Has Anyone Had Work Done on your 65 3-inch to Make it Better??

[Nalapombu]

Hey all.

While I’m gonna be putting new grips on my 65 and carrying it more, it gives me the thoughts of maybe having a couple things done to make it a better pistol, especially for carry.

I wouldn’t do anything to the action. It has a wonderful SA trigger now and a good DA trigger. I’d be worried if I done anything to try and improve the DA pull, it would effect the SA pull in a negative way. Thoughts?


The type of work I am talking about is changing the finish, possible front sight change, having the cylinder cut for moon clips and that’s about it.

It’s a great pistol now, I’d just want to make it better for me.

I’ve wondered how it would look with a matte stainless bead blasted finish. The m65 Ladysmith has a finish similar to this doesn't it? It would also hide some of the tiny dings that a revolver gets that’s over 40 years old and has spent lotsa time in a cops holster. I would like to hide those “dents” that are on the edges. It prolly would cost a whole lot more to have those dings taken out and the factory finish retained. They’re not anywhere close to bad enough to go that route right now.

The front sight is kinda hard for me to see sometimes. I put a bit of orange paint in it, but it’s very slight and didn’t do much to enhance things. I’ve seen where many people have the front sight removed and one of the BIG DOT front sights installed via dovetail that would give other options if that sight wasn’t working for me. The BIG DOT is a nice front sight that is certainly much easier to acquire faster. It also comes in either orange or yellow in addition to the whitish color that’s standard on them.
I’ve seen some have a rear sight installed on their J frames to combine with the BIG DOT. It looks nice, but I don’t know if the addition of a new rear sight would add anything more than what the pistol has from the factory. I wouldn’t need a new rear sight to use a new much more visible front sight. What’s your opinion of this idea? Have you thought of doing this to any of your m65 revolvers with the 3-inch barrel?

The last thing, having the cylinder machined so I can use full moon clips is something that would be down on the list if at all. It’s not really needed and I’d wonder about negatively impacting the factory capabilities that it came with. Sure, I would be able to load and reload MUCH FASTER, but I don’t know if it would be worth it to do.
Has anyone had their cylinder machined to accept these moonclips? Ever thought about it? Is it something you’d consider or do to your carry pistol? Why or why not?

The only other thing I’ve pondered is replacing the cylinder latch with one of the Hogue custom latches. With me getting older every day I find my hands and fingers aching and stiff more often. This would help to alleviate this somewhat. The only thing is that I don’t know that I want to spend the money to get it cause it’s NOT CHEAP. I’d like to hear from others about these cylinder latches and whether you’ve replaced yours or done anything to improve the factory release.


That’s about all that I’ve thought of with regards to my 65 3-inch. I wouldn’t dare do anything that would detract from the overall look and feel of it. I’d only do something if it were going to enhance or make it better for me to shoot, carry or just admire.

Anyone had any types of custom work done to your carry revolvers? If you have, I’d like to hear about it and see pics if you have any to post.

Opinions please.


Thank you all for the continued help, advice and suggestions that you frequently give me. I appreciate you all taking your time to do it.

Have a safe week guys and gals.

Larry

[SAFireman]

Here is one that I glass bead blasted. I also bobbed the hammer and smoothed the action. I added the Pachmayr compact professional grips. The hammer was bobbed after this picture was taken.

[ken158]

“Better” is in the eyes of the owner. Moon clipping is expensive and carrying a clipped reload is no different then carrying a speed loader. A new finish is OK if you want a more satin look... Some guys polish their stainless guns like nickel and now they show fingerprints as well as reduce their value. Changing out the front sight (which is regulated to the rear sight) will likely cause your gun POI to be low. De-burring the hammer will eliminate or make single action shooting more difficult and limit carrying your gun in a holster which relies on the hammer for retention. If you do this, be sure to save your factory hammer and do it to a replacement so you can go back if you realize you made a mistake...

[ContinentalOp]

I don't have it anymore, but I had a 3" 65 with some custom work. I had a trigger job with the trigger radiused and polished and had the hammer bobbed and converted to DAO. All-in-all, they were good enhancements for me.

Some 65s had pinned front sights, so that may allow you to have the front sight changed without having it dovetailed. My 65-3's front sight was pinned, though I never changed it.

Dovetailing in a new front sight is pretty common, though. I'm not a fan of the Big Dot sights, but there's nothing wrong with them if you feel you need it. I have always wanted to try a gold bead front sight, though.

One option might be reprofiling the front sight. A gunsmith can change the shape from ramped to more of a modified ramp or even a Patridge vertical surface. That, plus painting the front sight, may improve visibility, especially if combined with widening the rear notch.

Painting the front sight with a high-visibility color combined with painting the rear sight notch black may also be a lower cost option to try before having any expensive machining done.

Generally not a fan of moon clips. If a moon clip gets bent, your gun becomes a paperweight. I've always relied on either speedloaders or strips. The difference in speed between using a moon clip and a Safariland loader is neglible, but the loader is easier to grab under stress and may be more durable.

I like the look of bead-blasted stainless steel, so I think that's a good option if you like the look. However, holster wear may end up polishing some of the surfaces and not make it uniform. I've also read that the regular polished finish may be easier to maintain with regard to things like scratches and such. Having it refinished by a company like CCR in one of the new high-tech finishes may be an option to get the look you want with more wear-resistance easier maintenance.

Just my opinion.

[SLCDW]

Other than Compact Professional grips, the only thing that I did to make my m65 a better carry gun for me was take it to the range often and shoot it a lot.

