My 87 Year Old Mom Bought Her First Gun

[wood714]

A friend of hers told her she had a gun that was her late husbands and she didn't want it around her house. None of her kids wanted it. She told my mom it was a S&W 38.

I told my mom to ask her how much she wanted for it. She asked her kids and they said to get $300.

My mom asked me about it, I knew the lady's husband and he liked to buy good stuff so I figured it must have been pretty nice. Thinking any S&W 38 should be worth $300, I told her to buy it.

My son in law just sent me pics of it. He said there's no loss of blueing and sent me a couple bad cell phone pics. I think she did most well with this buy. He said it just has 36 on it, so I guess it's a no dash.

It will be her Ohio gun, I gave her my 642-1 to keep at her Florida place. She fly's back and forth so moving it from state to state was out. Looks like it needs a good cleaning.

 

[Abbynormal]

Good job Mom!

 

[murphydog]

Nice model 36. It dates to sometime between 1968 and 1981 or so.

Please tell her to get all those fingerprints off it .

 

[hkcavalier]

Very nice! Not sure how strong your mom is, but I bought those pink tip Hornady 90gr JHPs for someone in my family (who is lost shopping for ammo if it's not at the local box store) without a lot of strength and got a thumbs up.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Great story, and that appears to be a very nice Chiefs Special.

Congratulations to Mom.

 

[wood714]

Nice model 36. It dates to sometime between 1968 and 1981 or so.

Please tell her to get all those fingerprints off it .

I told her to wipe it down good. Only oil she has is sewing machine oil. I guess it would be OK to put a little on a rag and wipe it down before she comes down here this week end.

Very nice! Not sure how strong your mom is, but I bought those pink tip Hornady 90gr JHPs for someone in my family (who is lost shopping for ammo if it's not at the local box store) without a lot of strength and got a thumbs up.

It take about everything shes got to just pull the trigger.

 

[L-2]

Post 1,
Try to get us the serial number so we can estimate its date of birth/manufacture. Then we can be sure the subject handgun is in the correct sub-forum as the S&W revolver forums seem to use ~1980 as the dividing year.

 

[moonsterman]

now this is way cool!!

 

[Rustyt1953]

Good for June. My dad was a big fan of sewing machine oil.

 

[wood714]

Post 1,
Try to get us the serial number so we can estimate its date of birth/manufacture. Then we can be sure the subject handgun is in the correct sub-forum as the S&W revolver forums seem to use ~1980 as the dividing year.

Pretty sure it's 73-74

Serial number is J163xxx

 

[wproct]

Well done! IMO that's about the best choice she could get. Nice revolver.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

It take about everything shes got to just pull the trigger.

She can cock it Single Action.

She should have fresh ammo for it. My mother is in her 90s. Her generation (especially the females) are revolver people.

 

[SGT ROCK 11B]

... She told my mom it was a S&W 38.

It will be her Ohio gun, I gave her my 642-1 to keep at her Florida place. She fly's back and forth so moving it from state to state was out. Looks like it needs a good cleaning.

Most non Gun Enthusiasts have no clue about model numbers. Most people know a 38 is a revolver and a 45 tends to be a 'automatic'.

A 642-1 is a poor choice for Senior Citizens especially those who are elderly or handicapped. But the classic Model 36 for example can be cocked Single Action.

I doubt it has been fired since 1974 but firearms should be cleaned and relubed annually depending on where you live.

 

[Glenn54]

First gun at 87, awesome. Make sure she knows how to use it safely.

 

[Spurdann]

Kind of a late bloomer, when is her next?

 

[wood714]

Kind of a late bloomer, when is her next?

 

[Heinz]

God bless her! and hope she never needs it.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Awesome ball cap.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Your mom is very resourceful and a survivor. If she ever finds herself in a gun self defense scenario her adrenaline dump will make that trigger feel like cooked elbow macaroni.

 

[hkcavalier]

Awesome ball cap.

Take a 'lude, dude!

(not spoken since the late 1980s, I figure)

Haven't shot a real MP5 in almost that long...1997 or so. It's good to make friends when you're in foreign lands.