OK, range report. I put a box of Winchester USA White Box (Q4196) through it. This is .38 Special 150 grain LRN. I do not know how old it is, but it is what I had several boxes in the stash of. Shooting this in the 608 is pleasant. It is like you have a .22 revolver! I would almost say cap gun, but I do not even know if they make those any more with all the airsoft stuff out there.
Out of the box the gun was dead on for windage, but a little low at 10m. At 15m it was lower, and at 25m it was about 8 inches low. I was surprised at how much difference in POI at slight range changes was. But, it has a short sight radius, and the front sight is not very good. Not horrible, but the insert does not really pick up any light or stand out.
The rear sight was good. Elevation adjustments were made with no changes to the windage, unlike some scopes or sights that deviate from elevation or windage when you adjust the other, showing good quality and quality control on the rear sight. All rounds ejected fine, although I wish the ejection rod was a little beefier/more diameter.
I then pulled out the other box from my stash, Fiocchi FMJ 142 grain truncated cone ammo. It was not cap gun/.22 like the 38 was, but not punishing at all. About like shooting a .40 minor in a Beretta. Now, with the .357, some rounds will stick when ejecting. I think the rod should be about an 1/8 to a 1/4 inch longer. All rounds were fired free style, DA. Out to 25m, you can put all your rounds into a pie plate this way. I ended up sighting a couple of inches high at 10m which puts me a couple of inches low at 25m. This is the old maroon box Fiocchi and it does group a touch better than the Winchester budget ammo. I have not reloaded any .38 or .357 in ages, but should be no problem.
The ammo is moving fast enough to not drop so much, but with the poor front sight and short radius, seems very sensitive to lining up for elevation.
As for overall quality, you could take this to the range every month for the rest of your life and put a box of shells through it, and it will probably do the same for your kids and grandkids. On the other hand, if you took it to the range every weekend and put a few hundred rounds through it with high speed reloads and full action use, it would probably only have a couple of years in it. I believe this would not be an issue if the cylinder hinge was a little beefier. I did not have my speedloaders in yet, so I can’t say how well those will work.
Anyways, the barrel is a little short for pistol whipping some punk, but what the gun lacks in barrel length it makes up for in heft. This gun would be a touch harder to everyday carry concealed than a full sized 1911 or Beretta, but would be very comfortable to have on the hip in a duty rig and belt. (and reassuring- it will either always go bang or move on to the next round with every squeeze. Compared to most striker type pistols and 1911s, a Beretta will give you follow up hits on the primer, but not the next round like this)
The worst thing about the 608, in my opinion, is availability. Price is good for what you get. I would also like to see the vented rib on the 4inch like the 6 and 8. But that is just looks, not function. I would also like to have seen them spend another dollar or two on the front sight and insert, there is room for improvement there.
