S&W 57

C

Classic12

New member
Sometimes I buy a gun because I found cheap ammo in a caliber I don’t have a gun for (yet)

Sometimes I buy a gun because it’s been sitting for sale for a long time and feels like a puppy in dire need of adoption

This one ticks both boxes :

Last year I bought this ammo super cheap ($ 110) but didn’t have a gun for it. I thought I can either find a gun, of trade / sell the ammo, and I favoured the second option as the last thing I needed was another caliber in my collection

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Now if you wonder why anyone would sell this quality ammo so cheap, I believe no one here in Switzerland shoots .41 Magnum, so there’s really no demand for it. I love those old green / yellow Remington boxes, brings back a lot of good memories when I first started shooting .44 magnum as a young man

Which then leads to the gun. A year ago, an amateur gun trader I know bought several nice S&W revolvers : a 27-3 in 3.5”, a 19-3 in 4”, a 29-2 in 8 3/8”, a 25-3 in 6” commemorative, a 586-1 in 4”, and this 57 in 4”

I was interested in the 27-2 and the 19-3, but after a lot of back and forth horse trading we couldn’t find an agreement. Good on him since he sold both fairly rapidly.

However the 57 was stuck with him, and after talking about it a few times end last year, I visited him yesterday to buy some Luger and GP35 mags, and while at it I had him pull out the 57 from the safe.

He had it for sale for over a year, originally at $ 1320.-, we agreed at $ 950.-

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The grips are quite reddish so rosewood I suppose ?

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Serial number puts it at 1977 I believe

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What can I say, I’m weak when it comes to classic P&R Smith & Wesson revolvers. They just don’t make them like that anymore
 
Boy, that is a beauty! Congratulations on the score and at a very reasonable price to boot.

That gun was most likely made sometime in the late seventies and I think by then S&W wasn't using Rosewood any more. I believe that they quit using Rosewood when they changed the grip style from the "coke bottle" style target grips to the later type that we are more used to seeing.

Just for reference, here is a pic of my '59 vintage M29 no dash with it's original Rosewood cokes.

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That’s a sweetheart, I love both my 6” and 4” no dash model 57’s. I’ve had the 6” since the early 80’s and just picked up my 4” about seven years ago. The 4” is my favorite and a great shooter. They pair up nicely with my Henry BBS.
 
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Same thing happened to me. Had some 41 Mag ammo and brass laying around. Ran across a nice Blackhawk in 41 Mag and bought it. Then ran across a nice 6" S&W 57, couldn't resist.

Now I have a box of three inch 28 gauge shot cartridges .....
 
I've had several 57s and 657s over the years and still have a 4" 657. Added a Ruger Bisley, too. You'll love the 41.
 
I love my .41 Mag revolvers. I reload for them. They really begin to shine with good reloads. You can go from light target loads. To loads suitable for hunting deer sized game. I have killed many large wild pigs with mine. (150 to 250 kilo weight range.)
 
Smith and Wesson started using "Goncalo Alves" wood in the 1960's. It is a beautiful wood that is very similar to rosewood but a little lighter in shade. Yours are made from this material. Nice revolver, I would have tried to get all of them.
 
Congratulations on your acquisition sir. The 57 and 58 are great pieces, one the first I ever shot in my youth. Your model I believe, was the sidearm of choice for one, Burford Pusser, of Walking Tall fame. I envy you sir, enjoy.
 
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