Hey y'all!
I purchased this Smith a few weeks ago via Gunbroker. I was the only bidder at $399 plus $35 shipping and my local transfer fee. The seller has made me a future, life-long, FedEx customer. Originating in Wisconsin, USPS zig-zagged the package here and there between Indiana and Ohio like a pinball, consuming five days to complete a "three day" trip. On arrival, the package was a shock but things have worked out OK.
Overall condition was OK for a thirteen year-old piece but it showed its age. I believe the previous owner was one of those guys who think that stainless steel guns don't need to be cleaned. The lockwork was FOUL. Left-over lead had gone to oxide. Hammer, trigger and rear sight assembly suffered from light surface corrosion. The top strap had orange spots from unburned powder. Exterior surfaces were, well, TARNISHED.
After removing the lockwork, including the cylinder release latch, I set about renewing things. Initial hand work with Flitz cream was insufficient. Ultimately, I had to resort to 1500-grit friction paper followed by a Dremel tool/jeweler's rouge and another round of Flitz. I think I'm done with cosmetics.
NOTE TO NEW GUYS: be satisfied with whatever you can do with your hands! Mistakes with power tools like the Dremel are easy to make and PERMANENT!
The forcing cone was recut using a Brownell's tool. The rebound spring slide was polished. My favorite Wolff springs were installed. A few hundred dry-fire cycles and follow-up cleaning smoothed the action nicely.
The 211200L Jan 10 METAR for KDAY showed that outside air temp was 5 degC (41 degF) so I felt obliged to slog out to the range, even though it was one of those "gee-I-wish-I-wasn't-gagging-on-these-meds" days. At least the rain had stopped.
The bench/sandbag was 24 yards (a range limitation) from the target. I felt good that the impact errors were lateral. I have a tough time with elevation due to bifocals. The lower lens focuses nicely on the front sight but the bullseye is always a serious blur.
The cartridge used was my practice round: 6.0 grains of Unique under a 158 SWC, ignited by a Winchester small pistol magnum primer and held together by Starline brass.
The target shows a five-shot group. I sort of wiggled that one off to the left, so it measures a bit over 1.3 inches. The three in the middle are indicative of the mechanical accuracy of the piece.
As time goes by I intend to install tritium sights and have MagNaPort vent the barrel so that my service rounds are a bit more controllable and comfortable. No rush to do that. . . .
"AFTER" and test images are in "66-4 Test" to follow.
66-4 Resurrection
Linear Mode
