This year at SHOT Show, the crew over at Lipsey’s debuted a firearm that had the wheelgun fanatics buzzing. The Smith & Wesson Night Guard was revived in .357 Magnum as well as .44 Special. This time around, the revolvers featured Scandium frames, no internal lock, steel cylinders, 3-inch barrels, and high visibility front sights.
As soon as I received word of this new revolver, I instantly justified purchasing one for backcountry use. For most of my East Coast travel, a .357 Magnum is more than sufficient for any dangerous game encountered.
After receiving mine, I found out the more I used it, the more I realized it really is an ideal revolver for the woods. It’s truly backcountry perfection.
Capacity, Weight, and Space
There is something attractive about the L frame from Smith & Wesson. It is a happy medium between the pocket-sized J frame and the much larger N frames.
I’ve carried many different revolvers over the years, from Maine to Alaska, and the L is my favorite size. While my late mentor Marty loved his Model 60 J frame, I wanted a revolver with more barrel length, capacity, and grip to hold onto.
The Lipsey’s Night Guard comes with a 3” barrel, a 7-shot capacity, and a similar but larger Hogue Bantam grip. The revolver’s combination of a Scandium frame and a steel cylinder creates a handgun that isn’t featherweight, so it’s not painful during long-range sessions. It is not a heavyweight that will become a boat anchor if you fall into water, as it weighs in at only 24.30 ounces.
How it Feels
Before explaining range performance, it is important to mention packing performance. The Lipsey’s Night Guard measures only 8.18 inches in overall length, which easily fits into chest packs commonly used for fishing and hunting.
Spare ammunition can fit into slender slot pockets if carried on a Speed Strip. Another excellent option for backup spare ammunition is the 5 Star Firearms L7 Speedloader, made from solid aluminum.
The 3-inch barrel of the Night Guard isn’t unwieldy or difficult to maneuver, and the somewhat bobbed Bantam grip has been easy to hold onto even when Mother Nature decided to rain on me.
In years past, I thought I would love a super lightweight .357 Magnum revolver. It took less than a box of full-power ammunition for me to decide to return it to the store. I’m not recoil-shy, but that early experience was enough for me to swear off the combination of lightweight revolver and heavy ammunition.
The Night Guard came highly recommended to me by some highly respected outdoorsmen who claimed the recoil was nothing like that of the other painful hand-cannon. They were right, and I’m going on the record to say it is similar to the snap of a .40 S&W.
At one point while testing it out, I felt as if the Night Guard has slightly better recoil than that of my Model 60. I weighed my J Frame, and it makes sense since it tips the scale at 21.13 ounces. A larger grip and slightly heavier weight explain the less perceived recoil I felt when using one and then the other.
Accuracy
Accuracy is subjective, and I wanted to run a couple of different tests with the Night Guard. I shot very slow fire single-action only at a target, and determined my rear sight needed to move hard right. I let a left-handed friend and fellow instructor shoot it as well to confirm it wasn’t me before moving the sights.
Working from 3 yards and walking back to 7, then 15 and 25 yards, I shot the revolver double action only at a police qualification target, marking each group. I kept my shots in the upper half of the torso without issue.
For fun, I ran the plate rack at my nearby range. Having one extra round over standard six shooters definitely helps when you miss one plate.
The stout recoil of the .357 Magnum makes moving from one target to another a little slower than with an autoloading pistol, but as long as the fundamentals are sound, it is easy to move through the rack with respectable speed. The big dot is definitely easy to acquire before each shot.
At the end of one day during this review, I fired my last seven rounds in the head of an IPSC target from 10 yards and kept all hits inside the space taken up by the palm of my hand. Once I became more familiar with the trigger, accuracy improved.
As I became more comfortable with the double action, I transitioned to practicing working the single action with my support thumb to maintain a strong grip with my shooting hand. My accuracy wasn’t anywhere where I wanted it to be… yet… but I will keep practicing, and it will improve as the firearm breaks in.
Ballistics
Hornady Manufacturing provided various loads for me to test muzzle velocity out of the 3-inch barrel. Using my Garmin Xero, I set aside a minimum of 5 rounds of each load to determine an average velocity.
Using Hornady Custom 158 gr XTP rounds (#90562), the average velocity out of the Night Guard was 1146.8 feet per second. This average is a little less than 100 feet per second of the box listed velocity. That heavy of a projectile traveling that fast is impressive.
I also chronographed Hornady’s Dangerous Game Handgun round #90608, and that 165 gr bullet clocked in at 1146.4 feet per second.
Chasing velocity, I tested some of the lighter rounds, including the 125 gr FTX Critical Defense #90500 at 1324.7 FPS, 130 gr. Monoflex Handgun Hunter #9052 1297.3 FPS, and the Critical Duty #90511 at 1270.5 FPS.
The best accuracy out of the Night Guard came from the Critical Duty ammunition with a four-shot string nearly touching on the 9 ring at 7 yards, with one shot about an inch higher inside the 10. After adjusting for a new hold, I consistently dropped all the shots inside the 10 ring.
One of the reasons a .357 Magnum revolver works well for a backcountry firearm is the versatility of the ammunition that can be used.
While canoeing in Georgia, I packed along snake shot in case I encountered any venomous “nope ropes.” While in bear country, I carried Hornady’s dangerous game bullet. While on the road, I used a general-purpose self-defense round for two-legged self-defense encounters.
If I use the Night Guard for training a new shooter, I can swap out .357 Magnum for .38 Special rounds that still have a respectable punch but with far less recoil.
Overall
A good revolver is hard to beat in the backcountry. The Lipsey’s Smith & Wesson Night Guard makes an excellent companion for the bow hunter, backpack angler, hiker, or casual hiker.
The wide range of ammunition choices easily swapped out makes a revolver a great option for travel to places where backcountry threats could be two-legged, four-legged, or the slithering kind.
This revolver traveled with me to the high desert of Utah, the rivers of Georgia, the Sand Hills of North Carolina, and it will continue to accompany me into the field when I want a compact defensive tool at my side.
While my primary interest in this revolver focused on wilderness travel, I know it could perform well in an everyday carry role as well. There’s something to be said about a seven-shot revolver for self-defense. A quality hand-held light, speedloader, and revolver take up very little space inside the nightstand.
I knew I was going to like this revolver when it was announced, but in my experience since owning it, I’ve really taken a liking to it. I think it is backcountry perfection, and it has my highest recommendation. In fact, I think it may be the best “if you could only have one” revolver option out there.
MSRP: $1269
www.lipseys.com
Part Number: SM14037
