Help - Fix broken front sight - J frame model 651

[prabaharan]

Hi Experts,

I am a newbie to revolvers. My grandfather was a gun collector, he gave me a revolver from his collection. it is a "J frame - Model 651 - 2 inch 22 Magnum".

My grand father passed away recently. In remembrance of him,
I am trying to polish the revolver in 24k gold, and put in wall display.

The revolver has a broken integral front sight. Attached is the picture for reference. I don't want to replace the barrel, or mill of the sight. Can you kindly let me know of alternate options to fix the sight.

Truly appreciate your input !!!

Regards,
Prabaharan.

 

[Pine_Worker]

Have you tried talking to a gunsmith? The only viable option I see is replacing the barrel.

 

[wood714]

Looks like it's cracked and raised up.

Maybe clamp it down and silver solder it.

 

[steelslaver]

There are people who do micro welding on fire arms. I doubt it will stay down with just silver solder. Wicked Welding 5703 Webster St suite j, Dayton, OH 45414 Phone: (937) 454-9023 has been mentioned here.

If one of my grand kids put a gold finish on one of my guns after I died, I would come back and haunt him. Remember hi by displaying it as it was when he had it. Each to thier own, but thats my opinion

 

[markeb]

Nice gun that was gifted by Grandpa, great memories I'm sure. I can't recommend a repair for the front sight, but could it be your gun is a Nickel 51?

 

[noshow]

Nice gun that was gifted by Grandpa, great memories I'm sure. I can't recommend a repair for the front sight, but could it be your gun is a Nickel 51?

The thumb latch suggests it is not a 651

 

[jcelect]

A 2" 651 is a stainless steel gun, hard to find, and worth quite a bit! They didn't make a 51 2" and your gun appears to be nickeled. The 651 and the 51 were both 22MRF caliber, check the caliber stamp on your barrel The last thing that should be done to that gun is gold plating! A 651 should not have a flat latch!
jcelect

 

[Mister X]

If it was me, I’d probably leave it as is if just keeping it as a remembrance of grandad. At most I’d look into ways of just reattaching front sight and if it is just a display item/collectible, it doesn’t have to really be that secure.

How did the sight get broken? If there is a story involving grandad, I’d be very inclined to leave it.

 

[lunger]

Agree with others about the gold plating.Reminds me of the Clint Eastwood will quote from Grand Torino

...my friend... Thao Vang Lor. On the condition that you don't chop-top the roof like one of those beaners, don't paint any idiotic flames on it like some white trash hillbilly, and don't put a big, gay spoiler on the rear end like you see on all the other zipperheads' cars. It just looks like hell. If you can refrain from doing any of that... it's yours.

 

[Bastogne71]

The flat latch, pinned barrel, and small logo are all incompatible with a M651. It may be the quality of the photo, but to me the roll stamps do not look as sharp as they should be indicating a refinish.

What we need to see is a closer picture of the front sight, the roll mark of the caliber, and the model number inside of the yoke to be better able to advise Prabaharan.

 

[murphydog]

Welcome and sorry for your loss.

If you desire to make it a non-firing display gun (usually called a "wall hanger") filling the gap between the front sight blade and barrel with solder would be fine.

The rear sight blade ("slide") also seems to be missing, but again if it will just be displayed that doesn't need to be fixed either.

Your gun appears to be a .22/32 "Kit Gun" in .22 LR. If you can give the serial number from the bottom of the grip frame we can tell you old it is, even a partial one (like 1234xx if you don't want to give out the full number).

If you have .22 Magnum rimfire ammunition handy you can check if it fully chambers; the cylinder may have been modified to fire the longer round. It also has a matte chromed hammer and trigger that are later replacement parts.

 

[ImDrRich]

If you're going to frame it to look at, then why not leave it as it is?

 

[flagman1776]

I enlarged the picture for a better look. It appears to be refinished in nickle which is flaking near the grip. An original nickle finish gun would have color case hardening on the trigger and hammer.
It might be that the front sight is pinned on and the pin may be damaged because the gun was probably dropped. An attempt at a quick fix may damage the gun far worse than it is already. If you are just going to display it, wax it well with a good wax to prevent further deterioration. The repair requires a skilled gunsmith familiar with classic S&Ws.

 

[prabaharan]

Hi Sir,

Thanks much for the quick reply. I am currently travelling, I'll post more pictures within a day.

Right side of the barrel has writing "22 M.R.F. CTG". The numbers behind the yoke is "60514". Number "2" is present below 60514.

Thanks much for the input Sir ! Truly appreciate your help !

Regards,
Prabaharan.

 

[prabaharan]

Hi Richard Sir,

About seven years back, my Grandpa took me to the gun range. While trying to fire my very first round, I got scared and dropped the gun. At that time, I promised my Grandpa that I would fix the gun. That was the last time, I saw him in person. His vision got worse over the years, and he stopped going to the range. Whenever I call him to say hi, 90 % of the conversation would be about guns. Every time before hanging the phone, he used to jokingly ask me "Have you fixed that sight, does the gun still shoot".
To keep up the promise, I wanted to fix the sight, before putting it on display.
Regards,
Prabaharan.

 

[prabaharan]

Hi Alan Sir (Murphydog),

Thanks for the kind words. I am able to fire 22 Magnum. I could be wrong about the model #. I took to the gun to a local gunsmith, he was not sure, but thought it was a model 651 in 2 inch.

Right side of the barrel has writing "22 M.R.F. CTG". The numbers behind the yoke is "60514". Number "2" is present below 60514.

Regards,
Prabaharan.

 

[flagman1776]

If the sight is pinned, you likely won't be able to see the pins. There will be one or rarely two cross wise. There would be a half moon slot under the sight into the rib and a half moon bump on the sight bottom. The sight is held in place and the tenon drilled. The pins are designed to be sheared to change the front sight blade.
Use a bright light and magnification to see underneath.

 

[prabaharan]

A 2" 651 is a stainless steel gun, hard to find, and worth quite a bit! They didn't make a 51 2" and your gun appears to be nickeled. The 651 and the 51 were both 22MRF caliber, check the caliber stamp on your barrel The last thing that should be done to that gun is gold plating! A 651 should not have a flat latch!
jcelect

Hi Sir,

Not sure about the model #. Local gun smith was not sure either, he told it had a close resemblence with 651 2 inch.

Right side of the barrel has writing "22 M.R.F. CTG". The numbers behind the yoke is "60514". Number "2" is present below 60514.

Regards,
Prabaharan.

 

[prabaharan]

Hi Experts,

Thanks much for the input and feedback about gold plating. I wanted to make the gun special by gold plating. My father also told the same thing, he said Grandpa always liked the authentic look. He spent several hours on cleaning the gun, but never invested any time on polishing/re-finishing any of his guns.

Lucky I decided to post the message on this forum. Thanks for guiding me in the right direction. I'll 100 % go by the experts advice, and will not proceed with gold plating.

Truly appreciate all of yours input !!!

Regards,
Prabaharan.

 

[ken158]

Provide the serial number on the butt of the gun and you will likely get some more information here. The number you provided is an assembly number that means nothing.