Dave Markowitz
May 1, 2003, 03:25 PM
I took today off because we were getting a new sofa delivered. That happened pretty early, so I had the rest of the day to kill. Now the voices in my head were saying, "Go to Surplus City, he's got neat toys."
Strangely enough, the voices were right! SC DID have a bunch of neat toys, including this one:
http://www.building-tux.com/images/model14-small.jpg
It's a Smith & Wesson Model 14-3 in .38 Special, AKA a K-38. One of these has been on my short list, and he actually had two to choose from. The other one is a Model 14-6 with a pretty good action job and a full lug barrel. I like the way the old style heavy (but no lug) barrel feels in the 6" length, so I got this one.
The action is smooth as you'd expect of a Smith & Wesson that's around 30 years old. After I took her home and cleaned her up with some Ed's Red and Hoppe's No.9, I saw a gun that hasn't been shot all that much, and probably never with jacketed bullets. The bore is basically mint, while the exterior shows a fair amount of holster wear. Yes, once upon a time some cops carried target revolvers.
I believe the grips are Hogues; they feel just like the rubber Hogue Monogrips. That means they're going. They look nice but don't fit me. Since I'm only going to shoot .38 standard pressure loads out of this gem I may replace them with regular Smith & Wesson target stocks.
Strangely enough, the voices were right! SC DID have a bunch of neat toys, including this one:
http://www.building-tux.com/images/model14-small.jpg
It's a Smith & Wesson Model 14-3 in .38 Special, AKA a K-38. One of these has been on my short list, and he actually had two to choose from. The other one is a Model 14-6 with a pretty good action job and a full lug barrel. I like the way the old style heavy (but no lug) barrel feels in the 6" length, so I got this one.
The action is smooth as you'd expect of a Smith & Wesson that's around 30 years old. After I took her home and cleaned her up with some Ed's Red and Hoppe's No.9, I saw a gun that hasn't been shot all that much, and probably never with jacketed bullets. The bore is basically mint, while the exterior shows a fair amount of holster wear. Yes, once upon a time some cops carried target revolvers.
I believe the grips are Hogues; they feel just like the rubber Hogue Monogrips. That means they're going. They look nice but don't fit me. Since I'm only going to shoot .38 standard pressure loads out of this gem I may replace them with regular Smith & Wesson target stocks.