Smith & Wesson Model 648 .22 WMR revolver is back
Smith & Wesson announced the reintroduction of the Model 648 rimfire double-action revolver. First introduced in 1989 and retired in 2005, the .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire Model 648 features a six-inch barrel and is built around the Smith & Wesson K-frame
On August 13th, Smith & Wesson announced the reintroduction of the Model 648 .22 WMR revolver, a mainstay in Smith & Wesson's offering of small-game hunting and target shooting guns for almost two decades.
Back by popular demand, the new Smith & Wesson Model 648 SA/DA .22 Magnum revolver is the reincarnation of a modern classic: fully faithful to the quality and features of the heavy-hitting plinker that rocked the hearts of many shooters and defeated so many targets and varmint, the new Model 648 is manufactured entirely out of stainless steel to ensure quality, reliability, and a long service life.
Smith & Wesson Model 648 .22 WMR revolver, left side
Chambered in .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire (a.k.a. .22 WMR or .22 Magnum for short), the new Model 648 revolver is built Smith & Wesson's medium K-frame and features an eight round capacity cylinder, an adjustable rear sight and patridge front sight for enhanced accuracy when shooting at longer ranges.
Smith & Wesson Model 648 .22 WMR revolver, right side
The full underlug 6" / 15,2 cm barrel allows the Smith & Wesson Model 648 revolver to make the most out of the inherent accuracy and ballistics of the .22 WMR cartridge, making this revolver an excellent choice for competition shooting, leisure or recreational shooting, and training as well as small game hunting and pest control.
The Smith & Wesson Model 648 revolver is 11.1" / 28,19 cm long overall, ranging around 46.2 oz / 1,309 grams in weight; coming factory issued with black synthetic finger groove grips, the new Model 648 provides a firm hold and full controllability in all shooting conditions.
The new Model 648 comes with Smith & Wesson's Internal Lock, a well-known safety system that allows the shooter to make his/her firearm inert with a factory-issued key for secure transportation or storage.
The manufacturer's suggested retail price for the new Smith & Wesson Model 648 has been set at $749.00 in the United States. No information has been made available as of today concerning export availability and pricing.
What happens when companies (especially big ones, nowadays) “forget” the role, importance and value of good communication?
Well, for example, it may happen to take the picture of a “new product” with the wrong ammunition at side.
A severe problem? We think yes, as to us it is like one more warning bell for a general quality decay we are assisting in the visual communication approach of many companies in the gun industry.
The press release you read on this page was initially delivered with the picture you see here at side: the new Smith & Wesson 648 .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire revolver with… .22 Long Rifle ammunition.
Luckily enough, someone in the company quickly realized the mistake made by the photographer and sent out a new picture with the right .22 WMR ammunition at side of the revolver (the one you see opening this page).
Unfortunately, and despite the correction, both images are quite poor in composition. And this is not a good thing, for a picture that should instead “announce and launch worldwide” a new product.
Many companies in the gun industry nowadays ignore the importance of composing an image to make it well balanced, beautiful, emotional and able to fit all kind of (professional) editorial and promotional uses: in a word, to be able to be effective.
Poor quality always comes from improvisation and absence of competence.
Year after year, this is what is killing the inner and outer beauty that instead we should feed, maintain and preserve when transferring to others not just marketing information, but far more important, “knowledge and passion” about what we do and tell about.
We are not criticizing an “apparently” scarcely important mistake made by someone at Smith & Wesson.
No, we want to point out how much important is to assign a task (whatever) to the right people: possibly a professional, or at least to a serious person.
Would you ever ask anyone to take part in a F1 race just because he/she owns a “driving license”? of course not.
Realizing a good picture to promote a new product at International level is not – and cannot be – as easy as posting on Facebook a picture of the pizza you are eating with friends.
A good picture should always provoke emotions: attracting, fascinating, engaging. What about the one here at side?
A photo should always tell far more about a product than just “showing” it.
Know what you do, and do it with care and passion. And of course, culture and experience can add a lot more to the final result.
Top managers in the gun industry should keep in better consideration the importance of professional photographers when doing marketing.
Because improvisation and absence of competence do not help in doing… nothing.