I bought a pre-owned S&W Model 58 in 1985, and was documentably carrying it as a duty handgun by late 1985. I still have it, and it still shoots, though it would be best to have action tightened, either by peening/stretching and fitting existing parts, or replacing and fitting new parts. N-Frames are, really, too large for my K/L-Frame-sized hands to shoot double-action, so I am unlikely to be shooting this one with my aging hands, anymore, anyway.
I bought a Seecamp LWS-25 some time in the mid-Eighties, and still have it, though the firing pin failed, so it would need to be repaired, in order to shoot it. (I removed the bushing, spring, and firing pin, then used it as a training prop, for my rookies to find, to prove that they searched an area well enough. I cannot be certain whether I bought the Seecamp before or after the S&W Model 58. The gun store is long gone, having been a total loss in a fire, and I doubt anyone kept the business going after the FFL holder passed away, so researching the sale date would be problematic.
I grew up in a non-gun-owning family, so did not start buying long guns until late 1979, at the earliest, and handguns, until late 1982, at the earliest.