Confederate
Member
I love going into gun stores, but it's like my momma used to say, "Going into a gun store is like a box of chocolates. You end up eating way too much and regretting it."
Momma wasn't much one for words. But she knew about chocolates and she is the author of the now world famous theory that eating ten slivers of a frosted chocolate cake has substantially fewer calories than one big slice, a theory that is still being widely tested even as I write this!
The S&W .44 Magnum 629 is a wonderful gun and I waited forever to get mine. Back in the 80s, you just never saw stainless steel Smiths on the shelves of dealers...not for sale, and not for anything near the actual retail price anyway! This was true, especially, for the S&W 66. I NEVER, EVER, NOT ONCE saw one on a dealer's shelf in the 80s!
In my case, there was a week's waiting period, so I had to let my dealer display my gun for five long, agonizing days. It had lights shining on it and a sign that said, "SOLD!!" in red letters leaning up against it. That's why I was a dedicated Ruger Security-Six fan. It was often seen on shelves in the popular 4-inch model, but not the Speed-Sixes. And rarely in the 6-inch size!
I was going to school in Utah when I got my first handgun back in 1979. The dealer had several 4-inchers on display, but I wanted a 6-inch, and when I went in to pick up the one I had on order forever, several people offered to buy it from me. But I didn't bite. To this day, the 6-inch Ruger Security-Six is "the" best outdoor gun, period. Well...that and the Ruger .22LR auto pistols.
But the 6-inch barrel 629 was the gun I wanted, and in the 80s, I got on a waiting list. When I finally went to pick it up at the gunstore, people stood there in awe as the gunstore owner put the gun in its beautiful walnut display case it in a heavy-duty brown paper bag and folded the top several times. Taking a stapler, he stapled the paperwork to the top and handed it to me. I could barely wait until I had it at home! My friend there had a contact at S&W, and arranged to get me some smooth wood grips that wouldn't cheese-grate the skin off of my palms when I shot it. It was gorgeous, but alas, I never did shoot it. I had a nickel-plated 29 6-inch I shot and it bucked every time I shot it. Not a fun gun to shoot, but I had to have the stainless gun because no one else had one, and I had to wait forever to get it. Besides, it was a beauty!
The S&W 629 atop its beautiful display case. The action was a dream.
One of the things I loved about the vintage pistols was the S&W logo stamped into the side plate.
These guns just never saw any "shelf" time.
Am I sorry I traded it? Yeah, I traded it years later for a S&W 3906 9mm and a S&W 517, a kit gun with a short barrel. The . 44 magnum ammo was just too expensive and, at the time, it seemed like I would never shoot the big gun. But I have many guns I'll probably never shoot.
I still have a vintage S&W 686 no-dash .357. Beautiful wood grips and a stamped side plate.
So how about you? Have you ever bought a popular gun because you were on a waiting list, or because you were in the right place at the right time? And if you ever landed a Smith 66, 63 kit gun or a 629 in those days, or a popular revolver now, what's your story? And do you have photos?
Momma wasn't much one for words. But she knew about chocolates and she is the author of the now world famous theory that eating ten slivers of a frosted chocolate cake has substantially fewer calories than one big slice, a theory that is still being widely tested even as I write this!
The S&W .44 Magnum 629 is a wonderful gun and I waited forever to get mine. Back in the 80s, you just never saw stainless steel Smiths on the shelves of dealers...not for sale, and not for anything near the actual retail price anyway! This was true, especially, for the S&W 66. I NEVER, EVER, NOT ONCE saw one on a dealer's shelf in the 80s!
In my case, there was a week's waiting period, so I had to let my dealer display my gun for five long, agonizing days. It had lights shining on it and a sign that said, "SOLD!!" in red letters leaning up against it. That's why I was a dedicated Ruger Security-Six fan. It was often seen on shelves in the popular 4-inch model, but not the Speed-Sixes. And rarely in the 6-inch size!
I was going to school in Utah when I got my first handgun back in 1979. The dealer had several 4-inchers on display, but I wanted a 6-inch, and when I went in to pick up the one I had on order forever, several people offered to buy it from me. But I didn't bite. To this day, the 6-inch Ruger Security-Six is "the" best outdoor gun, period. Well...that and the Ruger .22LR auto pistols.
But the 6-inch barrel 629 was the gun I wanted, and in the 80s, I got on a waiting list. When I finally went to pick it up at the gunstore, people stood there in awe as the gunstore owner put the gun in its beautiful walnut display case it in a heavy-duty brown paper bag and folded the top several times. Taking a stapler, he stapled the paperwork to the top and handed it to me. I could barely wait until I had it at home! My friend there had a contact at S&W, and arranged to get me some smooth wood grips that wouldn't cheese-grate the skin off of my palms when I shot it. It was gorgeous, but alas, I never did shoot it. I had a nickel-plated 29 6-inch I shot and it bucked every time I shot it. Not a fun gun to shoot, but I had to have the stainless gun because no one else had one, and I had to wait forever to get it. Besides, it was a beauty!
The S&W 629 atop its beautiful display case. The action was a dream.
One of the things I loved about the vintage pistols was the S&W logo stamped into the side plate.
These guns just never saw any "shelf" time.
Am I sorry I traded it? Yeah, I traded it years later for a S&W 3906 9mm and a S&W 517, a kit gun with a short barrel. The . 44 magnum ammo was just too expensive and, at the time, it seemed like I would never shoot the big gun. But I have many guns I'll probably never shoot.
I still have a vintage S&W 686 no-dash .357. Beautiful wood grips and a stamped side plate.
So how about you? Have you ever bought a popular gun because you were on a waiting list, or because you were in the right place at the right time? And if you ever landed a Smith 66, 63 kit gun or a 629 in those days, or a popular revolver now, what's your story? And do you have photos?