My worst handgun purchase (from a price standpoint).

S

SaxonPig

New member
I rarely succumb to the urge to overpay for something. Usually I simply don't want any particular item badly enough to throw caution and good sense to the wind. But I sure went overboard last year.

For at least 15 years I had been keeping my eye out (that's a disturbing cliche now that I think about it) for a S&W Model 27 or variant with a 6.5" barrel and a ramped front sight. The 6.5" barrel was never a cataloged option, but they turn up from time to time on guns made from 1950 to 1974. They must have been quasi special order items. The vast majority of the 6.5" guns have the squared "Patridge" front sight. Few are seen with the "Baughman" ramp. Of course this is the version I sought.

So I see one on Gunbroker last year. Looks OK but not great. Way overpriced with a starting price of $950. IMO a $700 gun. I watch it go around twice with no bids. Then that little devil popped in on my shoulder and started whispering in my ear. "How often do you see them? You should buy this one while you can. You aren't getting younger, you know." So I bid sort of half hoping somebody else would bid and take me off the hook. No such luck. Everybody else was smarter than me and knew the price was too high to start with. Add $50 for shipping and I am into it for an even grand.

I always clean a gun when I buy it. I discovered that one side plate screw was beyond stuck. I broke two expensive screwdrivers trying to back it out. Tried all the tricks I knew. Soaked it in oil. Heated it. No way. Had to pay a smith $75 to drill it out. Now I have $1,075 invested.

Then I decided I wanted period correct target stocks. Whoooo-boy! The last time I bought these I paid $75 for them. The asking prices have GONE UP since then! I kept seeing them priced at $250+ and I wasn't interested. After some time I negotiated for the set seen on the gun and we settled on $165 which was more than I expected but was a pretty good deal by today's standards. Make that total $1,240.

gag... retch... gurgle... hack...

No going back now. I do like it. I just try to not think about what it cost me.

PS: The red insert in the ramp and white outline on the rear blade were available as options starting in 1953. I see no obvious signs of gunsmithing on this and I believe these features to be original to the gun.


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You wanted it, you got it. Don't sweat the price now. Just enjoy it with no regrets. BTW, very nice.
 
You know how much money I have spent on eating out with nothing to show for it? Money is just money. Overrated.
 
Only way to find out about the sights is to get a letter...but I would be afraid to find out they were aftermarket...

I know how you feel, though. My 38spl needs are well met by a Model 10, a model 15, and a Model 38 Bodyguard.
Yet, I have an irrational desire for a model 36 3" square butt. There is one for sale near me right now for $500...Arrrggghhh...and he doesn't want a trade.
 
I bought a square butt 3" M36 for a ccw, I paid the $500 for it in April. Wish I had held out a few more weeks and gotten a .357 ccw instead.
 
I stopped lettering S&Ws when the price went to $50. All I ever got from the letters was an exact date which is usually mildly interesting at best and the name of a hardware store or big city sporting goods store. One letter says the gun shipped to nonexistent city. At least I can't find it anywhere. So much for relying on the letter. This gun came out of Chicago so it might have a slightly more interesting history but I can't bring myself to add yet another $50 to the cost.
 
I've been looking for a Model 19 for long sometime. A friend calls and tells me about a Model 19 located in a gun shop about 100 miles from my home. I call the shop and confirm that they do have a Model 19 (like N I B) and the price is right. The next day I drive to the gun shop, to check it out. I didn't see it in the showcase, so I asked the clerk the show me the 19. He turns around and pulls a old Smith box off the shell and places on the counter. I open the box, unfold the wax paper and take it out of the box. Blue color of the reblue job was pretty good. Too bad some one had almost completely buffed off the lettering. The lock up was barely usable, and the trigger job must have been done with a belt sander.

I thanked the guy and got out of there.

Rule number one: if you can't take it out of the box, shake it, and smell it, don't buy IT.
 
