Recent content by Dreslan

Recent 19-3 After years of watching, I've finally joined the Model 19 club. Here is a 19-3 with some holster wear and some marks on the grips. It's a 7K38xxx serial, so it's likely 1974 or 1975 ship date. Any more info than that would be appreciated.

From what I can see in the photos, you've got a .38 Hand Ejector model 1902. The serial number and the straight-walled barrel means that it is before the first engineering change and was likely shipped in late 1902. Also, yours has target sights, which is a little more rare. The grips are...

Those stocks sure look like Ahrends Round Butt Finger Groove models. If that's what they are, then they are definitely not laminate. Given the modifications, I don't believe you're looking at top-grade collectability. You are looking at a wonderful packing revolver that should be a great shooter.

Also, please don't think I'm dogging Altamont. They do make some beautiful grips, and I love the ones that come on the 686 3-5-7 models. However, what feels fine on a .357 would probably be painful on a .44.

Hello! Unless I'm mistaken, S&W is using Altamont as the supplier for all of their wood grips these days. They definitely made the grips on my 686 Deluxe, and I'm almost certain they make the grips for the new 29 Classic. Every set of Altamont grips I've run across are much thinner than older...

You, sir, have just purchased a beautiful gun! Now that I've cleaned up the drool from my keyboard, let me see what we've got. Of course, grading is difficult without actually handling the gun, but from your pictures, the blue seems to be completely intact except for possibly on the right side...

Call me crazy, but I actually think it looks cool. The fact that it letters as a special plating job makes it even cooler. Find some nice unique wooden or stag grips and frame that sucker, or make it a barbecue BUG!

How does it look now? Where did you send it? Come on, man! We're waiting with baited breath!

She's a beauty, and for that price I think you did well. Those rubber grips look nice, but the variation in those wood grips is stunner! Nice find!

Altamont grips are pretty good quality. They are laminated wood, not cut from solid wood blanks. Like Walkingwolf mentioned, Altamont are the current supplier for many newer S&W revolvers. I believe they did most, if not all, of the recent Classic series grips, and they are on just about all...

Yep, it looks a lot like that. The thing that puzzles me is the unevenness of the rifling. Like I said, it looks like broached near that forcing cone, and gets steadily softer toward the muzzle. Does anyone know what other models they're using this method on?

Yesterday I was prowling my LGS as usual and was perusing a standard 4" 686+ they had in stock. Who doesn't need another 686, right? While looking it over, I noticed the rifling didn't quite look right. At first, it seemed that S&W had bored it with polygonal rifling right out of a Glock or...

Welcome! If I may ask, what are your plans with the revolver? Also, do you know any of its history? It is certainly a gun that detectives or other plainclothes types would carry, and it appears to have some honest holster wear and possibly a bit of shooting, judging from the wear on the grip...

Yes, you have just made me envious. $400 for that beauty would have me cowboy-fast-drawing my wallet. Congrats!

As promised, here are some pics. The shop owner let me snap some quick ones on the way home from work. The store also has 5 Safety Hammerless revolvers in pretty good shape, and a 1913 semi-auto that looks brand new, along with 2 Colt Army Specials. Apparently, a local collector fell on some...