I recently acquired a very nice 6" Model 57 in nickel with the presentation case. This gun comes from 1977 and the presentation case is made for a 6.5" gun.

I immediately recognized this as "correct" but that is just from memory. I welcome your thoughts?

Background: as a teenager I was already fascinated by S&Ws. In the late 70s the 44 Magnums were almost impossible to get...S&W supply could not meet the Dirty Harry demand. Model 57s were often bargains at the time.

I remember looking at the guns at our local gun shop in NC. I noticed then that the 6" Model 57s were in presentation cases for 6.5" guns. The proprietor explained that that was what S&W was doing at the time to save a little money. At the time the premium N-frames came with Presentation Cases as standard (Models 29, 57, 27, and 25). The model 27s, however, were still being made with 3.5" and 5" presentation cases.

Anyhow, that's my memory. It is old and often flawed. I am assuming that earlier cases were made for the 6" guns, as were later ones. Yet I believe a 6.5" case for a 6" gun is correct for a 1977 era gun and not a later substitution.

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I believe you're correct! The case IMO is correct.
Why tool and make a special insert for the 0.5" difference.

The type liners you have were sold with guns from about 1975-1978! They were made in the 3 1/2", 4", 5", 6", 6 1/2", and 8 3/8" barrel lengths! The two different type liners preceding yours were made in 4", 6 1/2", & 8 3/8".
The one succeeding your liners were made in 4", 6", & 8 3/8"! If the 6" gun was in a 6 1/2"case very long and moved around a lot it will crack the liners at the front sight area! I have refurbished many with this problem. IMHO, the story from the LGS was a sales pitch to sell a gun in his show case!
jcelect

EXCELLENT info. Thank you, but still not so sure. I saw enough examples back then and since to think that S&W was indeed using up on-hand 6.5" liners for 6" guns for a time. We all know that 6" liners existed before and after. It was soon after this period, as noted, that S&W notoriously standardized N-frame barrel lengths to 4", 6", and 8 5/8" and revamped the presentation cases to match.

Also, the teenage me visited 150 Gun & Tackle often. Coy sold what the distributor sent him. These were new guns at the time. I think my visit that this happened would have been right around 1977, coincidentally when this particular example Mod 57 was made. Coy also knew he was just chatting with an interested teenager. He was not selling anything to me at the time.

Under the insert is all the usual Model 57 paperwork. Interesting that the Model 57 parts list is from 67 or so and shows a gun with cokes.

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I have a nice later model box for a 6" N-frame that jcelect refurbished for me years ago. Thinking the thing to do may be to move the Model 57 to that and sell this box on eBay with the tools and papers.....