Lets Not Forget Those High Functioning Ugly Ducklings

How 'Bout this K-22 and Its Well-Used Holster

K-22 Outdoorsman Shipped from the Factory in July 1937 and shipped to me almost 75 years later:):



I love the character on these well-used beauties. Even though a bit neglected, the beauty of the pure-bred S&W lines cannot be hidden.
 
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I have too many ugly ducklings. Here's a pic of my Mod 10 4 screw I acquired last week after leaving the hospital where I had a double bypass

Now we're talkin about borderline obsessive maybe.... No, you were just being practical....after all, it was probably on the way home from the hospital and the ambulance wouldn't stop on the way there, right?

Speedy recovery, my friend!:D
 
Now we're talkin about borderline obsessive maybe.... No, you were just being practical....after all, it was probably on the way home from the hospital and the ambulance wouldn't stop on the way there, right?

Speedy recovery, my friend!:D

You know you got it bad when you can't even start your recuperation without stopping to buy an old S&W. Therapy? Yea, it's therapy! Works for me.
 
Thanks, guys. Actually, it was the day after I got home. The young gent who was selling the gun was kind enough to bring it by my home for inspection. The action was sweet, so who cares what it looks like? It's a Mod 10, so I know it'll shoot right.
 


I have this one on it's "good side" as the bumper chrome quality nickel refinish is peeling off the other side in patches and there are two spots on the cylinder that look like it fell out of a biker's boot and got some road rash.

I wish it still looked as good in person as it does in the pic!!! :eek:
 
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Someone got their money’s worth out of this 1938 vintage 38/44 HD.


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I actually still carry this old .357. I got it cheap a few years ago since the collector value was gone, hard to tell in the photo but the sideplate has been re-blued. It's a great old gun that still works for a living.
 
Ugly is in the eye of the beholder... how about an ugly Triple Lock. It's so old its got liver spots.



And a 5" 32-20 with whats left of a painted on finish.



Another with no original finish other than what the passing of time has bestowed upon it.



And here's a pair of 32s. Just to prove that a Colt can look as bad as a Smith.



And last but not least is an old 38 SA that is allowed to show the effect its 137 years with grace.



I'll probably be looking something like this IF I ever get that old!



John
 
1951 Pre-10 M&P

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M&P 4th Change 1904

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38/44 HD that belonged to Dura F Hopkins of the Caldwell, ID PD

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38/44 HD Arkansas State Police

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Pre-28 Highway Patrolman 1954

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Pre-36

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Pre-Victory model

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model 49, no dash

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Boys, this may be the "ugliest of ducklings". Its a 1905 2nd that I found in a pawn shop years ago for $25.00. Rumor has it that it belonged to a deckhand on one of TexMexs' vessels coming around the horn (Florida). It is futher rumored that said deckhand was "given to the grape" and did, in fact bury it on either Rockport, Fulton, or Apass beach.

Notice the stocks! I do shoot this gun. It functions flawlessly and currently holds the esteemed position of "Truck Gun."

It really does shoot wonderfully. I tell folks it was "engraved by Mother Nature."
 

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Oh....I am not sure where to start! ;)

Here's an Model of 1899 that was shipped to a New Orleans dealer in 1901. It came to me w/ handmade mismatched wooden stocks. So,I decided to dress it up a little & put it back to work.



A pawn shop "find":



A Model 19 that worked in Tel Aviv, Israel:



A Colt New Service in .357 from the Androscoggin County Maine Sheriff's Dept. in 1941:



It letters as a true .357 not a conversion.

Best,
Charles
 
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She started out as my Fathers EDC in 1955 came to me in the 70s as my EDC and now rides in my 40 year old Daughters purse as her EDC. a lot of miles.....



I know you didn't mention it in your post, but don't ever even think of having that gun refinished. All that family history makes it so beautiful as is!
 
One of my favorite revolvers is this prewar .22/32 Kit Gun with major complexion problems on one side. The action is fine and the bore is smooth, but clearly the gun had a protracted and unhappy moisture experience at some point in its life. When I got it, I couldn't even get the sideplate off because a couple the screws were rusted in. After a month of soaking in Kroil the last screw finally gave way and I opened it up. There was a little discoloration inside, and a lot of grime, but I found no corrosive damage. After a complete cleaning, it works just fine. But it is sure a long way from pretty.

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The gun has a trackable history. It was sold in Seattle in the late '30s, traveled first to New York, and then came south to North Carolina. It appears to have been owned first by a grocer who brought the gun with him when he relocated. Not long after, he sold his small business -- probably not much more than a locking sidewalk stand --to a local couple and threw the gun in as part of the deal. The gun was protection for the couple at work, and later afforded personal protection for the wife after her husband died. The gun was accompanied by an "affidavit" hand-written by the widow telling how she discussed with the police a sense of danger as she went about her days outside the house. The police suggested she write a description of her concerns in case it ever became necessary to produce evidence of longstanding worries.

I love this gun for a variety of reasons. First, it is a prewar Kit Gun, one of my favorite S&W models. Second, even though it looks pretty rough on the outside, you could shoot this one with complete faith in its action and accuracy. Third, I love the story. This gun played exactly the role that so many guns in earlier decades were intended to play in the uncertain society of their times and locales. It gave a couple with a fairly simple life and limited circumstances the comfort they needed to run a small and probably vulnerable business. I like and respect people like that. Good for them. I feel that keeping this gun maintained, as well as shooting it now and then, is a gesture of appreciation and respect for lives that, save for any family they may have had, probably passed almost unnoticed at the time.
 
Not even close to as cool as some of the old hardware ya'll have put here.
This is just an old 1937 Brazilian .45 that someone parkerized at some point.
Had a local saddlemaker cobble up a woods-carry holster for it. She sure shoots good!
 

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Very little blue left and the entire roll mark on the right side of the barrel is about nothing save a memory. Yet, in the day it was one fine pimpin' pocket pistola I'm sure.

ETA: I'm going to draw a line in the sand at the bird feeder and dare the tree rats to test my prowess.

I just ordered 6 boxes of Fiocchi 32L wad cutters from MW w/coupon. 20 off a C-note OFF20WEL14 which amounts to free shipping & a buck a box discount shipped to my neck of the woods. I'll pull this when no longer available.
 

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