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S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980 3-Screw PINNED Barrel SWING-OUT Cylinder Hand Ejectors WITH Model Numbers


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Old 10-08-2018, 09:14 PM
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Default NIB 25-5; with a flaw

Picked up a NIB 25-5, sn N679681, that the SCSW dates about 1980. The price didn't make me as nervous as buying a revolver that was still in the sealed carton - from 1980. The seller assured me that he would take it back if it was a rusted hunk of junk. Well, it wasn't, but it does have a flaw. On the frame opposite the yoke cut there is a minor finish flaw. Also strange is the area on the carton label showing "special features" has been cut out. Inside, the plain blue box has a tear, but that's to be expected I guess. The $64K question is: Did S&W sell guns with factory flaws, or blems, and is this one of them? Your thoughts and expert opinions are welcome.

Last edited by slight_turn_line_69; 07-19-2022 at 12:56 PM.
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Old 10-08-2018, 09:48 PM
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Storage/handling mark. Sid back in forth in the box or something like that. No idea about why the box was cut up.
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Old 10-08-2018, 10:04 PM
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My blue box has a similar tear. Barrel slam from mishandling I figured. And here's the pic of my label.

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Old 10-08-2018, 10:35 PM
S&WIowegan S&WIowegan is offline
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My educated guess is the package you bought was assembled by someone to make higher money. The outside cardboard should have more stickers like EricRs package. Depends on what you paid whether you got hurt or not.
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Old 10-08-2018, 10:39 PM
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Yep bought an unopened 29-2 that had a nasty scratch on the frame. Was during the Dirty Harry time and I had waited 18 months to get it for retail $256 I believe
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Old 10-09-2018, 07:47 AM
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I've often wondered about this. People can fake everything else, so how hard is it to fake an "unopened" carton?
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Old 10-09-2018, 08:20 AM
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Why would you buy a gun in a sealed up box without looking at the gun??????
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Old 10-09-2018, 08:40 AM
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In my case the salesman opened the sleeve and when we saw the scratch he said do you want it or not ? At the time 29ś were selling for for
$500 and up
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Old 10-09-2018, 10:05 AM
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Thanks to everyone. I am certainly happy with it, just curious about the flaw and the label part missing. I don't think I got hurt price-wise. When I opened the box it looked original, and the white sticker is on the opposite end. It had been fired 3 times, every other cylinder. I cleaned and oiled it before I stored it. I'll post a few more pics I took at the dealer's counter.
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Old 10-09-2018, 10:14 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slight_turn_line_69 View Post
Picked up a NIB 25-5, sn N679681, that the SCSW dates about 1980. The price didn't make me as nervous as buying a revolver that was still in the sealed carton - from 1980. The seller assured me that he would take it back if it was a rusted hunk of junk. Well, it wasn't, but it does have a flaw. On the frame opposite the yoke cut there is a minor finish flaw. Also strange is the area on the carton label showing "special features" has been cut out. Inside, the plain blue box has a tear, but that's to be expected I guess. The $64K question is: Did S&W sell guns with factory flaws, or blems, and is this one of them? Your thoughts and expert opinions are welcome.
IMHO, UNLIKE TODAY---BACK IN THE 1980s, THERE WAS AN AIR OF PRIDE IN WORKMANSHIP AT S&W, AND A QC STAFF THAT DID A GOOD JOB. THEY DID NOT ALLOW PRODUCTS WITH BLEMS OR FLAWS TO BE SHIPPED.....

IF THE BOX LOOKS LESS THAN PRISTINE, THE FINISH MAY HAVE BEEN WORN FROM SLIDING AROUND IN THE BOX..........
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Old 10-09-2018, 10:27 AM
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2 More pics from when I opened it at the dealer's counter

Last edited by slight_turn_line_69; 07-19-2022 at 12:56 PM.
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Old 10-09-2018, 12:01 PM
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Can't see pic real well but isn't turn line a little much for a gun
that was sealed in box?
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Old 10-09-2018, 12:35 PM
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I have a new looking Model 29-2 5 inch that has a gouge on the side of the frame edge right where the barrel screws in. It appears to be a factory shipped that way. I will just leave it like that, as I don't think I could make any attempt at repair that would look better and probably worse.

