These guns were massively overbuilt for .38 Special, which let ammo developers push the cartridge harder and harder. That experimentation eventually birthed the .357 Magnum, which also launched on the same N-frame foundation.
Even after the .357 came along, plenty of cops stuck with the .38/44 platform they trusted. When S&W shifted to model numbers, the Heavy Duty became the Model 20, and production ran until 1966.
And then, for almost 60 years, nothing.
A Faithful Revival with Modern Capability
The new Davidson’s-exclusive Model 20 pulls heavily from both the Heavy Duty and Outdoorsman DNA:
- Fixed “gutter” rear sight
- Half-moon front sight
- Target hammer with a wide thumbpiece
- Target-width trigger
- Magnas-style stocks
- A 6-inch barrel, giving it that Outdoorsman profile but Heavy-Duty attitude
It’s finished in classic S&W high-polish blue, fitted with rosewood grips, and topped off with a smooth trigger that feels straight out of a pre-war catalog.
But here’s the big twist:
The new Model 20 is chambered in .357 Magnum, thanks to modern metallurgy and N-frame strength. It still shoots .38 Special all day long to stay true to its roots, but if you want full-snort .357 performance, it’s built for that too.
A True Bridge Between Eras
This is one of those rare reintroductions that actually gets it right. The new Model 20 looks, handles, and feels like a working gun from the pre-war and post-war eras. But with the performance floor of a modern .357 N-frame.
It’s a nod to a time when cops carried big steel revolvers, ammo designers pushed boundaries, and S&W was pioneering concepts that would influence handguns for decades.
If you want to check out this revival of a classic, Davidson’s dealers have them, and Smith & Wesson has the full story on its site.
Cool stuff, indeed. MSRP: $1549.00.
The half moon front sight is difficult to see and will not be popular with today’s Smith lovers.
And why buy such a heavy gun when the lighter Model 19 will take the heaviest of .38 special loads. In other words except for Nostalgia there is no need for a Model 20. I would say if you want one you had better act fast as Smith will not make many of such an unpopular model.
General Patton had an N frame Smith in 357 Magnum. Which model was Patton’s? Stay safe. j
If only they had made the barrel 4” instead of the impractical 6”. And if they wanted a longer barrel, the classic 6-1/2” barrel looks much better than the 6”. That 1/2” makes a big difference; ask any of my ex-wives.
Get rid of the Hillary hole, add a 5th screw, pin the barrel and recess the cylinder and I would pay $1549.00.
What he said…..alomg with properly case-hardened STEEL (not MIM) hammer and trigger…
Yes. I want Harry Callahan model 29, I think it was a series 2 or 3. No MIM or barrel sleeves.
I was fortunate enough to have happened on a pre-29 about 25 years ago. Coke bottle grips and all. Had a poorly installed 4″ replacement barrel, which I had reinstalled by Smith. Then found a vintage 6.5″ barrel on a Smith and Wesson forum, and Smith installed that one too.
It shoots like a laser beam and is smoother than a harem concubine’s butt. That one is going nowhere.