Revolver with Character

As a lot of you know, I have a huge fondness for 3” K Frames. Thought I’d share one of my favorites. It came from an estate sale along with a great story which I can only verify one part. Model 10 no dash and was special ordered in 1960. This is the only fact I can verify because Smith did not add 3” to the standard product line until the 80’s. Has a smooth semi target trigger. The story is a deputy who spent most of his time in the woods pursuing moonshiners special ordered the gun. It’s obviously been carried and the wear fits a carry gun as most of the wear is on the right side where it would be rubbing against a hand, arm or whatever it bumped into. It has honest wear or as I describe it, honest character. The story told at the estate sale according to the dealer that sold me the gun was this deputy did shoot several criminals during his career. Let me be clear. I bought the gun not the story. I have not lettered the gun because I really don’t care and a letter probably would say which hardware store it was shipped to. The action is real slick and I have a blast shooting it. It’s not a collectible but it’s not for sale either. Guns like this fascinate me and the unknown makes it even more fascinating. I do wish it could talk. I’m sure there’s some interesting information. Hell it might have been owned by a florist for all I know but it’s still fun to shoot and wonder where all it’s been before winding up with me.

walnut1704 said:

I hate to rain on your parade but without a letter, you just can't say anything for a fact. It could have been sent to the factory in the 80's and rebarreled when the 3" guns came out. That was long enough ago that the ensuing use and wear would disguise any disparity of wear between the barrel and frame. Maybe it was even factory reblued at that time. The smooth semi-target trigger is also an oddity for the period of it's original production.

I'd still letter it. If you're right then that's a find and the letter will add value. If not, who cares? Even if it was returned for a rebarrel and reblue in the 80's it might be an interesting story and a letter might confirm the Law Enforcement connection in the shipping information. They used to do anything for LE. I'm a big proponent of people building revolvers that meet their needs. People who actually use guns do that without consideration for "collector value" down the road.

Or just enjoy it for what it is .... without the speculation.

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There's always somebody that tries to find a turd in an ice cream cone! I wasn't stating anything as a fact except the gun was shipped in 1960 and yes it could have been rebarreled, but with the low popularity of the 3" guns back in that day, I highly doubt it. But as my post states, "I really don't care!" I love the gun for what it is and it is obvious to me anyway it was a LEO carried gun based on the wear pattern, but maybe not. It does not matter. I am not going to spend $100 to try and find out any more information on the gun because as I stated I really don't care who it belonged to, it does have character which was the purpose of my post and to see other members post their guns that had some character. Also, a letter is not 100% correct every time and in this case, the only important thing about this gun is I own it and love it's character. If the rumors I was told are true, I guess that would help, but there is no way to track the rumors so I will just enjoy it as it is and let the rumors float around as a possibility. If I found out it was owned by a little old school teacher and the wear was caused by it being carried around in her little sewing kit, it would not change my feelings one bit.

bannockburn said:

Eddietruett

The one thing I like about your Model 10 is how nicely proportioned that 3" barrel is with those square butt grips. Bet it handles and balances perfectly too!

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You are correct. I started out with the 3" K Frames just because everyone was going crazy trying to find a 3" Model 66 and the prices were going out of the roof. After shooting the 66 a few times, I realized just how perfect the 3" Barrel is. It does balance almost perfect at least to me and another great thing is they have a full length ejector rod that will kick the cases completely out and you don't have to have it pointing at the sky like a 2" or 2.5" when you are in a hurry. I tend to like the fixed sight versions like the 10,64.65 and 13 best, but I still take my 3" 66 out to the range regularly. In the winter months I carry a 3" K frame, usually a 64 because the action is so darn smooth and the +P ammo will do basically everything the .357 magnum will do with a lot less recoil.

Driftwood Johnson said:

Howdy

So who says a florist wouldn't own a 38? Maybe his shop was in a bad part of town.

By the way, I love the Colt from the Palisades Interstate Parkway Police. I grew up quite near there. The Palisades are a line of cliffs in New Jersey along the western edge of the Hudson River, facing New York City. As an aside, the Burr Hamilton duel took place in Weehawken along the Palisades. There is a park there now commemorating the event.

Back to the subject at hand, I too love a revolver with a bit of character. This K-22 shipped to the Providence RI Board of Public Safety in 1932. Roy Jinks told me he thought the Providence Police Department was probably using it on their pistol team. I have several K-22s, but this one is my favorite. It is the most accurate of the bunch.

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Hardly a spec of blue left on this Triple Lock and the grips are almost worn smooth. I got it for a song because of the condition, none of the other collectors was interested. Shoots as well as it did when it left the factory in 1907.

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If for some crazy reason you ever get tired of either one of those, I know where they could find a nice home and get plenty of love.

walnut1704 said:

No, you stated "fact".... "Model 10 no dash and was special ordered in 1960. This is the only fact I can verify because Smith did not add 3” to the standard product line until the 80’s." I'm just calling you on that huge assumption. If you "really don't care"...then why post that as "fact" when clearly it is not?

I certainly don't care, but you really seem too. You want to create your "special" piece without doing the work ("$100") to verify it. You seem to prefer conjecture.

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I'm not going to get into a pissing contest with you over words or how I worded a sentence. It is a fact the gun was shipped in 1960. Based on 40 years of experience in collecting S&W, I will bet the house it is original and that is why I'm positive it was special ordered. But that is not important. I started this thread about my gun which to me is special because it has some character. I wanted others to enjoy it and post their guns that have some character as well and several have done so and I have enjoyed seeing theirs as well. I was not trying to "create a special piece" by assuming anything. I don't need a letter to verify anything because I know all I need to know. I have lettered many guns when the situation called for it and this certainly does not. It was already special when I bought it no matter if the barrel was originally 3" or not. Why that seemed important to you is beyond me. No one is nit picking any other gun or story that has been posted in this thread. If you post a picture of a gun with character like others have done I will enjoy it as well and won't care if it is original or not. Most of us like a good story and I love the one that came with my gun. Its probably BS and was told to sell the gun but I don't care. It was possible and I found it interesting and thought others would.