Favorite Firearms: A Throwback Smith From Dad

by
posted on April 18, 2022
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
6.5" Smith & Wesson Model 624 left-side view revolver handgun stainless steel gun black grips

My father, Danny Joe Williams, owned The Armory, Inc. for 30 years before finishing the last 12 years of his career as head gunsmith at Umarex USA (Walther). In 1983, he took delivery of a new Bren Ten, complete with .45 ACP conversion kit and two magazines in each chambering. The magazines were perhaps more valuable than the pistol itself.

In retrospect, the Bren was a clunker, with a finish reminiscent of the auto-wax option at your local Suds and Go. The first real box of ammunition (Norma) was so hot, the frame cracked; at dad’s insistence, Dornaus & Dixon replaced it with another receiver. The Bren was an oversize, over-sculpted CZ 75 with tall sights and a falcon engraved into the side of the frame. It also barked like an actual magnum when you pulled the trigger. What was there for a 6-year-old boy not to love?

When I was in the fifth grade, he traded it without warning, and I was left heartbroken. In a moment of unjustified sympathy that surely only a father can understand, dad laid every pistol he owned out on a blanket in our living room and said, “Choose what you will.”

In the end, my choice was the 6.5" Smith & Wesson Model 624 in .44 Spl.—one of the best decisions I ever made. It’s a throwback, for sure, to back when Smith & Wesson still made revolvers with forged internals and not a sleeved barrel in sight. Of course, dad did the trigger job, 2 lbs., and it breaks like an icicle.

I’ve since shot a bathtub full of Unique powder through it, logged tens of thousands of rounds and harvested multiple whitetail deer at ranges that would make some uncomfortable. The 624 has never once failed me. After all these years, many “more desirable” pistols have come and gone, but the 624 will always be the last one I ever part ways with. Thanks, dad.

Latest

Mossberg 940 Pro New Models 01
Mossberg 940 Pro New Models 01

Mossberg Introduces SPX & Professional Models To 940 Pro Tactical Line

Mossberg has expanded its popular 940 Pro Tactical shotgun line with SPX and Professional models, with each adding a slate of upgraded components and accessories designed to enhance the shotgun's capabilities.

Preview: Streamlight Sidewinder X

This high-output, multi-fuel, military-style light with a tilting head is perfect for hunters and home defenders looking for more than just a handheld light...

The Armed Citizen® July 4, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

A Guide To Double-Stack 1911s

The 2011 brings double-stack capacity and modular upgrades to the 1911 platform, but not every wide-body 1911 out there earns that name.

Legislators Enjoy Afternoon Of Clays With Benelli USA, Among Others

A bipartisan group of Maryland state legislators met with firearm industry manufacturers and representatives for a day of clays shooting while also attending discussions on the positive economic impacts of the shooting sports.

2025 Ammunition Product Of The Year: Winchester .21 Sharp

For continuing to innovate, particularly in a corner of the ammo world that has seen very little recently, we named the Winchester .21 Sharp as our Ammunition Product Of The Year.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.