S&W 57. Should I shoot it, or is it a collectors item?

[lives4huntin]

I acquired a S&W 57 .41 mag. It appears to be unfired. I would say that it is NIB condition. The guy was asking $1200. I jokingly said that I only had $650. Ten minutes later it is mine. Now I don't know I should use it or keep it in the safe. 8 & 3/8 barrel, blue, standard grips, target hammer, adjustable sights. S.N. N705XXX. Any opinons?

 

[Kman]

You paid a very fair price for it, the chambering is desirable to a few and it will likely bring more. Think it's been discontinued some time ago so replacing it will be tough to do if NIB. I'd sit on it awhile and watch gun broker to see what they sell for and then decide.

 

[Logan5]

$650 was book value for an ANIB example when the 3rd edition standard catalog came out. A lot has changed since then though, and it's not as though that number was ever more than an approximation. That said, it's not NIB unless it really actually is new in the box, unfired. If it's not, there's nothing to loose by taking it out to the range.

 

[22-rimfire]

You did good. Makes a great gun to pound nails with when you can't find a hammer.

 

[lives4huntin]

It came in a box, and the cylinder appears to have been rotated just enough to show the faintest wear line.

 

[earplug]

Why did you buy it?

If money is no object, why ask the questions about it? You seem to have bought it without a plan to use or collect it.

 

[22-rimfire]

I have one just like it. It was my first Model 57. Love those guns!

I probably wouldn't shoot it. But I have 4 or 5 41 mags. You probably won't hurt it much since it has the faint trace on the cylinder. But shooting it will likely make it more distinct. You probably aren't looking at much price difference (value wise) since it already had th trace.

 

[lives4huntin]

I bought it because I wanted a 41 to hunt with. I knew that this is a good deal. I had full intentions of using it, but am now wondering if I should use it as trade to a collector, get a used 41 and possibly another gun, if I could find the right situation.

 

[SaxonPig]

In 25 years it will be worth so much more you'll be glad you didn't shoot it.

Want to wait that long?

Buy a T-bill and shoot the 57.

 

[jad0110]

It's a gun. It's primary desire in life is to make loud BOOMs, and lots of them. To not give it an opportunity to fulfill it's life desire would be very sad.

Nice find, BTW. Pics?

 

[lives4huntin]

jad0110

How do you post pictures?

 

[Jim Watson]

Buy a T-bill and shoot the 57.

Last sale of T-bills went at no interest, 0.0%. At least you would not be LOSING money as in many other investments.


I buy guns to shoot. I have a couple now that I do not use or expect to; so the next time that collector asks me if I have anything interesting... POWIE!

 

[lives4huntin]

Here are some pictures

My blue 57 and my wife's stainless 657-1

 

[Old Fuff]

The .41 Magnum cartridge and S&W model 57 are both popular, but only to a relatively small number of people (of whom the Old Fuff is one).

Given the present condition, and the price you paid for it, I would put it in the safe and let it sit for the time being. Let be known that you "might" sell it if someone made a good offer, and then sit back and wait and see. Also keep an eye on the auctions to see what they are going for. You can always change your mind and shoot it, but I see no reason to rush.

Recently I've seen three revolvers go at auction for 3 times their book value.

That's a lot better return then one of Uncle Sam's short-term bonds is offering, and it is no fun fondling a paper bond...

 

[lives4huntin]

Thanks for the input.

 

[Hawk]

I jokingly said that I only had $650. Ten minutes later it is mine.

I'm continually amazed by how much stuff has gone up recently but I still think the 1,200.00 was the joke - the 650.00 was more reasonable. That's about what I gave for one of similar age back in May of '07.

If my box was representative, you're not missing anything not having it. The blue fuzz is fake and self destructs.

I recall Fuff counseled me to shoot mine (though he knows I would not have been dissuaded anyway ). And things have changed since May of '07 I suppose.

I wound up with 3 of the M57s so far and they're great fun to shoot but they were also what got me into reloading - factory .41 is nutzoid. My attitude on shooting the things would probably not survive factory ammo.

 

[Oro]

I'd go with shooting it and enjoying it. It's not "NIB" if it has a turn line as has been pointed out already. Also, you didn't mention whether it was a presentation box or a cardboard box (which should be numbered to it if it is the cardboard type). It takes a fair amount of working the action to achieve moderate turn line wear. I have an older 27 with a few hundred rounds on it that doesn't have a line yet. Thus you can shoot it a fair amount, and if you take care of it, not wear it appreciably from where it is and you won't degrade the value. It sounds like the grading category of "Excellent" (and this also presumes it has the original grips still on it?).

I spent a fair amount of time looking for a 4" 57 or 3" 657 last year as a woods gun. A nice 57 is hard to come by, but like Old Fluff says, doesn't appeal to a huge crowd. Reloading for it is the way to go to get the most versatility out of it.

 

[SaxonPig]

Noted. Right now, at this particular moment, for the first time in history, T-bills offer no interest. But, most other times, other than this exact moment, monetary investments like the stock market or long term deposits still generate more income than will putting away a used gun for some future sale.

