1984 Model 60 John Jovino vs 1989 60-3 Lady Smith, w. pics

[PeteC]

Comparing a 1984 Model 60 John Jovino, to a 1989 (I think) Model 60-3 Lady Smith, with 3" barrels.

The main differece I have noticed, is the square butt on the M60 John Jovino, and a round butt on the 60-3 Lady Smith. Everything else looks identical or close. Same Hammer spur and trigger, S&W trademark on the left side same barrel including the top strap. (The Lady Smith finish should be more matte, but the previous owner polished it a little)

Both guns are used, so there are a few scuffs and nicks here and there, but well cared for. The grips are not alike in the pics because I do not have two identical sets on hand. The same target grips can fit either square or round butt. Weight is about 22 oz for either.

Please DO comment if I am missing something, and post pics of your own, below. Thanks for reading

[two-bit cowboy]

Hi Pete,

I don't think you're missing anything.

Well, I don't have a 1984 Jovino Model 60 3", but I have a Model 60 2" square butt from that order and a 1989 60-3 Lady Smith with the stocks S&W had anatomically designed for women.

Roy Jinks said the 1984 Jovino order was 1,600 square butt Model 60s, 1,000 in 3" and 600 in 2". They were the last of the square butt Model 60s.

Before them, there were 171 square butt 3" Heavy Barrel Model 60-1s in the R5xxxx serial number series in the early '70s.

A few other Model 60 anomalies I've noted recently include the same style hammer and trigger as your two, but the hammer is a target model and the combat trigger is serrated on the 1990 3" Target Model 60-4 (.38 Special), where the 1997 3" Target Model 60-10 (.357 Magnum) has case hardened hammer and case hardened smooth combat trigger (same as the 1989 Model 36-6).

[PeteC]

Bob, that's awesome information, especially a clear pic of the grips with the two finger grooves! I have been waiting to get around to this for a long time, literally since before my dad moved on to the big gun show in the sky, and his guns were sold to pay for his medical expenses. Magic of the Internet,

One more Q: Did your Lady Smith come with a dark purple-ish plastic box? One is mentioned in the SCSW book, but the person who sold me the gun had no way of knowing if it was original or not, and I have learned that presence of some paperwork does not guarantee a matching box... lol

A couple more pics that did not fit in the original post:

[target tech]

The only thing I can add to this is a 60-3 that I picked up after I got my 3"Jovino seven or eight years ago. It has the bead blast "frosted finish" of the ladysmith but came with a bobbed hammer and Hogue grips. I've only seen one other on GB. It had same grips, and hammer along with the original box.
I got rid of the Hogue grips and put a grip pin in the frame so I could install normal grip panels. It is now wearing Pach compacts, not the UMs in the pic, I find they work best for DAO shooting.

[1911-10MM]

Hello
Here are a pair of my 60's in three inch. Neither are Lady Smiths.
Square and round comparison.

[PeteC]

@target_tech: Your 60-3 is most likely one of two cataloged "specials by product code" in the SCSW book on page 261.

Product Code: 102318, 3" barrel, double-action only, Hogue synthetic grips, round butt, bobbed hammer, Model 60-3, 2000 manufactured in 1989
Product Code: 102320, 3" barrel, double-action only, Hogue synthetic grips, round butt, bobbed hammer, 2000 manufactured in 1989

@1911-10MM, awesome grips, I wish all of mine were in that condition!

[target tech]

Thanks for the info.
I always figured they were some police department contract overrun or something. The choice of the Hogue grips seems strange for a special S&W run in the late 80s. And they are a royal pain if you want to put any other grips on the gun.
Also.....I second the motion that those smooth J frame magnas are super sexy.

[two-bit cowboy]

Originally Posted by PeteC

One more Q: Did your Lady Smith come with a dark purple-ish plastic box?

Yes. As I recall the SCSW 4th Ed., says the purple hard cases were used from '89 through '91. I have four of them, but I only have photos of two of them in the purple case:

April '89, Model 36-3 3" Lady Smith
April '89, Model 36-2 2" Lady Smith
April '89, Model 60-3 3" Lady Smith
October '91, Model 36-7 2" Lady Smith

The purple hard case came inside a thin cardboard Lady Smith box, and it's on the outside of that box where the label is found. You'll see them sometimes on the auction sites. I don't have any of those.

After '91 the Lady Smiths came in a soft case.

One odd thing with the Model 60s was that the 60-3 also came in a 2", Lady Smith and other models, whereas the Model 36s were barrel-length specific based on the dash number.

I've heard several folks who were actively buying S&Ws in '89 call it S&W's flavor-of-the-month year because there were so many limited editions, especially the Chiefs Specials, it seems.

Here's an odd one of those Model 36-2s (after the two Lady Smith photos): it's a 1 of 502 (the SCSW says there were only 300) Lew Horton "2nd Amendment Issue." I have Earl Minot's letter that says how many there were and that it was an early example of S&W's use of lazer etching. Really too bad Earl isn't doing those Lew Horton letters any longer.

[two-bit cowboy]

Originally Posted by target tech

The only thing I can add to this is a 60-3 that I picked up after I got my 3"Jovino seven or eight years ago. It has the bead blast "frosted finish" of the ladysmith but came with a bobbed hammer and Hogue grips.

Now, I think that is very cool!

I have two of the '89 Model 36-2 DAOs (limited run of 2,000). They came with the combat grips. The finish is called "glass beaded satin blue."