Since the 1980’s, I have wanted a 4” S&W Model 57 or even a 657. They’re not common, especially here in Ca where finding older Smiths can be like finding a unicorn and a .41 is a two horned one, no matter where I asked no LGS or pawn shop had ever seen one much less had one for sale. They’re also big $$$ on gun broker in good shape, and many times I saw where a seller wasn’t willing to ship to Ca even if I wanted to bid. This has gone on for years, and it seemed like I just never had the bucks, or if I did have the money the luck, to actually land one.
I finally saw a 57 no-dash on GB that had an ugly patch of bare metal and pitting on the left side above the trigger and a set of chewed up Pachmayr grips, but otherwise looked to be in pretty good shape. I put in a really lowball bid and won, had it sent to my receiving FFL and waited as it sat in the regulatory penalty box for ten days.
The damage on the side and under the grip was really obvious and pretty deep, so draw filing or other major metal removal to eliminate any visible pitting would’ve left a large divot in the side of the gun and would’ve been really, really tough to blend at the edge of the frame by the trigger. Not wanting to sink a bunch more $$ into what will become a woods carry shooter, I asked my FFL to smooth it out a bit and blue the bare metal to arrest the rusting and match the finish as well as possible. The rest of the gun’s bluing is really nice, a turn line showed it was shot some but the rest of the frame, barrel, cylinder faces and muzzle show almost no wear. The colors on the hammer and trigger are still bright as well.
After the touch-up bluing was done I went through the innards, which had old, yellowy dried out oil and rusty spots all through it. I smoothed the rebound slide and other parts that had old oil on them, replaced the rebound spring and mainspring, lightly greased where it was needed and put it back together.
The bore and chambers were dirty. A good bore and chamber soaking/scrubbing with a bronze brush and Hoppes, followed by a bunch of tight patches, removed some lead that was in the grooves and cleaned the bore/chambers nicely. I put on some aftermarket walnut grips and realized it actually doesn’t look all that bad. The best part is the cylinder gap is small and straight all around the dial and the cylinder locks up tight on all chambers with zero side to side play or endshake.
It came with the .500” hammer spur and grooved trigger which makes for an interesting feel to me as my two other N frames have the narrower sets. I think I’ll probably be used to it after I have shot it a few times. Sights are the Baughmann red-ramp front and white outline rear so the sight picture is familiar.
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All in all I’m happy to finally be able to add the final .41 revolver to the group, especially since this is one I’ve wanted for roughly the past 35 years. The others I own are long-barreled Rugers (6.5” Blackhawk and a 7.5” Redhawk) that aren’t easy to pack in the wilderness back-up role I intend this gun to fill.
I may get a chance to shoot it this week, if I do I’ll post how it does for me. I did load up a bunch of mid-range loads a couple of weeks back so I have some different rounds to put through it.
In all honesty, if I had to spend $1,300-$1,500 or more for a collectible, pristine specimen (auction price for the gun, cc fees, shipping, tax, FFL receiving fee, DOJ registration fee, etc.), I seriously might hesitate to take it out to shoot anywhere other than at the local indoor range. Since it has no real collector value, and some scars already on it, I won’t have any hesitation to holster up the gun out on hikes in the mountains, in the RZR or while fishing/hunting as predator medicine.
Stay safe.
