Picked up a S&W 36 Today

I've got my father-in-law's old 36, and I love it. It's not a safe queen, but it belonged to his dad before him and neither of them are with us any more.

You can do much worse than a snub nose .38 for home defense

I keep the 36 in my night stand and carry an LCR some days on my person. I still shoot autos better, but I sure do enjoy a good snubnose. I need to get a 3" SP101, and I'll feel pretty set.

That sobbing sound is from fans of old S&W's like your flat latch 36 crying about someone damaging the gun by scratching their name on it.

A great carry gun.

It will make a nice carry gun, but that ammo won't fit unless someone reamed out the chambers for .357.

S&W J frames are all of that! Owned a 36, and carried a Model 60 or a Model 442 for a lot of years on the street as a backup gun. About 6 J frames still sit in my safe and come out to play every so often. 3 0f them are 3 inchers.

Can you tell I love em????

Even if you don't carry switching out those grips for a pair of Pachmayr grips is a good idea. It is night and day difference shooting with them.

Cool gun! I like the patina on it. Very classic.

Nice old gun. I've had one for years and years. A good cleaning will probably improve the trigger pull immensely.

That said the leverage on J frame triggers doesn't allow the sweet smooth pull of the larger framed guns.

You can still make them plenty effective when the chips are down.

get that DA fixed.. it's the only way to go.
this weekend, i out-shot a group of 20 men with my 1971 36.. i'm kinda natural with it.
they all had various quality semi autos and have been shooters for years.
what did you pay for yours?

Hunterdad

For some really nice looking grips check out at what Hogue has to offer. They have full sized finger groove grips in both wood and rubber that will give you both control and comfort when shooting. If you prefer something that's more suited for concealment their smaller rubber Bantam grips are great too. Another way to go in a more minimalist way is to get a Tyler T-Grip adapter for your Model 36.

Hunterdad,

is that a 357 round in the photo with your model 36? if so I thought the 36 was a 38Sp?? I could be wrong but that sure looks like a 357 to an old reloader like me!!

Bull

Silly photographers and their "props". My wife has been carrying that exact gun for about 20 years now. You can improve the DA trigger pull some but it will never be as good as the K/L and N frames. Different geometry working. Make sure to keep your thumb away from the cyl. release when shooting. It can bite ya pretty good.

The Chief is the best.....have mine over 35 yrs....every time I changed the grips I kept comming back to the originals.....I've finally realized they are the best for concealment....IMO.....S&W knew what they were doin' when they offered up this beauty.
Only handgun I own, I would never sell.........

Nice gun, take the grips off and give it a good cleaning, use Ed's Red. Then put the grips back on with a Tyler T adapter.

Hunterdad said:

I just want to pick up a pair of wooden finger grooved and checkered grips.

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When you change out those grips be sure to hold on to the originals. Those Diamond grips are worth a lot of money even in worn condition. Put them away and keep them safe.

As for newer wooden grips, I put a set of Badger Custom Grips on my carry J frame. I really like how they feel and they look good too IMO. Tyler T Grips are also a good option like mentioned above.

i love the original diamond grip for style and feel. i shoot it quite well and quite comfortably with my large hands.. i'm weird like that, though.

A must have

I say that if your a shooter [ handgunner ] and to not own at least 1 snub revolver is a crying shame and leads me to be assured that you were not properly raised around shooters and then did not develope a sense of balance and honor = yes they are that important.

At present I have

Ruger SP101 w/ 3" barrel

S&W 442

S&W 360 [ .357 scandium ]

Ruger security six 2 3/4"

S&W 13 w/ 3" in .357

Charter arms custom bulldog .44 sp

S&W 317 in .22 rf

so guess you see that 1 is a GREAT begining and I hope you enjoy that first one enough to bring it home a few brothers & sisters.

btw = CONGRATS ON YOUR FIND !!!!!!!.

I'm thinking about getting a new pair of factory S&W square butt grips for my 31-1. The originals are a little rough. i have a pair of Sile grips, which I like for range time, but are a bit big for carry. The factory grips and a T-grip adapter would be a good combination for CC.

Numrich lists sideplates for the 36 in stock at $49.05.

Nice looking old gun by the way.

My 36 is newer and I put the S&W bulldog grips on it. OK for concealment but you only get a two finger grip, pinky goes underneath.

I have a set of Hogues that were better for a full hand grip but not so good for me for concealment.

Howdy

I prefer the Tyler T Grip on my Model 36. I just prefer stock grips over replacement grips.

I'm going to give it a good cleaning today. I may try and find a new side plate for it so I can get rid of the previous owners name.

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AFAIK, the sideplates were fitted to the gun. A replacement might fit, but may not be as seamless as the original.

BTW, there's a right and a wrong way to get the sideplate off. Check out the link below for helpful info.

A good cleaning's likely in order, but even a clean j-frame's DA pull will be on the heavy side. Smooth is more important, though.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=397027