First Post

wlewisiii · #1 02-13-2010, 10:48 PM

Yesterday I picked up my first Smith and Wesson revolver. It's a nice used .38 Special Model 64-5. I presume it's a trade in as it comes to me with more cosmetic wear than shooting wear though it certainly has been shot over the years.

I traded in a Taurus snub-nose on it (and a small amount of cash) and expect it to fill my various hand gun needs - concealed/open carry, home defense & as a secondary gun during small game & deer hunting seasons. After the first trip to the range, I expect it will prove quite up to anything I am up to

I need lots of practice ...

It has the 4" heavy barrel, square butt & Packmayr aftermarket grips. These things lead me to the questions I'd thought I'd start with.

Is it possible to get the original style of wood grips from S&W that this would have shipped with? I'm more inclined to get a nice set of wood grips and a T-grip than to stick with the abused Packmayrs that are on it now.

There are a few scratches & the like in the stainless finish. What's a good way to polish it up by hand? Flitz paste is one suggestion I've been given but I thought I'd ask here as well.

If either of these are FAQ's, please let me apologize in advance as my google-fu has failed me.

Thanks!

William

LDThornton · #2 02-13-2010, 10:58 PM

William, go to any of the auction sites and you should be able to find a good set of used grips for your revolver. Look for "K" or "L" frame square butt grips as they are the same size. I know ebay always has a bunch of them and so does gunbroker.com

murphydog · #3 02-13-2010, 11:09 PM

Hi, and welcome! The factory does sell the stock type that originally came with your model 64, but they are a laminate and don't look exactly like the originals. Agree with LD, just look for K frame square butt Magna stocks on the Forum or online elsewhere. Literally millions of these were made, and they are easy to find.

Regarding the finish, stainless is easy to redo. Deeper scratches may require fine steel wool or similar, then use progressively less abrasive stuff like Flitz until you have the desired appearance.

wlewisiii · #4 02-13-2010, 11:21 PM

Thanks for the tips, folks. I'll look on gunbroker then. Long story short, I don't do ebay anymore. I've also got a film camera habit to go along with my tastes in guns...

William

WVfishguy · #5 02-13-2010, 11:56 PM

William, you have found the best gun forum on the 'net - and not because I'm here, but because of the other folks who contribute.

I'm not sure, but the stock grips on a 64-5 (very likely a police trade in) probably ARE Pachmayrs. You may not like the looks, but they work well.

Now - here's the plan. You don't want to spend a bunch of money, but you want nice grips. Google CDNN sports, see if they have cocobolo Herrett stocks (grips) for K-framed Smiths. As of now, they are out of stock, and I'm afraid that may be partially my fault because I have posted photos of these grips. They are very nice, and they sell for less than $40.
Here are some Herretts on my wife's Model 15-2

The most beautiful grips I've seen are made by Kurac, who sells his wares on this forum. My wife and I spent a large part of Saturday night ogling the grips he was selling. They are not so much grips as very functional works of art. They are not cheap, but still worth more than he charges.

wlewisiii · #6 02-14-2010, 12:15 AM

Excellent information, sir. Interesting that the Packmayr's might well have been stock - OTOH, given who was buying lots of service revolvers at the time? Not that silly a thing for S&W to do. I'll look into the Kurac grips. I may have to save for awhile but a nice set of wood grips would do this sturdy gal well. Do you have a link for his work or is it simply in the forum FS group?

Thanks!

William

wlewisiii · #7 02-17-2010, 02:53 PM

Took a couple of pictures today after I got back from the range and thought I share them. It's a really sweet shooting revolver that, much to my surprise, seems to like +P 125 gr. JHP better than the standard 158 gr. LRN I buy as cheap practice ammo. Fortunately the WWB isn't that much more $$$ when I can find it, but it tells me I really need to get started reloading.

William

wlewisiii · #8 02-17-2010, 03:19 PM

Good point on the grips. I have found on other handguns that I tend to like Houge better so perhaps what I should do is invest in a set of those.

Or else Crimson Trace... hrm...

William

kennyb · #9 02-17-2010, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wlewisiii

Good point on the grips. I have found on other handguns that I tend to like Houge better so perhaps what I should do is invest in a set of those.

Or else Crimson Trace... hrm...

William

welcome to the forum william...you picked a fine revolver..i would keep the pachs as they may be original...i would add the k frame square butt wood as they also came with this gun...you should be able to easily find a pair on this forum in the acc.for sale section...take your time with the finish and you can pretty much make it look exactly as you want...as to reloading...DO IT...i can reload when i want,exactly as i want the round...i dont cast lead bullets (yet) and can still load 50 rounds of 38's for about six bucks by reusing the brass....oh yeah,better be ready to buy more revolvers...it's an illness we share here!

feel free to ask anything here...there are some VERY knowledgeable folks here...hope this helps!

Vulcan Bob · #10 02-17-2010, 05:33 PM

Welcome to the forum! As already stated you got yourself a fine revolver there. A little work and she will look like a new one. Dont overlook the classified section right here in your search for grips. One thing though, buying S&W revolvers is a bit adictive. Enjoy!