Aqualung
Blackhawk
Well, it looks like I've dipped my proverbial toe into the S&W "pool" with a couple classics I couldn't pass up.
A friend's father-in-law passed away recently and had a few guns that he left. They included these two classic revolvers that I couldn't let get sold off to a pawn shop with the others by his widow and daughter.
They were in storage for at least the last few decades, but in really good condition and luckily, rust-free.
We did the transfer last weekend and I finally got to sit down and clean them up thoroughly, get a good look at them and get some pics. Previously, I'd only seen a couple mediocre phone photos, since they were in FLA. They really cleaned up nicely, needing just a bit of CLP to un-gum some of the workings and clean off some old oil that had congealed.
Thanks to @WendyZXZ for guiding me in some directions to get more info on these as well!
The first is a Model 36 Chief's Special J-Frame (round-butt). The S/N (once we found the real one) puts it being manufactured in the 1960s (S/N 4426xx, my references say '62-'69). Original grips are gone and it's got the oversized, grip of which I absolutely hate the looks, but make the gun so comfortable. I'll be ordering a set of vintage grips to get it back to original, but the big grip may stay on, or be replaced with a Pachmayr grip of the same vintage...I'm thinking this will become Mrs. Aqualung's gun, so we'll see what she likes.
This little gun really did well with some CLP love. When I got it, pretty much everything was a bit stiff, cylinder spin, ejector, cylinder release and closing, etc. The action was very smooth, but also seemed a bit on the sluggish side. A few drops of CLP in strategic areas and some swabbing freed things up greatly. I even went so far as to take the side plate off to make sure none of the innards were gunky...and once I saw those guts that would make a Swiss watch cringe, I screwed the panel back on...a hammer-handed Ruger barbarian like me has no business mucking around in *there*!
Anyhow, the bluing is very nice and shows very little wear, even though I believe Bob carried it as his off-duty or backup gun when he was a deputy sheriff in CA, many years ago.
Here it is, all cleaned up:
As I previously mentioned, this may become Mrs. Aqualung's bedside gun if the trigger pull fits her (and maybe then I'll get my SP101 back...
). I don't think it's as much as my SP101 (with 10# Wolff springs installed, so she can pull it), but my trigger scale only goes to 8# (S/A pull is a crisp 3.5lbs). I've ordered a couple speed loaders for it.
Next up is a true beauty, though in a slightly more used condition...I think it was Bob's duty gun.
It's a Pre-14, K38 Target Masterpiece. S/N (again, when we found the right one) puts it as 1955 manufacture date (S/N K2555xx). This one too needed the CLP love. It was similarly stiff from disuse and storage. However, the results were shockingly different. I'd heard about how classic Smiths performed, but this one has made me a believer. I don't know if Bob had this one worked on (he was also on shooting teams), or if it's the nature of such guns (hence the "Masterpiece" moniker), but this one operates very nicely. I didn't even go near the side plate screws...wasn't monkeying with what I think is perfection at this point. I was actually surprised that I could measure the D/A trigger pull, a smooth 8# D/A pull and 3# S/A pull.
There is a very little bit of bluing wear and the grips look like they've "been there" with dings and scratches, which make me think it was his duty gun.
The guns came with holsters, too. The one for the K38 is pretty neat, having a retention strap, but also being fully open at the back and tensioned, so it can be pulled fairly quickly without having to draw the whole length out the top. Another indication that the K38 might have been his duty revolver.
Anyhow, I know it's a Ruger forum, but I know there are others on here that appreciate classic S&Ws, like I recently have come to do.
Aqualung
A friend's father-in-law passed away recently and had a few guns that he left. They included these two classic revolvers that I couldn't let get sold off to a pawn shop with the others by his widow and daughter.
They were in storage for at least the last few decades, but in really good condition and luckily, rust-free.
We did the transfer last weekend and I finally got to sit down and clean them up thoroughly, get a good look at them and get some pics. Previously, I'd only seen a couple mediocre phone photos, since they were in FLA. They really cleaned up nicely, needing just a bit of CLP to un-gum some of the workings and clean off some old oil that had congealed.
Thanks to @WendyZXZ for guiding me in some directions to get more info on these as well!
The first is a Model 36 Chief's Special J-Frame (round-butt). The S/N (once we found the real one) puts it being manufactured in the 1960s (S/N 4426xx, my references say '62-'69). Original grips are gone and it's got the oversized, grip of which I absolutely hate the looks, but make the gun so comfortable. I'll be ordering a set of vintage grips to get it back to original, but the big grip may stay on, or be replaced with a Pachmayr grip of the same vintage...I'm thinking this will become Mrs. Aqualung's gun, so we'll see what she likes.
This little gun really did well with some CLP love. When I got it, pretty much everything was a bit stiff, cylinder spin, ejector, cylinder release and closing, etc. The action was very smooth, but also seemed a bit on the sluggish side. A few drops of CLP in strategic areas and some swabbing freed things up greatly. I even went so far as to take the side plate off to make sure none of the innards were gunky...and once I saw those guts that would make a Swiss watch cringe, I screwed the panel back on...a hammer-handed Ruger barbarian like me has no business mucking around in *there*!
Anyhow, the bluing is very nice and shows very little wear, even though I believe Bob carried it as his off-duty or backup gun when he was a deputy sheriff in CA, many years ago.
Here it is, all cleaned up:
As I previously mentioned, this may become Mrs. Aqualung's bedside gun if the trigger pull fits her (and maybe then I'll get my SP101 back...
). I don't think it's as much as my SP101 (with 10# Wolff springs installed, so she can pull it), but my trigger scale only goes to 8# (S/A pull is a crisp 3.5lbs). I've ordered a couple speed loaders for it.Next up is a true beauty, though in a slightly more used condition...I think it was Bob's duty gun.
It's a Pre-14, K38 Target Masterpiece. S/N (again, when we found the right one) puts it as 1955 manufacture date (S/N K2555xx). This one too needed the CLP love. It was similarly stiff from disuse and storage. However, the results were shockingly different. I'd heard about how classic Smiths performed, but this one has made me a believer. I don't know if Bob had this one worked on (he was also on shooting teams), or if it's the nature of such guns (hence the "Masterpiece" moniker), but this one operates very nicely. I didn't even go near the side plate screws...wasn't monkeying with what I think is perfection at this point. I was actually surprised that I could measure the D/A trigger pull, a smooth 8# D/A pull and 3# S/A pull.
There is a very little bit of bluing wear and the grips look like they've "been there" with dings and scratches, which make me think it was his duty gun.
The guns came with holsters, too. The one for the K38 is pretty neat, having a retention strap, but also being fully open at the back and tensioned, so it can be pulled fairly quickly without having to draw the whole length out the top. Another indication that the K38 might have been his duty revolver.
Anyhow, I know it's a Ruger forum, but I know there are others on here that appreciate classic S&Ws, like I recently have come to do.
Aqualung
