august1410
Member
In 1982, I was twelve, had a few dollars and was in the drugstore. I was looking at magazines when I spied a Guns and Ammo Buyer's Guide. I can't remember the exact price, but I had enough.
I took it home and sat in my room and read every page. Memorized the manufacturers and their models....absorbed the pictures and remembered the prices. I looked at Colts and Charters, Dan Wessons and Rugers. Somewhere deep inside the magazine was the Smith and Wesson .357 Magnums.
For a twelve year old boy, there is something magical about the word Magnum. I knew someday I would have a revolver. That revolver would be a Magnum.
I had seen a revolver in a few movies that really stood out. It was big and heavy, with a short barrel that really made it's point when it was pointed at a bad guy. I searched the buyer's guide for that very gun. It was the Smith and Wesson Model 27 with the 3.5 inch barrel.
Years passed, and I never bought any guns. They were either too expensive or I was young and stupid and blew my money on everything else.
Always, that big Smith and Wesson was in the back of my mind.
More years passed, and I grew older and found myself buying inexpensive guns and trading up to get what I wanted. One led to another and I found myself in possession of a 1967 Model 10-6. It wasn't a Model 27, but it was my first Smith and Wesson. The only thing I would ever trade it for, I told my wife, was the Model 27.
About a month ago, I was helping a friend work a table at a local gun show, and I was walking past another table and saw a Model 27. It had the 5 inch barrel, not the 3.5, but I picked it up anyway. I had a little cash in my pocket, but not enough to buy it outright.
"The only thing I would trade for is a Model 27."
I asked the guy if he'd take my Model 10 and my cash in trade. He said it was his son's gun and he'd be in the next day. I asked him to call his son, because I was ready to make it happen.
I got on the phone with the son and explained what I had and what I wanted.
"Yeah, we can do that. Tell my father to go ahead."
I stood there with my very own Model 27. For some, it might not seem like much, but to me it was the world. Thirty years of waiting paid off in what seemed like mere seconds.
It's not just a gun. It's not just a tool. It is my 1957 Corvette. It's my Gibson Les Paul. It's my Steinway piano.
I took it home and sat in my room and read every page. Memorized the manufacturers and their models....absorbed the pictures and remembered the prices. I looked at Colts and Charters, Dan Wessons and Rugers. Somewhere deep inside the magazine was the Smith and Wesson .357 Magnums.
For a twelve year old boy, there is something magical about the word Magnum. I knew someday I would have a revolver. That revolver would be a Magnum.
I had seen a revolver in a few movies that really stood out. It was big and heavy, with a short barrel that really made it's point when it was pointed at a bad guy. I searched the buyer's guide for that very gun. It was the Smith and Wesson Model 27 with the 3.5 inch barrel.
Years passed, and I never bought any guns. They were either too expensive or I was young and stupid and blew my money on everything else.
Always, that big Smith and Wesson was in the back of my mind.
More years passed, and I grew older and found myself buying inexpensive guns and trading up to get what I wanted. One led to another and I found myself in possession of a 1967 Model 10-6. It wasn't a Model 27, but it was my first Smith and Wesson. The only thing I would ever trade it for, I told my wife, was the Model 27.
About a month ago, I was helping a friend work a table at a local gun show, and I was walking past another table and saw a Model 27. It had the 5 inch barrel, not the 3.5, but I picked it up anyway. I had a little cash in my pocket, but not enough to buy it outright.
"The only thing I would trade for is a Model 27."
I asked the guy if he'd take my Model 10 and my cash in trade. He said it was his son's gun and he'd be in the next day. I asked him to call his son, because I was ready to make it happen.
I got on the phone with the son and explained what I had and what I wanted.
"Yeah, we can do that. Tell my father to go ahead."
I stood there with my very own Model 27. For some, it might not seem like much, but to me it was the world. Thirty years of waiting paid off in what seemed like mere seconds.
It's not just a gun. It's not just a tool. It is my 1957 Corvette. It's my Gibson Les Paul. It's my Steinway piano.
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