Any body else out there have one of these? Not S&W's finest hour. It was just so strange looking I took it on trade 30 or so years ago. 5 shoot semi 22 LR. little pocket gun, the barrel is fixed in frame and slide pulls action open for reloading. I haven't shot it in years it did work, no flaws except trying to remove mag you better be sure it's not loaded feels like you need 3 hands to pull mag out. I believe it was made in early 70's any info would be great

I have one of the last engineering change (61-3).
I haven't figured out why they quit making them - unless the first two iterations (61-1 & 61-2) were a lot worse than the last version - and by the time they got it right the gun had a bad reputation and wouldn't sell. I know that kind of thing happened a lot with American products in the 70's and 80's.

Mine took a little tweaking of the magazines to get it to work 100%, but with the original magazine it has functioned at least as well as any of my other 22 semi-autos, and better than some. It cycles reliably and doesn't seem to be any pickier about ammo brands & bullet weights/types than any other semi-auto 22.

Maybe I just got lucky and got an exceptional one....

I have one of the last versions.
No problems ever. Seems to defy physics. 0 recoil, none. Something strange about this design. Goes Bang x 5....no recoil.

I have its slightly bigger sibling, a 2214 made two decades later. It's not for sale or trade, 100% pure keeper... LGS has a 61-3 for sale. It would likely follow me home if I dared to take a closer look at it.

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John

I have had perhaps a half dozen of them over the years. Right now I am down to a 61-1, a 61-2, both blue, and a 61-3 nickel.

.22's can be picky about which ammo they like but, honestly, none of mine have ever made it through a 50 round box of anything without a stoppage of some kind, usually several and not always the same kind of jamb.

In his book THE HISTORY OF SMITH & WESSON, Roy Jinks the historian for the company says they discontinued the gun finally because it didn't seem to fit in with S&W's image as the maker of the world's finest handguns.

S&W resurrected the basic design for the Model 422 and variants, and those guns seem as reliable as a ball peen hammer.

Sorry new to forum just learning how this works. Mine is a 61-2 and it does not have a drop free magazine when empty. You have to turn it upside down hold the release button back and pull the mag out with other hand, hence my comment on needing 3 hands. It shoots any brand of ammo fine and is as accurate is you can expect from a 2 inch barrel, just hard to get mag out of gun. Does your -3 model drop the empty mag free?

I got one when they first came out, several mags. Didn't work with CCI, worked fine with Remington HSHP, all mags. Just didn't like carrying a cocked striker-fired gun in my pocket.

The 61 is a hammer fired gun. Also equipped with a safety. ??? You didn't like it cocked and locked...?

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John

I don't think any of the iterations have a mag that "drops free". The best way I have found to remove it is
1) Hold the gun in my right hand butt towards my body and barrel parallel to the ground and pointed to the left (top of the slide facing away from my body).
2) Hook the tip of the index finger of my left hand over the tip of the floorplate of the mag where it sticks out of the notch cut in the at the bottom of the front of the of the grip frame
3) Push the mag release rearwards with the thumb of my left hand
3) Pull downwards on the mag with the left index finger

It is much more difficult to describe than it is to do.

Yeah I know what you mean that is exactly how I finally figured out to be the best way to do it. I carried it for awhile on ankle as back up but got lucky enough to win a Kahr 380 at an Friends of NRA Banquet. So I think the 380 might be just a touch heavier but feel more prepared with the 380acp than the 22lr. But if the occasion arises I'm a wheel man at heart and strap the S&W 36 5 shot on, I also have a 60 in 38spl. but it's a 2 incher and my 36 has a 3 in barrel, maybe it's just me but that 1 more inch of barrel gives me about 20 more yards of accuracy.

Yep they are fun to shoot, maybe I just got lucky too but I don't remember ever having a malfunction problem, it's just my ability or lack of I guess to shoot it very accurately,most of the time I feel like I would be better throwing rocks..ha. My Grandsons can shoot it much better than me, I guess that's what happens when you get old. Not to bag on this gun I have the same problem with all my 2in. barrel handguns

Not that 2213/2214 mags are all that available - but I wonder if those would work as extended mags in a Model 61? I've had mine for over 40 years but have very few rounds thru it. I greatly damaged the collector value - many years ago - by crudely removing the mag safety spring thingy ...

Yes, it is fired by a concealed hammer (out of sight, out of mind). No, I didn't like it cocked and locked.