What did you see at the gun shop today?

Two old J-frame S&W 32 Long revolvers. Both 6 shot and blued finish.

One was a Model 30-1 with a 2" barrel and a shorter aftermarket rubber grip and a bobbed hammer, priced at $475.

The other was an original unmodified 31-1 with a 3" barrel, priced at $550.

Both have firing pin on the hammer so cannot carry with a round under the hammer, though with the bobbed hammer it is far less likely to fire upon dropping.

The 31-1 was tempting as a collectible and I'd have bought it if it were marked maybe $400 but I felt $550 was a bit steep. The guy in this You Tube has the same gun and about 4 min in says he paid $350 for it and that was only 2 years ago.

I heard these can be honed out to take 32 Magnums or can shoot 32 ACP, but both of those are around 20,000 pressure and the S&W Longs are closer to 15,000 so maybe not a good idea. Of course if I were to hone one out, it would have to be the modified one as I would not want to butcher a classic gun.

Here is a 31-1 from online. The one at the gun shop looks cleaner. But ain't she sweet!

Today. They just got in a Charter Arms 45 Long Colt revolver, 5 shot and 2.5 inch barrel brand new for only $550! I toyed with it for a while with great desire to buy it. But then I saw a used in good condition blued S&W Model 10 357 Magnum with 3-inch barrel and no lock for only $550 and wanted that too. The Model 10 had been out of the country and back as the salesman said because it has an inscription on the frame below the cylinder indicating such. I wanted both and restrained myself.

Ah the pity of it all that one cannot just buy every gun they see that appeals to them. Oh, some do. That must be a great life, but for that you also need the backyard range and maybe one in a pole barn for those cold winter days.

The Model 10 looked about like this.
https://www.gunvaluesboard.com/sw-model-10-6-357-revolver-616596.html

The other thing I observed at the gun shop was for semi-auto handguns, over half were 9mm. Over half the revolvers were 38s.

Yesterday I saw a tiny NAA 22 Long revolver for $185. I was tempted but figured I have enough toys with my Seacamp and the KelTec P32 I was buying at that moment.

Night Rider said:

Nothing.

Haven't been in a gunshop for at least a year

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That is one way to save money! If you don't see it, you won't buy it. But then that is kind of a loss. Maybe you should get out to the gun shop soon. Especially since I heard the admin is trying to close them down for minor errors as a means of gun control that they are not getting through otherwise. So the advice might be to stock up on guns and ammo while you can as we never know what tomorrow might bring.

Night Rider said:

How many guns does one person need?

I'm not a gun accumulator. I haven't bought a gun since I think 2018. I made a decision several years ago to quit accumulating guns and put the money into ancillary equipment.

I'm well stocked on ammunition. I can't remember the last time I bought a box of ammunition in a gunshop but I bet it's been 10 years.

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Fair enough. I was half serious half joking, but you may already have the optimum number of guns for you. I have 6 handguns and aim to get at least one more.

270OKIE said:

The formula for the amount of guns one needs is as follows; n+1 Where n is equal to the amount of guns one currently owns.

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That is a great formula. Perhaps it is a scientific law? If so, will my wife understand it?

And the amount of ammo you need is A = X * Y *10 + 10 where A is a 50-round box, X is the number of guns you own, and Y is the number of different calibers your guns have. As I just made this formula up, expert ammo collectors on this site can feel free to modify and enhance it.

Oh man, I'm hurtin I wanted these so bad but I restrained myself. Saw just half an hour ago at the GS:

Charter Arms 32 H&R Magnum 7-shot revolver with a 3-inch barrel. Price: $415! They had Black Hills jacketed HP for around $65 a box.

S&W Model 66 44 Magnum with lock. Can't remember barrel length, seems it was 3-inch, for $815.

I wasn't ready to buy both guns and the 32 was my main focus, but with wife in car and groceries and we had been out late and so on, I declined. He said the gun has been there several weeks and there is not much demand for 32s. I might have to go back for it, but one thing I notice about Charter Arms (checked out 45 revolver a couple weeks ago) is the cylinder feels roougher when you close it than a S&W and the finish is a matt instead of smooth. Also the CA turns the opposite direction of a S&W which has some SD concern if you ever have to twist the wrist to fire at an attacker who has a grasp on the gun to stop it from turning.