I realized that this question needed to be added to my list. It now appears as Rule #37.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

37. “Should I shoot this gun or keep it as is to pass on to my kids or increase in value as an investment?” 1. Note how many new members on these forums post descriptions of guns their dad/grandfather left them and they want to know what the guns are worth so they can sell them. Saving a pristine gun for someone you don’t know for a fact will appreciate it makes no sense to me. Let your kid buy the gun he wants rather than leave him the one you want him to have. You some sort of control freak, or something? 2. Guns are generally not the best investments. There are more profitable ways to make money in the long term.

 

[22-rimfire]

I think down deep you know what to do. After seeing that you have another ("wife's gun"), I know you both will be out in search of bambi with those hawgs. My only beef with mine is that I don't want to have it drilled for a scope.... "ruin the value"..... we miss out on a lot of fun because of concerns like that. What do you really gain.... maybe a couple $100 over the course of owning it for 10 years. Worth it? Enjoy the gun.

Added: If you want to make money with it, add $200 right now and sell it. Then go find another one.

 

[Old Fuff]

Are guns a good investment? or are the "everything I own I shoot" guys right?

It all depends. First of all there will always be a lot of guns that will never be a good investment. The necessary quality and collector interest simply isn't there. On the other hand some can offer possibilities...

1. What are we talking about? Something in current production or a classic from years back? Does it represent something deep-pocket collectors or others well shell out big bucks to get? What kind of a condition is it in, and is it boxed or not?

2. How much is it going to cost you? If you are going to pay FMV (fair market value) to get it, it will likely be a long time before you see a meaningful increase. On the other hand if you can buy it for far less you might turn it for an excellent profit in the short term. Here is where the right research book can pay for itself. I know of any number of cases where a scarce and vlauable gun sold for a fraction of its true worth because it was priced as an ordinary one of the same kind. Let me cite an example: A friend came to me with a wartime Walther P-38 in its original holster. He had bought it for the then current FMV of an ordinary military model. But a careful examination of markings stamped on it, plus the right book, showed that it was a scarce/rare police model worth at the time over 3 times what he paid for it, and today it's even worth a lot more. He chose to keep it rather then sell, but obviously if he had sold the instant profit would have been attractive to say the least.

3. Can you shoot a collectable firearm? Sure - provided it has enough mileage on it so a little bit more won't be noticed. If it's perfect it would be a good idea to keep it that way.

4. Are you going to make big bucks doing this? Probably not, but if you get good at it, the wheeling & dealing may go a long way toward supporting your gun adiction. The "shoot everything" guys have to support what they are doing, out of pocket. For them, guns will always be a drain on their financial resources. The Old Fuff would like to think that he was smart enough so that it didn't go that way.

 

[jaholder1971]

Shoot it.

Guns were made to go Bang, not collect dust. Museum pieces are no fun.

 

[420Stainless]

Everytime I see a 57 I waffle. Don't care about the .41 Magnum, but I like N-frames. So far I haven't given in. Lightly used ones have sold for $500 - $600 around here in the last few months. I suspect (based on the input from Old Fuff in this thread - not on any personal knowledge) that you could sell your unfired one for more than you paid for it and replace it with one that is only slightly used for use at the $500 - $600 price I've seen them sell for. Although, as you describe it, the faint turn line may be enough to turn off collectors. I'd have to defer to collectors for more knowledge in that area.

 

[Bush Pilot]

Shoot it, enoy it, wear the gun out, why save it so someone else can sell it to a total stranger when you're gone?

 

[CSA 357]

come on now! shoot it have fun, keep it clean enjoy it, what good is it if you dont? csa

 

[Hawk]

So much going on...

In a different thread the OP has elected to turn the item in question into a "working gun".

If I've learned anything recently, it's that I know very little. Sometimes I'm not even sure if Fuff is making a general remark or addressing the item in the OP specifically. From what I can tell from SCoSW, the barrel length in question was not particularly rare, the turn line exists and the box and papers are presumably long gone.

The knowledge of when to hold and not shoot vs. light use vs. "Katie bar the door" would not appear to be available from a book, though the book can provide raw numbers regarding numbers produced. Actually "knowing" that sort of stuff, I'm afraid, takes nothing less than the amount of knowledge that people would gladly pay for regardless.

And, if one is entering the field recently, as many here presumably are, everything they buy will be "out of pocket" - there will be no "wheeling and dealing" until such time as a "stash" as it were, is accumulated.

So what's one to do if Fuff or Dfariswheel aren't hanging by one's elbow? Sometimes I get lucky - I haven't shot my Colt DS, not because I'm a collector, but more due to the fact I have no .38 brass, and it seems to have doubled in less than two years.

Meantime, somebody coughed up 2,500.00 for a silver plate "aftermarket collectible" that I snagged for 900.00 and I'm wondering if I should wait for someone else to overpay or just fix it up for light duty work.

My oldest S&W is a pre-17 that was apparently fired perhaps 500 times before I came along, has no box or papers but is really pretty and probably won't suffer from being fired another 250 times.

Given all that, I'd still go with "shoot it" though I cheerfully acknowledge that Fuff has forgotten more than I'll ever hope to know. But the OP has already decided so why am I here?

Maybe because I've leaned that the more I learn, the less I know.