question about a model 13

first off. . . . .

welcome to The High Road. Congratulations on acquiring one of the most desirable handguns S&W ever made. I must admit to some curiosity as to why you would want to disassemble your revolver. Things like timing, lock-up, barrel to cylinder gap and end-shake can usually be determined by an observation of the firing cycle without need for disassembly. If you are determined to do so I would caution you about using proper screwdrivers and not over torquing the screws upon re-assembly. S&W sideplates can have their edges dinged up pretty easily if you are not careful and that would be a heartbreaker on a nice old revolver. There are some very good books on the care and feeding of S&W double action revolvers - I would recommend reading the one by Jerry Kuhnhausen before you begin. He's pretty thorough and the the diagrams are quite helpful.

The Model 13 S&W is a good solid revolver. It's basically a Model 19 designed for law enforement without the adjustable target sights but with a bull barrel and is best suited for 38 special as the main cartridge but able to fire 357 if the need was there. They're a good carry revolver as well with not much to snag your clothing.

I've had a Model 13-1 for some time now as well as a Model 19-3 I bought new in 1975. The 13-1 came with magna grips but I put on a set of wooden target grips that match the 19-3. I've had no issues with either one and both have been fired plenty. But mainly with 38 spec.

If you're going to be disassembling the gun heed the previous advice that's been given. If you're mechanically enclined and have worked on guns before, well, you should be okay. One very important advice is when removing the sideplate, don't be prying up on it with a screwdriver. That's not the way to remove it. After the grips and screws are carefully removed; take the screwdriver handle and give the grip frame a couple of solid raps. The sideplate will just pop off. If you do what many have done and that's pry up on the bottom of the sideplate on the grip frame, you'll put a tell tale burr on the top right hand corner of the sideplate to remind you every time you look at it you did it wrong. They're fairly straight forward to work on if you're carefull. The front sideplate screw is what holds the cylinder yoke in. To pull the cylinder off for cleaning, remove that front screw, swing out the cylinder and slide it and the yoke forward. Sideplate and cylinder is probably all you should need to remove if you want to give it a cleaning. If you're not sure of yourself, you may be best to leave the rest as it is. You can flush it out without removing anything else. Oh, when you reassemble the sideplate don't horse it on , but take time to figure out how the hammer block fits in there. Pull it straight up between the hammer and frame and when you install the sideplate make sure the hammer block slides into the groove.

Regards:
Rod

The FBI carried it in the late 70's thru the early 90's, using .38 +P 158 gr LSWCHP's.

It is the gun Jody Foster used in Silence of the Lambs to finish off Buffalo Bill!

I love mine. 145 gr .357 Winchester SilverTips work well in it, without a lot of recoil.

The gun's a beautiful version of the K-frame Smiths. I'm still kicking myself for selling mine years ago. There are no snags that I know of; it's a quality revolver. Many cops carried that version for twenty years or more, then retired with it.

I love mine. As-issued to FBI, original box & small little cleaning rod & brush that came with it. Serial # is strange though... not stamped uniformly. Shoot EXACTLY to point of aim (so who needs adjustable sights on this puppy?). Solid revolver, one of my nicest pieces. I got it brand new unfired and have shot less than a box of shells through it. SOME pieces just need to be preserved for our kids, ya know

Congrats on getting a very nice S&W. And welcome to THR.

You have one of the best carry guns made. Is it s 3" or 4", I really like the 3" with the round butt.

For the age, put up the serial number from the butt and many of us have the Standard Catalog of S&W, but for now the 13-3 was produced between 1983 and 1988.

For security many put xxx's for the last few digits in the serial number

1981-82

i bought a s&w model 13-2 in 1978 used from a sports store in ft dodge ia... i always liked the 4" fixed sight model and it was my first handgun... i traded it a few years ago and $100 for a model 27 to a friend at a gun show... i'd like to get a 3" round butt model 13 if i can find one... i did like the heavy barreled revolver real well but it was hard to pass up the model 27 at that price! i put a lot of federal jsp 158 gr through that model 13 with great accuracy and reliability..........

Nice gun.

It also has SACTO. SHERRIF on the left side. If anyone has any info on that let me know.

Click to expand...

Their website is here:

http://www.sacsheriff.com/

You may want to drop by here for some more info...www.smith-wessonforum.com

A useful work on the m13 is the "Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson" by Supica and Nahas. It's an indispensable reference on all things S&W.

tipoc