I got one of the revolvers I never wanted to receive. (Pic added)

[71vette]

December 12th of 1992 my father bought a new Smith 686-3 6 inch. The revolver was on dad's hip quite a bit around the property.

Unfortunately my father passed on Tuesday evening. Cancer is an insidious disease. Watching someone I care about slowly die is one of the most difficult things I've ever had to deal with.

My mother gave me dad's revolver last evening. Still had the box, paperwork, and the receipt. Dad had kept it pretty clean but I don't think he'd done anything to it since the last time he'd fired it. I gave it a good once over last evening with a cloth and bore snake. I noticed the cylinder was dragging when I had it open. Honestly with all the lead rounds we ran through it in my "punk teenager" days, I'm not surprised.

Being that I couldn't sleep well this morning, I decided to brake it down and give it a proper cleaning. I'm pretty sure the side plate hadn't been off since the factory. I removed the crane and cylinder. I removed a decent amount of grime and oiled everything up nicely. The cylinder spins smoothly now, like it should. I remembered that I had a Wolff spring kit in the parts stash. It's now equipped with a "Power Rib" reduced power mainspring and a 14lb rebound. Everything looked really good on the inside. Surprisingly lacking in grime, and the side plate was very tight. All back together now. I'll probably Murphys and lemon oil the factory Targets this weekend. I've got to go to the funeral home later this morning.

I'll take and add some pictures this evening when there's better light and I've got more time.

ETA - quick pic added.

 

[71vette]

Dad was regular Army and Air National Guard. Worked for Magnavox on some "interesting" things during Vietnam and shortly after. Dad was part of the "Igloo White" team. He designed some of the sensors for the Ho Chi Minh trail monitoring. He also worked on sonobuoy signal processing for the Navy. Same basic gear. Spent a decent amount of time at Elgin working on the radar and gun integration for the F-4E.

After that he continued with electronics engineering and repair. Was an entrepreneur for most of his career. Mostly thought, he's been a good dad and has taught me a lot. Still is, even at this point. He's teaching me to stop trying to control things I cannot.

He and mom were married for 59 years. Didn't quite make it to 60.

I'm going to miss him a lot.

 

[moosedog]

I am very sorry for your loss. Sounds like you had a great relationship with your father.

 

[JohnRippert]

I remember 12 years ago getting back the M65 that I gave Dad in the '90s. Not what I wanted for sure. Aug 28th was Mom's B-day and the first anniversary of her passing. It was a rough day. Very sorry for your loss.

 

[stansdds]

Very sorry to hear that your father has passed away, I know how difficult that is.

 

[M29since14]

Always hard to lose your father, unless you are one of the unfortunates who did not have a good relationship with him. It's only human to be depressed about the loss and you have my total sympathy. Been there and done that. I hope you get to the rejoicing stage as soon as possible. (Rejoicing that you had your father for many good years, many good times, and many good memories.)

 

[lunger]

Deepest condolences. Sounds like an amazing man

 

[Norton 750]

My condolences. This is a rough time that many of us are about to face on this Forum. The heirloom guns are a tangible link/reminder to our passed relatives.

 

[walkin' trails]

My condolences to you and your family. Like many of us, my dad is the most influential mortal man in my life and he's dealing with similar late in life health issues. Any firearms inherited will be bitter sweet. I sincerely hope that you enjoy the memories of your dad every time you handle that great revolver.

 

[mckenney99]

My condolences on your loss. I wasn't real close with my father but everyday I see, say or do something that reminds me of him. You also will carry your father with you everyday.

 

[Yendor357]

I really envy guys who had that kind of relationship with their Dad.

Sorry he's gone. But think how fortunate you were to have him as long as you did.

Those old 686s are fabulous guns. And if you get a good one (spotty QC) the new ones can be just as good.

 

[hkcavalier]

Very sorry to hear! My father passed in 2008 and I know what you're dealing with. He too was an engineer, though for Boeing, and mostly worked on composite materials and adhesives. Nothing quite as interesting as Cold War military sensors.

Glad you're keeping that 686 in the family and in tip top shape.

 

[shell627]

I am sorry for your loss

 

[Enzo Rules]

Condolences for the loss of your father.

 

[AveragEd]

I join those who have already expressed sympathies to you. I went through the same thing about 30 years ago when my father-in-law died in his farmhouse living room from colon cancer. Additionally, on June 16th, we had to put our 17-year-old dog to sleep due to cancer. It makes you wonder how such a disease can go unchecked given the advancements the world has made in medicine. My parents passed away in 1990 and 1995 so I've been there too.

But on to happier things, your new-to-you Model 686-3. I think that is the best generation of that model because it has a square butt and was the last generation to use them. I once traded a like-new 686-4 for a 686-3 just to get a square butt. I'm a sucker for nice wood and while laminated stocks can look nice, there's nothing like the wood on your gun. I have a collection of highly-figured checkered target stocks and rotate them around on my S&W revolvers like the one in my avatar photo.

Ed

 

[Retired W4]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Some Vietnam era sensors.

 

[71vette]

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Some Vietnam era sensors.
View attachment 792442View attachment 792443

So, that's pretty much exactly what dad worked on. Audible sensors tuned to truck noise as well as ignition system detectors. He spent a considerable amount of time at Eglin on the test range. He didn't start talking about most of this until about 10 years ago.

Funny story: Magnavox had to get some new test samples down to Florida and they sent dad down. They told him to take mom and put the equipment in the trunk of his '65 Dodge Polara convertible. Dad was concerned that it would be a security issue. The response was, why would the Soviets think that "secret squirrel" stuff would be in a car driven by a man going on vacation with his wife? They did hand him a 1911 though....

 

[chief38]

My sincere condolences on the passing of your Dad. The revolver will always bring good memories when you shoot it.