New to me S&W 547 in 9mm made in 1982

Rockrivr1

Rockrivr1

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Just took possession today of a semi rare S&W 547 in 9mm. The gun came from overseas where it seen use by a foreign military. It's made it's way back to the US and luckily into my hands. The gun looks like **** from all the holster use it's seen, but overall functionality is excellent. Very solid lock up and the rifling looks great.

The real question is whether to leave her looking like a well used handgun or get it reblued. I'm on the fence with this one.

lo0mIRx.jpg

bpknu8N.jpg
 
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I'd probably reblue (or hard chrome it if the pitting/corrosion is bad) personally. It'd look a lot nicer in my safe that way.
 
They are not all that rare, if that helps in your decision making. About 10K were made, with fewer 4" than 3". Keep in mind that those beryllium copper clips on the extractor are nearly unobtainable if they break. Never really understood the need for the overly complex design when headspacing and moonclips were such a simple solution for using rimless cartridges in revolvers. Pretty cool revolver for the engineering and design that went into it, but it comes down to just being a Model 10 in 9mm.
 
sodacan said:
They are not all that rare, if that helps in your decision making. About 10K were made, with fewer 4" than 3". Keep in mind that those beryllium copper clips on the extractor are nearly unobtainable if they break. Never really understood the need for the overly complex design when headspacing and moonclips were such a simple solution for using rimless cartridges in revolvers. Pretty cool revolver for the engineering and design that went into it, but it comes down to just being a Model 10 in 9mm.
Click to expand...

You have a good point but in 1981 some old cops like me were still reloading by hand. Plus a lot of Departments were not using speedloaders due to the Uniformity.

Moonclips really were not popular with LEOs and got popular with Revolver Action Shooting Games.
 
SGT ROCK 11B said:
You have a good point but in 1981 some old cops like me were still reloading by hand. Plus a lot of Departments were not using speedloaders due to the Uniformity.

Moonclips really were not popular with LEOs and got popular with Revolver Action Shooting Games.
Click to expand...

I know moonclips weren't popular, but they should have been. They are much faster than speedloaders, certainly faster than a dump pouch, and they won't dump ammo accidently. Admittedly, they work much better with shorter cartridges like 45acp.
 
A decent reblue will run at least $250, if you can find someone to actually do it. That one is going to require a fair amount of prep work. I think there's one outfit in my state that still does it.
 
Get back over to NES, you! :D

Seriously, that's a nice pick up. I think it depends on what you plan to do with it. If it's just going to sit in a safe except for occasional range trips, it would make sense to have it reblued. Otherwise, let it live as is.



Rockrivr1 said:
Just took possession today of a semi rare S&W 547 in 9mm. The gun came from overseas where it seen use by a foreign military. It's made it's way back to the US and luckily into my hands. The gun looks like **** from all the holster use it's seen, but overall functionality is excellent. Very solid lock up and the rifling looks great.

The real question is whether to leave her looking like a well used handgun or get it reblued. I'm on the fence with this one.

lo0mIRx.jpg

bpknu8N.jpg
Click to expand...
 
FWIW, in case anyone considers doing some home-gunsmithing on the beryllium copper clips on the extractor, berylium is a very toxic element and a carcinogen. So, I don't recommend doing any filing or creating dust of any kind if you decide to work on a broken one. You do not want to breath those particles.
 
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sodacan said:
They are not all that rare, if that helps in your decision making. About 10K were made, with fewer 4" than 3". Keep in mind that those beryllium copper clips on the extractor are nearly unobtainable if they break. Never really understood the need for the overly complex design when headspacing and moonclips were such a simple solution for using rimless cartridges in revolvers. Pretty cool revolver for the engineering and design that went into it, but it comes down to just being a Model 10 in 9mm.
Click to expand...

The 547 was designed to meet a French specification of a 9mm revolver w/o the need for moon clips. After S&W spent the time & money on meeting the spec, the Frenchies changed their mind. Here's a great article on the 547:
The Smith & Wesson 547: Ahead of its Time? – RevolverGuy.Com
 
Casual Smith Nut said:
Leave’em as-is and choot’em. The wear is a badge of honor for past service use.
Click to expand...

Refinishing is almost never worth it. It will devalue collector guns, and not increase value of shooters.
And if you carry and use it, it will start wearing again anyway.

The 547 was designed specifically for a foreign government ( France if I recall correctly) with the specific requirement it NOT need moon clips. 9mm moon clips were already in existence at the time with if memory serves a 9mm version of the ruger speed six.
 
gunbarrel said:
FWIW, in case anyone considers doing some home-gunsmithing on the beryllium copper clips on the extractor, berylium is a very toxic element and a carcinogen. So, I don't recommend doing any filing or creating dust of any kind if you decide to work on a broken one. You do not want to breath those particles.
Click to expand...

Only to some folk. Our shop has been working with beryllium copper for way longer than the 35 years I've been here and no one has suffered berylliosis to date. Including those knot heads who insist on sanding the freshly machined edges without PPE. (Dust is the most common source of exposure.) Great material for firing pins, BTW, just expensive. (One of the most sensible features about the old Charter Arms revolvers!)

BTW, years ago, I added a glue-on silicone rubber trigger stop to a 547 and discovered that the spare "firing pin" is a fired case reseater that keeps that cylinder from binding when the tapered case seats hard against the recoil shield. The trigger stop would sometimes allow the trigger to catch the rebounding hammer at full cock. Very weird experience! Trimming it back a little kept things running smoothly.
 
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