Some guns go out the door that are not perfect, and I have seen that in every era that I have Smiths!
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Old 10-09-2018, 01:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Drm50 View Post
Can't see pic real well but isn't turn line a little much for a gun
that was sealed in box?
The stocks are missing some finish on left side also. He bought a used gun.

Last edited by sodacan; 10-09-2018 at 01:12 PM.
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Old 10-09-2018, 01:30 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by one eye joe View Post
IMHO, UNLIKE TODAY---BACK IN THE 1980s, THERE WAS AN AIR OF PRIDE IN WORKMANSHIP AT S&W, AND A QC STAFF THAT DID A GOOD JOB. THEY DID NOT ALLOW PRODUCTS WITH BLEMS OR FLAWS TO BE SHIPPED.....

IF THE BOX LOOKS LESS THAN PRISTINE, THE FINISH MAY HAVE BEEN WORN FROM SLIDING AROUND IN THE BOX..........
I wish I could agree with this, but it's not 100% correct. Back in 1982 I purchased my Model 25 in .45 Colt with 8 3/8" barrel and presentation case. I was thrilled to finally have it, and it was perfection to my eyes. But I guess I never noticed the flaw, and it wasn't until about 10 years ago when a friend noticed it when I was showing the still minty gun to him.
He asked me, "What happened to your barrel?" And of curse I asked him what the heck he was talking about? He pointed to the muzzle and said one side of the barrel was slightly low, compared to the other side.
Sure enough, when I looked dead on with the muzzle pointed at me the metal on one side is not as round as the other, and appears slightly low. It looks like the barrel possibly got dropped and then a scratch buffed off, or maybe just a imperfection blended out. It's only noticeable if you point the muzzle right at you and see it's slightly low.
But since I bought the gun new, and I looked it over prior to purchase, it certainly came this way from S&W. I wish I'd never seen it, or had it pointed out. It was better when I didn't notice it was there. Now I always notice it whenever I handle it or shoot it.
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Old 10-16-2018, 01:22 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by one eye joe View Post
IMHO, UNLIKE TODAY---BACK IN THE 1980s, THERE WAS AN AIR OF PRIDE IN WORKMANSHIP AT S&W, AND A QC STAFF THAT DID A GOOD JOB. THEY DID NOT ALLOW PRODUCTS WITH BLEMS OR FLAWS TO BE SHIPPED.....

IF THE BOX LOOKS LESS THAN PRISTINE, THE FINISH MAY HAVE BEEN WORN FROM SLIDING AROUND IN THE BOX..........
Hate to disagree with you, but in 1980 I bought one of the last of the Model 28-2s. It had bad yoke end shake. The yoke screw had been screwed into the yoke button without the yoke being pressed all the way into the frame.

I saw a 1983 production Model 24-3 4" that you could read "Smith & Wesson" in the rifling from the roll stamp being pressed in too hard.

And then there was the Model 24-3 6 and 1/2 inch that the frame nose wasn't square on. The barrel was canted off about 5 degrees to the right. I got that one for a song because no matter how far you adjusted the rear sight, it would not shoot to point of aim. Cylinder and slide fixed that one.

And then there was the Model 1988 .45 ACP. The cylinder flutes were cut off center between the charge holes. I have to admit stupidity on that one. I kept looking at it and there was something wrong. Couldn't put my finger on it. After I did, I took it back to the store and they couldn't spot it either, but after they did it went to S&W the same day.
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Old 10-16-2018, 03:01 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slight_turn_line_69;
Picked up a NIB 25-5,
Not sure that I see the "imperfection" in the first photos, but appears to have oil? and rub on left side of grips in second set of photos? Could be light or angle from the camera. He told you it was an unopened box?? As a dealer for more than 27 years, no firearm box that comes in remains unopened. I have to check the SN# and book it with in 24 hrs, and over the years I have seen mistakes in SN#'s, so unopened?? Unlikely!
I have also had new guns that had tiny rub marks in the strangest places, some had to be returned to factory. As for the label, it may have said nickel which the gun was not so it was removed, in the nearly 40 years since it has been built it probably has traveled around. If you like the gun, and the " imperfections" do not bother you and the price was right then there is no problem. I have purchased "blem" guns over the years, though I do not remember any from S&W. Be Safe,
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Old 10-16-2018, 08:52 AM
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Priority One: how does it shoot ?
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Old 10-16-2018, 10:05 AM
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I'm going with dried oil. It's been shelved, moved, bumped, etc. for 35 years. Storage conditions may have ranged from warm to cold to bone dry to humid. Clean it up and enjoy it. Heck for the price you paid you done good, STL69.
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Old 10-16-2018, 03:12 PM
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Well, this is a "lookin at" gun, so I don't know how it shoots.

