I had a day off yesterday and went gunsHOPPING, I didn't find much, but I decided to stop by a pawn shop where I find something maybe once a year. Low and behold I stumble across a 3" 13-3 in nickel. The rear edge of the cylinder had a little pitting as did the hammer and the trigger. Everything else on the gun is mint. Paid $350 OTD. Here it is with a few coats of wax.

Can anyone tell me what year this was born? ACY80XX

Sorry about the horrible pictures. One of these days I'll make a proper light box.

The wavy pattern seen in the flats is actually a reflection of my textured ceiling.





If you look closely at this picture you can see the pitting in the side of the hammer, trigger and the edge of the cylinder.

Congrats, great gun at a great price. Looks to be from between Jan. and Oct. 1983.

That seems like a great price out the door for that .357. I sure like the 3 inch barrel too. I havr a model 65 pretty similar to that one.
I would have had to take that one home if I found it for that price.

great find, couple coats of wax and she's a beauty!!

Very nice, you did well! Not an easy gun to find these days and the price was definitely right. I'd still like to find one of those in blue one of these days!

I'd love to get my hands on one of these. I'd take any K frame in 3", but so far I haven't had any luck turning one up. That was a great buy. Enjoy that beauty.

X10. Right place at the right time on that one. Anyone of us would be happy to have found that.

Thanks for the kind words. I've always stayed away from nickel guns due to the maintenance. I've come to realize I was trying to put too much wax on in the past. A thin coat of wax barely takes a few minutes to do.

In your experience how does the pitting hold up over time? Will the nickel start to peel? I plan on using non-ammonia containing cleaners.

Here is how I cleaned the gun. CLP Breakfree cleaning to remove any residue. Then lightly polished it using BlueMagic. I then wiped it down with rubbing alcohol to remove any oils. Finally I applied a few coat of Paste wax before reassembling and detailing it. Anything wrong with my process?

What do you guys do for under the grips? Normally I store my Smiths sans grips, but this is more of a shooter. I thought about waxing the back side of the grips. I didn't want to put any oil under them like I do on my blued guns for fear of the oil working into the small pits and spreading. Ideas?

Thanks!

Great snag...cool 3"

Seems like you are doing everything right. I have a 13-3 nickel also and I shoot it ever week. I use a little CLP breakfree as well and then wipe it down with Mothers and Johnsons Paste Wax. It cleans up really easily. I would look at getting a set of fiber optic sights for the front. The front sight is pinned and can be replaced easily if you have good eyes. I also have big hands so I invested in a nice set of grips . it is a great shooter so have fun at the range with it. Guns are meant to be shot.
Getting a new sight on the 13-3

I really like the model 13. Great find and yours really cleaned up nicely.