Out looking for rimfire ammo with a buddy, not looking to buy guns...but stopped at a pawn shop.
There was a Smith & Wesson Model 15 that didn't look bad at all, but it was the OTHER one in the that had my interest. It was a Model 18 and it didn't look as nice as the 15. It was well worn -- not what I'd call "beaten" but it had typical wear on the exterior and some holster wear near the muzzle. Lots of crud in the typical crud-collecting spots. The timing was 100% on 5 of 6 cylinders and really close on that last one. It was not a 5-screw, but a 4. Pinned barrel and the big S&W logo on the right side of the sideplate. SN was listed with the model number and no dash next to the Model 18 stamped in there. I'm not being untruthful when I say part of me wanted to buy it -- just so I could CLEAN it. But I was interested because I knew my buddy was in the market for a K-22 and he was fully prepared to be spending around $600+ which is the going rate for them in this area. He's extremely quiet and doesn't "haggle" much for guns.
The stocks were the b-i-g stocks (I'm unsure the proper name for them) that look like the classic Magna stocks, but the big ones they put on the L-frames, and the same that originally came on my circa-'89 Model 17-6. They couldn't possibly have been original to this revolver. There was a big, ugly, gangly trigger shoe installed on it that I couldn't stand to even look at. I'm sure they were popular at one time.
The tagged price of $559 seemed high considering the amount of visible wear, but then again...K-frame .22s and Model 18's aren't the average "police trade Model 10" that come from a crate loose-packed with 48 other revolvers, either. Plus, we're in a pawn shop where no price is anything other than a rough estimate.
Guy was friendly, so I was very friendly, but still pointed out concerns and flaws to make my case. In the end, I told him I was comfortable at $400, just hoping to get him to show us a real price that was under the $559 tagged price. He came back and said he could do $450 and I said that sounded okay, except that tax would blow the budget and before I finished the sentence, he said, "that would be out the door..."
Now my buddy owns a Model 18 no-dash. We checked out the SN and it dates it to 1958. 
I'm not a S&W pro, far from it. I would have bet money that it was late 70s, maybe early 80s. It's quite a bit older.
IMO, he got a pretty good shooter that is FAR from pristine and is no "investment" gun, but for a decent price.
Wish I had a picture to share, I know someone will yell at me for that.
There was a Smith & Wesson Model 15 that didn't look bad at all, but it was the OTHER one in the that had my interest. It was a Model 18 and it didn't look as nice as the 15. It was well worn -- not what I'd call "beaten" but it had typical wear on the exterior and some holster wear near the muzzle. Lots of crud in the typical crud-collecting spots. The timing was 100% on 5 of 6 cylinders and really close on that last one. It was not a 5-screw, but a 4. Pinned barrel and the big S&W logo on the right side of the sideplate. SN was listed with the model number and no dash next to the Model 18 stamped in there. I'm not being untruthful when I say part of me wanted to buy it -- just so I could CLEAN it. But I was interested because I knew my buddy was in the market for a K-22 and he was fully prepared to be spending around $600+ which is the going rate for them in this area. He's extremely quiet and doesn't "haggle" much for guns.
The stocks were the b-i-g stocks (I'm unsure the proper name for them) that look like the classic Magna stocks, but the big ones they put on the L-frames, and the same that originally came on my circa-'89 Model 17-6. They couldn't possibly have been original to this revolver. There was a big, ugly, gangly trigger shoe installed on it that I couldn't stand to even look at. I'm sure they were popular at one time.
The tagged price of $559 seemed high considering the amount of visible wear, but then again...K-frame .22s and Model 18's aren't the average "police trade Model 10" that come from a crate loose-packed with 48 other revolvers, either. Plus, we're in a pawn shop where no price is anything other than a rough estimate.
Guy was friendly, so I was very friendly, but still pointed out concerns and flaws to make my case. In the end, I told him I was comfortable at $400, just hoping to get him to show us a real price that was under the $559 tagged price. He came back and said he could do $450 and I said that sounded okay, except that tax would blow the budget and before I finished the sentence, he said, "that would be out the door..."
Now my buddy owns a Model 18 no-dash. We checked out the SN and it dates it to 1958. I'm not a S&W pro, far from it. I would have bet money that it was late 70s, maybe early 80s. It's quite a bit older.IMO, he got a pretty good shooter that is FAR from pristine and is no "investment" gun, but for a decent price.
Wish I had a picture to share, I know someone will yell at me for that.
You should have taken it with you, too. If you worked him down that much on the 18, you could have probably have gotten the 15 for $200.
)
Perhaps I should have made a play for that Model 15. In any case...I think once you've "made hay" in a particular place, that place will always draw you back for another swing at the plate. So I'll drop in again, and if that near-dead Mark II is still laying there on it's death bed, maybe I'll take a look at it as well. 