Last edited by slight_turn_line_69; 10-16-2018 at 03:14 PM. Reason: unfinished sentence
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Old 10-17-2018, 12:16 AM
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Back during the Dirty Harry craze, I saw a number of M29s that had slight flaws. S&W was building as many as they could and shipping them out the door.
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Old 10-17-2018, 12:57 AM
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I worked at a local gun shop in Michigan off on in the 1980's. S&W was one of our bigger product lines. We sold a lot of revolvers and some auto's. Guns coming from the factory with flaws was common. We used to wonder what the heck they were doing in Springfield.

The common flaws we observed were excessive gaps between the ejector shroud and the frame, out of spec BC gaps, flaws in the finish, metal burrs left over on the outer portion of the barrel by the forcing cone. Large gaps between the crane and the frame when the action was closed. Also, parts of the gun that appeared overly buffed. Plumb blued barrels and cylinders. For some reason there was a run of the first non-pinned barrel 629's we got in (4 each), you could actually spin the barrel off by hand.

Like the auto-industry, from about 1980 on, many in the manufacturing industries were re-tooling, or looking for ways to make production costs cheaper. American Cars were absolute junk. It was not that much different in the firearms industry. Take a Model 27 as an example. Compare a NIB 27-2 S Series Revolver with a 1980's NIB M27-2 or a 27-3. Everything is better on the S series, there is no comparison.

Moving onto the newest stuff, I had the opportunity to fire the Model 27 Classic. On this particular revolver, the edge of the ejector would get hung up on the side of the cylinder after you ejected the empties, tying up the gun until you fumbled with it. I bought a NIB 29-8 Mountain revolver, one empty would get hung up in the same chamber every time. I sent it into Smith for repair, and they had it for ever. The diagnosis, that chamber was bored straight, the cylinder would need replacing. Finally after 5 months, they sent the revolver back, repaired. They swapped out the cylinder with a heavily used one.

In the long run S&W has treated me great, and I have had some great revolvers.

Last edited by GRT3031; 10-17-2018 at 01:13 AM.
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Old 10-17-2018, 04:35 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mm93 View Post
I wish I could agree with this, but it's not 100% correct. Back in 1982 I purchased my Model 25 in .45 Colt with 8 3/8" barrel and presentation case. I was thrilled to finally have it, and it was perfection to my eyes. But I guess I never noticed the flaw, and it wasn't until about 10 years ago when a friend noticed it when I was showing the still minty gun to him.
He asked me, "What happened to your barrel?" And of curse I asked him what the heck he was talking about? He pointed to the muzzle and said one side of the barrel was slightly low, compared to the other side.
Sure enough, when I looked dead on with the muzzle pointed at me the metal on one side is not as round as the other, and appears slightly low. It looks like the barrel possibly got dropped and then a scratch buffed off, or maybe just a imperfection blended out. It's only noticeable if you point the muzzle right at you and see it's slightly low.
But since I bought the gun new, and I looked it over prior to purchase, it certainly came this way from S&W. I wish I'd never seen it, or had it pointed out. It was better when I didn't notice it was there. Now I always notice it whenever I handle it or shoot it.
Hey you gotta look at your guns like a good woman.if she can cook you can overlook any flaws .
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Old 10-17-2018, 04:15 PM
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Why would somebody use a sharp knife to cut off part of the label of an old gun box?
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Old 10-17-2018, 09:53 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bajadoc View Post
Why would somebody use a sharp knife to cut off part of the label of an old gun box?
Because it likely wasn't "an old gun box" when they did it.
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