When Smith & Wesson introduced its Night Guard line-up in 2008, the revolvers in the line had three defining features—a lightweight scandium aluminum alloy frame, a glow-in-the-dark front tritium night sight and a matte black finish that was appropriate for its moniker. Though the original Night Guard has been discontinued for over a decade now, the model has been brought back through a collaboration between Smith & Wesson and firearm distributor Lispey’s.
While the original Night Guard series was offered in six different chamberings in three frame sizes, Smith & Wesson is initially bringing back the two L-frame versions. To save weight, the new Night Guard revolvers have a scandium frame, with a hardened-steel blast shield inserted in the frame’s top strap above the cylinder gap. The barrel shroud is also made of scandium. Barrel, cylinder and other metal parts are made of stainless steel. All metal parts are given either a matte black PVD finish or oxide finish. The revolvers have been updated with a ball detent lock-up, which allows for a thicker forcing cone, and action pins are titanium. These features add up to not only a lighter weight, but increased durability.
Both models have a 3-inch barrel, which is half an inch longer than the original, and are double-action/single-action with an exposed hammer. Sights are a pinned-in-place, flat-top .130-inch width front sight post with a green ring tritium dot by XS Sights and a fully-adjustable rear sight (a change from the fixed rear sight on the original). The rubber overmolded grip is Hogue’s Bantam model with “cobblestone” texturing. The front surface of the cylinder has been beveled for easier re-holstering and the chambers of the cylinder have been chamfered to speed up re-loads. As with other Smith & Wesson/Lipsey’s collaborations, the revolvers do not have an internal key lock.
The 386 Night Guard is chambered in .357 Mag. with a seven-round capacity and weighs 24.4 ounces. The 396 Night Guard is chambered in .44 Spl. with a five-round cylinder capacity and weighs 23.4 ounces. Both have an overall length of 8.1 inches, a height of 5.6 inches and an MSRP of $1,269. For more information, see the company’s 386 Night Guard and 396 Night Guard websites.
