My daughter, a field archaeologist, was heading out to a new job that will have her living and hiking some rugged country known for varmints with anywhere from zero to four legs, including some of the two-legged variety. I'd been debating about getting her some sort of new plastic gun small enough for easy carry, but hadn't got it done, so I sent her off with my constant companion of the last four decades, an early Model 60. It's way beyond dependable, doesn't mind getting wet and it fits just about anywhere, particularly in a day pack
Then I started sorting through the safe for another carry gun for myself. I hadn't tried to carry anything other than the 60 concealed in so long that I'd gotten really spoiled. It was summer in Las Vegas and my waistline had expanded a bit since the last time I'd carried anything else. Tried the 1911, but getting it high enough to not show under a shirttail was a pain in the short ribs. Tried the 439; not much better. Tried the trusty deuce-and-a-half, the 2.5" Model 19, but it still wasn't the greatest; looked a bit like my spare tire had a knot on it. I'm also one of those people for whom using an inside-the-waistband holster means that drawing the weapon presents an immediate choice between a one-hand shooting grip or having my pants at half-mast.
In other words, I was suffering J-Frame withdrawal symptoms, big-time. So I checked the LGS and put out the word among current and retired LEO friends that I was looking for a Model 38 or 49 and if anybody had one taking up room in his sock drawer, I'd be glad to take it off his hands. No luck there. I guess that says I just don't have many friends stupid enough to let go of one of those.
So I started cruising the on-line auctions. There are some out there, but the secret seems to be out, and as fast as dummies sell their J-frames to finance a new compact Glock or whatever, smarter people are grabbing these classics. In among the newer, flashier J-frames, though, something caught my eye, a flat-latch pre-Model 36, all original, including the grips with the serial number stamped on the inside, and it was stuck at the $299 starting bid. I put up a bid around $350 and behold, when the time ran out I was the only bidder. The full-frame photos had shown a tired old lady that had spent a long life on the mean streets of New York, with lots of what I'd describe as pocket wear rather than holster wear. The close-ups, though, showed a hammer and trigger with none of the tell-tale rub marks in the case hardening you get from extensive firing, the bore and chambers looked pristine, and altogether it looked like something carried a lot and shot almost never.
It arrived yesterday, and turned out to look better than pictured, with fairly minor bluing loss. The internals were black with congealed oil and grease, but a thorough cleaning and some Action Lube fixed that. If I have any gripe at all, it's that the double-action pull still has some of the stiffness of a new gun. The old-style rounded hammer spur with the fine checkering makes it a better pocket gun than the newer versions and takes care of my one issue with the Model 60, that sharp hammer spur that ate through a lot of coat linings, back in the day. For the cost of a new 642 I now have a veteran that's only going to appreciate with time.