Nothing fancy, just another plain M64

I've never had a "plane Jane" K frame.

I've had 2 & 3" 64's and 10's

A number of 19's in most barrel lengths

Had a 4" 681 L frame

But never a 4", fixed sights, 38spcl K frame. The most common of all models and a very Zen, all buisness sturdy workhorse.

I've been cruising all my normal channels for the past year trying to hunt down "the right one at the right price" along with a pre-lock 4" 686 which recently came to fruition.

I finally secured this M64-5 from my FFL yesterday, and I'm extremely pleased. It was filthy, but looked good mechanically with some kind of tape residue all over it and rubber grips that felt like the rubber was starting to dissolve.

But it cleaned up fantastically, and has a very smooth 10.5lbs DA trigger.

The wood grips are some Altamonts I had leftover from another gun traded off a few years ago. I'm glad I kept them, they seem a nice fit for the 64.




Not bad for under 3 Bills as far as I'm concerned!

Jonesy814 said:

Looks good! My 4 inch 64-3 is one of my favorite guns to shoot.

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I don't know how much I'll shoot it honestly.

I got it cause it filled a gap in my collection, and would serve as a good trainer or extra gun to bring along for an experienced semi auto guy to get familiar with a revolver so I can keep shooting my 686. Most people I shoot with only have semi's I'm "that guy" in our group.

Good Ol' Boy said:

Very nice looking piece.

My very next purchase is going to be a 1911, of which I do not have a specimen and am somewhat ashamed to admit. But right after that will be some sort of "traditional" DA revolver. Then my handgun collection will be somewhat rounded out in terms of types of pistols.

I still need to do some more research though as I'm not really understanding what the differences are in the "frames", ie, N, K, J and any others that may be out there.


Great find though. I hope I can find something in that price range when my time comes.

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The different frame letters indicate size.
Let's compare similarly chambered all steel 357's in the S&W line up.

The J's are the smallest. The M60 holds 5 rounds of 357 Magnum. Typically CCW class guns.

The K frame is a Medium frame, albeit a little smaller than some "medium" frames like the Ruger GP100 or Security Six. The M66 holds 6 rounds of 357 Magnum. They walk a fine balance between carry-able and shootable.

The L frame is still technically a medium frame, but is on the beefy side. Comparable to the Ruger GP100 in size. The M686 holds 7 rounds of 357 Magnum . An excellent duty sized weapon, or target/hunting gun.

The N frame is pretty hefty, it's a Large frame. The M627 holds 8 rounds of 357 Magnum. It's a pretty big gun and offers alot of firepower with little recoil.

All of these frames are available in cartridges other than 357 Magnum, but I feel it gives a good perspective of the various sizes. There's all kinds of caliber, sights, finish, and barrel length actions within each frame sizes. Just trying to give you a rough idea.

I'm still not %100 sure on leaving these grips on. While they feel great for me, they are bigger than most. I've got a set of smooth Altamont magnas and a extra T grip laying around which would be good for shooters with smaller hands.

I like the T grip combo on my M19 snubs, because it's the smallest grip combo I can shoot well.

This is a bigger gun that I'm not gonna try and conceal, so I'm inclined to keep the pictured grips. We'll see what happens I guess.

It came with a set of the Uncle Mike grips. I know some sing their praises, but I didn't particularly care for them.

I'm not a fan of synthetic grips in general. I've got a big box full of the synthetic grips that came on/with all my six guns. Numerous Pachmeyers, Houges, Uncle Mike's. None of them ever felt as good as a nice set of Arhends or other properly fitting wood grip.

fireman 9731 said:

I've said it before, I'll say it again: The K-Frame with a 4inch heavy barrel is revolver perfection. I guess your gun has a round butt? I like the looks of those grips and would like to try them, but from Altamont's website it looks like they only fit a round butt frame and unfortunately I have square butt guns. Their Battleur grip(for a square butt) left a little to be desired.

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It is a round butt, while I do have a slight preference for the square butt guns I could go either way.

These grips have a similar silhouette as a square butt with a T grip, they're thicker and more hand filling. I do like them and am happy I got them out of the box-o-grips and found a home for them.