S&W purists... look away... ugly gun gets lipstick... how'd I do ???

M

Magnum Wheel Man

New member
before... antique S&W #2... barrel was cut by some former owner to make it more concealable, & ugly wood grip added... this gun was carried way more than shot, as the function is perfect... cosmetics... err... not so much... BTW... I used this gun to re-qualify for my last CCW renewal, & out shot a lot of the newbies with their bottom feeders

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after... 6 months wait, which was worth the while ( IMO ) what little nickel left was stripped, the gun was polished out & blued to what they called master blue... I added a serration to the top sight rib, prior to the cosmetic work, to remove the 1/2 factory stamping on the barrel rib, they did a gold filled 38 S&W engraved on the side cover, & gold plated hammer & spur trigger... oh... & I had these grips I ran across a while back ( the grips were actually worth more than the gun to start with ) :o

how does she look today??? my 1st "painted lady"

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That looks good, I think it is better in its current state than before, you just finished the job someone started :D.
 
Everything's in good shape and functional? heck, go for it!

Black powder, or smokeless?

BTW... I used this gun to re-qualify for my last CCW renewal, & out shot a lot of the newbies with their bottom feeders
Click to expand...

<snicker> Just thinking about the befuddlement of others present as clouds of BP smoke waft downwind.
 
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Thanks for all the positive comments... I know this had little collectability, with the barrel chopped, so I didn't feel guilty with the custom work I did... I actually prefer to collect old custom guns, S&W made 1000's in the factory configuration... I think something that someone customized to make it a better CCW gun is cool...

this was / is a black powder cartridge gun, but I have several loads I've shot it with over the several years I've owned it, using Trailboss ( this gun has actually fired all 3 load levels of my 38 S&W handloads using Trailboss ) I think now that she's pretty, I won't feed her any of the hotter loads any more... only pop gun, & general range use, no dedicated self defense loads anymore :)
 
You took a gun that at one time had a high value but that value was taken away before you purchased it,
You took that ugggly beast and made it into a very handsome gun. The value now must be much higher and not just for you.
Nice work
 
I have used that trick of putting J-frame grips on older S&W's and I don't think they are that ugly, but the new grips look a lot better. Since the gun was ruined as a collectible, the final result was good.

Is such a gun a good carry gun? It is slower than a DA revolver or most auto pistols, but it is very concealable and adequately powerful.

Jim
 
Beautiful reserection. The only thing I might have done differently would have been to put the 38 S&W on the right side of the barrel instead of the sideplate. Either way, outstanding.
 
Hey . . . I think it looks terrific! I love it when someone rescues these "oldies" that otherwise would probably be parted out. That is one nice little revolver and you did a beautiful job! I would imagine it is a fun little gun to shoot as well. Thanks for posting the photos - I love good "gun ****" of more "matte" models! :D
 
That's quite a classy little gun. If you don't mind my asking, who did the refinishing work for you (I was under the impression that S&W would no longer work on guns that old due to parts availability).
 
Thanks for the positive comments guys... WEBLEY... the gun functioned perfectly, so no parts were needed... the cosmetic work was done by Ahlman's in Morristown MN

DRIFTWOOD... I have a long barrel #2 ( 6" ) in very similar shape as the one you pictured... also have a S&W #1.5 that is very similar to my pictured #2 ( nickel is better ) but also had the barrel shortened... for that one, I found some 60-70's Gil Scottie Redwood grips, I added some nickel S&W medallions to those grips... after I get a couple others done, lil brother will go in, & also get a master blue, nickel hammer & trigger, & silver filled 32 S&W on the side cover... ( I went with gold accents on the 38, because of the brass S&W medallions... will go with silver accents on the 32 because of the nickel medallions ) I think the pair will be quite stunning...

but I have 2 other guns in line for work, before the lil 32... one of which is my Walker cartridge conversion gun :)
 
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