[Sistema1927]

Before you spend a lot of money on a few front sight, take a trip to the nail polish aisle at Wal-Mart (or get the wife to do so). Get a bright white as well as, and this important, "Traffic Cone Orange".

Degrease the front sight and remove any of the old paint. Then lay down two layers of white, allowing them to dry completely. Follow up with three to four coats of the "Traffic Cone Orange".

Done this way, that front sight will "pop". The white base coats are essential on blued revolvers, but I have found they also make a difference on stainless.

[Pizza Bob]

Work was done before I bought it, but I really like this gun - started life as a Ladysmith.



Done by Mike LaRocca of Worcester, MA.

Theoretically the polished band around the cylinder stop notches lessen the drag of the stop on the cylinder thus lightening trigger pull. I just think it looks badass.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

[Nalapombu]

Thanks guys for the advice.

I polished my Colt Commander stainless slide using Flitz and it came out beautiful. It was darn near a mirror finish. Like was said, it literally shows EVERYTHING! Fingerprints look horrible to me so I eventually sent it to get bead blasted and it looks as good as it came and I’m happy with it.

I thought about trying the paint, but not with fingernail polish. I thought some of the stuff sold at the gun parts places would work and stay on better.

Is fingernail polish as durable and long lasting as these sight specific paints you can buy to do it?

I’d like to know which is the best way to go so that it will look great, stay bright and last. Right now I’m leaning to the fingernail polish method outlined above.

Thanks all.
Larry

[mrcabinet2122]

Testors model paint (the stuff in the little glass bottles) works great. I've had some last 15 years or more. Do white first, then orange over that. I use a toothpick to dab it on, then a rag with acetone to wipe off any excess.

[PHS327]

Originally Posted by Nalapombu

The only other thing I’ve pondered is replacing the cylinder latch with one of the Hogue custom latches. With me getting older every day I find my hands and fingers aching and stiff more often. This would help to alleviate this somewhat. The only thing is that I don’t know that I want to spend the money to get it cause it’s NOT CHEAP. I’d like to hear from others about these cylinder latches and whether you’ve replaced yours or done anything to improve the factory release.

Larry

I recommend Tony Rumore's Smith & Wesson Extended Cylinder Release Latch. It's only $25. I have one on my model 69 and really like it because I have arthritis in my hands and it makes the cylinder a lot easier to open. The website is tromix.com.

[LCC]

Once discovering Dykem Brite-Mark paint markers with valve action, the collection of sight paint and nail polish went into the trash can. Their Orange is quite vivid.
Speed loaders make for quite a bulky carry, speed strips do not.

[Ingramite]

BK Grips | 2-Clip Grip Adapters for Revolvers
Get one of these in ivory for your K frame, round butt.

Then follow up on the one/two punch combination with a pair of these

Barami Hip-Grip .38 Smith & Wesson Round Butt Medium Or K Frame 85 D - White | eBay

These two style setting modifications teamed together will have you forgetting all you ever thought that you knew about using a holster to carry a revolver.

I just stuck the rod in the attachment here in a holster to show you how foolish owning a holster is.

Take a look see. I hope you are sitting down cause one peek will set you back on your heels.

[mikerjf]

If you love the gun, be very wary of changing it!

Definitely give the orange-over-white paint thing a try. Another option, there is a Big Dot meant to epoxy over a filed-down stock sight, but that is non-reversible.

Moonclips - I have not used these personally, but I recall reading that moon clips don't work as well with rimmed revolver cartridges as they do with 9/45. Something to do with the groove at the cartridge base being inconsistent from brand to brand, so they were "wobbly".

My vote: Paint the front sight and be happy with it that way.

[Walter Rego]

This is all I have done to my Model 65 3", following the procedure outlined by others above.

[Baxter6551]

10 plus years ago (?) I took mine to S&W for their “Combat Revolver Package” which at the time was $250. Perfect action job / chamfered cylinder mouths and bead blast finish. Asked them to replace screws but leave screw heads shiny. Hogue Bantam grips or stock magnas with polished Tyler T. Perfect carry gun. Highly recommend this package and they still offer it now at $275. I later had my gunsmith buddy polish the sides of the hammer and trigger and the face of the trigger.
Also applied same treatment to old 4” duty gun but my gunsmith did work vs. sending to Smith.
Like Pizza Bob above I am a big fan of Mike LaRocca. He has done a lot of work for me and installed red ramp sights on both my 65s. His action jobs are fantastic including on both Remington 870 and Mossberg 590.

[emptymag]

I made my own F-comp/K-comp out of a 65-5.
Ported it (comp style with expansion chamber and counter-boring forward of the port/chamber), then flat-faced the muzzle.
Front sight started as a Novak/1911 blank... shortened, contoured, serrated it, then just blackened... no paint.
Complete glass-bead, except for screws and ejector.
Trigger/action was already nice, so I let it be.
Ended up selling it, as I gravitated towards my 296 Airlite .44.

[Erich]

Partial hammer-bob (to match 547), action job, chamfered chambers, bread blast...and gave it to my brother.

[jdlii]

The work was done by the previous owner and I am now the beneficiary. The red ramp was also added at the time the stated work was done.

[Sistema1927]

Originally Posted by Erich

Partial hammer-bob (to match 547), action job, chamfered chambers, bread blast...and gave it to my brother.

Hey Erich,

Need a brother from a different mother? If so, I volunteer.