When you want something that's really rare, I wouldn't worry about paying a few hundred more then what the gun is probably worth. You might hang around forever to wait for one at a decent price. This is the story of my life. I see a gun, or want one in a particular configuration and it turns out to be the rarest version there is. Like the rainbow nikron Sig P232 (400 made), the 3 inch Lew Horton S&W Model 24, or the Beretta Steel-1 which I just saw on Gunbroker asking $2500 when it shouldn't be worth more then $1800. But if I had the money, and given the rarity, I might seriously consider it. And in the case of the Steel, I outdo myself by wanting the .40 version which are much harder to find. Enjoy your Smith and never sell.
 
I look at it this way, really it's only money. The way the Government keeps printing more and more of it the less it is worth every day. You now have a rare S&W that you have wanted for a long time and they certainly aren't going down in price.

Enjoy it and stop worrying about how much you have in it.
 
At the time it sucks paying that much upfront, but in the long run you have a gun you have always wanted and that's that. Next year you wont be looking at that gun thinking, damn why did I pay that extra $250.
 
I traded a Springfield Armory Loaded Champion for a well worn 4" DPS marked Highway Patrolman. The SA was highly problematic. I know they have the best customer service in the biz. Still, it was irritating me in the safe.

Suddenly, I wanted a Highway Patrolman with some serious honest wear. With full disclosure, I made the trade. On paper, I was the loser. In real life I ended up happy.

My only regret is that I passed on an unsolicited trade for a 3" round butted S&W Model 13 that allegedly was FBI numbered.

At least now I still have a "Grail Gun."
 
I don't care much one way or the other on the originality of the sights. When it cost $20 to letter a S&W I did it with many of my guns. When it went to $30 I did it less often. At $50 it's a bit pricey for me. Obviously if you have something rare and collectible like a Registered Magnum or a Target Model Triple Lock then it would make sense. Not so much for a garden variety gun.
 
My only regret is that I passed on an unsolicited trade for a 3" round butted S&W Model 13 that allegedly was FBI numbered.
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I absolutely love the 3" Model 13's, only problem is I have never seen one for sale in person, and the ones on gunbroker usually demand a hefty price.
 
I'm with you Dragline....I love the 3" also. I have been sort of watching off and on for a HB model 10 or 13 and the only ones you seem to find are about double a reasonable price on Gunbroker. I never see one at a Gunshow where you can see it in person and do some serious haggling.
 
Anything for sale is only worth what someone will pay for it, so the price of 700 is no longer valid. It is now officially a 1100 dollar gun.:)
 
Nice gun. You'd have ****** that money away sooner or later and at least now you have something you'll hang onto for the rest of your life.
 
I'm in it now.

I used to have a Super Blackhawk modified by Trapper Guns in Michigan but sold it. I recently decided I wanted to recapture my youth by getting another one.

I bought an old model SBH. I like the four clicks, etc.

Got it for a good price. Before I bought it I wanted to make sure I could get the work done without spending a ton of cash. The local gunsmith assured me he could shorten the barrel to my desire for X number of dollars.

I went ahead and bought the gun. I confirmed w/the gunsmith re shortening the barrel for the agreed upon price. "Yes", he said. He continued, "Do you want the front sight remounted?" "Huh?" "Do you want the sight remounted? That's X number of dollars more."

What the hey? Why didn't you tell me that before? Why would I want a revolver with no front sight?

So he does the work and I've already got more in it than I intended.

Six weeks passes and I pick up the gun. I wanted the barrel 4 5/8 inches. It's 5 1/2 inches. He says he measures from the cylinder face. I said I wanted the barrel flush with the ejector rod housing. That's more time but there was no charge.

But when I picked the gun up there was rust on the grip frame that (I'm almost certain but can't be sure which is why I didn't say anything) wasn't there before. He doesn't do plating, etc.

Now the gun goes to a cerakote gunsmith. More money.

I've got some bucks tied up in this guy.

Now I'm looking for grips. The gun came with butt ugly pachmayrs. All the grips for sale (gunbroker, fleabay, etc) are for new model, not old model, SBH.

So just to be sure, I'm strongly leaning toward letting grashorn make some stags for the gun. Another $175.

I must have been smoking crack when I came up with this idea. Every gun in my collection I can get more, or at least as much, as I paid.

Not this one. This one is now an heirloom. /s
 
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