Model 63 22LR values

[PeteC]

Is there something about the early Model 63's that makes some more valuable or collectible, than others? (aside from condition, box, etc.)

I ask because there are currently two for sale in my area, with wildly different asking prices, both from the same small seller, both in VG~EXC condition.

If this has been asked before, please post a link, thanks!

 

[Camster]

I think any 63 is desirable.
Prices are all over the map, if you look at GB.
If they find a sucker at the big numbers, I don't know, but there always seems to be plenty available.(except at any of my local gun shops.)
Of course, every seller everywhere then thinks he deserves the top GB "offering price", and the insanity goes on.
Some may get worked up about a no dash, but look at the price of a 63-3 two incher. Those are priced above any old four incher.
I recently made a deal to sell my 63-3 four incher. Most likely too cheap, though the scenario appears to be that in order to get another fifty or whatever, I would need GB and their $50 of fees, so....
I'm not trying to be a dealer-I just want quick, simple deals.

 

[PeteC]

I've looked at GB too, but most of the high priced ones do not seem to find buyers. These are both 4" barrels, no-dash M prefix btw. Not rare AFAIK...

 

[Camster]

Pete,
Check out the 63-5 just listed by VictorLouis.

 

[chief38]

To me personally the older ones are more valuable only because they are usually made to a higher standard - but that's just my opinion. You also might want to check out the M43 which is the same gun but in carbon steel and blue finish.

 

[VaTom]

As with other S&W revolvers (all other things being equal) the pinned barreled models seem to bring a premium to many folks. S&W stopped pinning barrels in M63 in 1982 with the introduction of the 63-1. The Model 63 was introduced in 1977. I have a 1980 Model 63 (no dash) with pinned barrel and original numbered grips in excellent condition that I bought on GB in 2014. Paid around $600. You don't see the early ones in shops or at shows very often. Folks seem to hang on to them once they get one. It would be one of the last revolvers I would consider selling. If they have S&W J Frame, square butt target grips that would add value. I was fortunate to find a set on Ebay at a reasonable orice shorty after I acquired my 63. They seem hard to find also.

 

[Walter Rego]

The Model 63 was one S&W that I just didn't "get" for a long time. I had a Model 18-3 and an early K-22 Masterpiece for when I wanted to shoot a Smith & Wesson .22. But several years ago I noticed prices were getting outrageous on Model 63's and wondered what I was missing ?

Then I found one at a gun show in excellent condition at well below market value and judging by the other attendees that were breathing beef jerky breath down the back of my neck waiting for me to put it back on the table, I figured that I had better buy it.

What I discovered was a gun that didn't have as nice of a D.A. pull as my K frames and wasn't quite as easy to hold steady due to the smaller grip and lighter weight, but had an excellent single action pull and was quite accurate when I did my part. And the stainless finish, compact size and weight taught me what a "Kit Gun" was all about.

They have great "utility value". That's why they are expensive. The snubbies really get expensive but I have no use for one of those. The 4" model seems perfect. And as others have pointed out, they aren't easy to find for sale. That's because enough people "get them".

 

[raljr1]

It was the secong handgun I purchased. I love it..

Robert

 

[diyj98]

I recently picked up a 64 no dash and paid top value plus for. At the time I felt a little silly for paying that much, but after shooting it, I don't feel so bad. It's not bullseye gun, but it makes a dandy little gun for packing around in the woods or running a trap line.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

I have 6 J frame .22's in 4 in and 2 in barrels. The one that cost the most was the 2 in 63. The second highest was the 4 in 63. I have shown these before and probably told this story. They all get shot occasionally. Best shot was with the 2 in 63. A crow lit in the field where I was plowing. He was a good 70 or so yards away. I stopped and propped this short 63 over the steering wheel. At the shot the crow fell over......Sadly no one but me and the crow witnessed this event.
......IF you can get into a 63 for around $700- $800 today you are doing good.

 

[larryofcc]

I have 6 J frame .22's in 4 in and 2 in barrels. The one that cost the most was the 2 in 63. The second highest was the 4 in 63. I have shown these before and probably told this story. They all get shot occasionally. Best shot was with the 2 in 63. A crow lit in the field where I was plowing. He was a good 70 or so yards away. I stopped and propped this short 63 over the steering wheel. At the shot the crow fell over......Sadly no one but me and the crow witnessed this event.
......IF you can get into a 63 for around $700- $800 today you are doing good.

Reminds me of a day when I took to the field carrying my new to me M63 Winchester 22. I saw a crow land in a tree several hundreds of yards away. Just for the heck of it, I sighted that M63 right where I thought he landed, gave the rifle a little elevation, fired, and watched that Crow tumble to the ground. The shot was well over 200+ yards. True story. Big Larry

 

[Cotis]

As a teenager in the 80’s I always had a fascination with owning a model 63. Alas my first pistol was a Ruger MkII which I shot profusely and had modified to the point of destroying any original value. I walked into my LGS last year and saw a nice 63 in the used display for 600. SN # M14106x. Couldn’t get my wallet out quick enough. I had to replace the rubber grips with S&W J Frame, square butt wood target grips for another 100, and a nice member here loaned me his chamber finish reamer last month. I now have my perfect .22 revolver, and proceeded to sell two other .22 pistols I had as I knew I would never use them again. So for me a nice ‘81 or earlier model 63 is worth 600-800 all day.

 

[bdGreen]

Bought this one here on this Forum for less than half of it's current value.

I was happy to have been the first say, "I'll take it".

Still am.

enjoy,
bdGreen

Tap on image to enlarge.

 

[The Gila Bender]

I like the Model 63 because it's fun to shoot and inexpensive to operate. I have two 4" no dash on one 2" dash 3. If you are buying to collect then condition, box, docs are necessary and the price will reflect that. If you are buying to shoot and enjoy, like me, then no box a few scuffs and normal wear won't matter. You'll get a nice shooter that doesn't cost much to operate and it will cost less by a few hundred dollars. I don't see them locally very often, the last one I bought is a 4" 63 with nice holster and 3 boxes of CCI Stinger in Feb 2021 for $800, no box or docs. It was owned by a female parole officer who bought it new in 1980-81, carried it in a briefcase or bag for work, but never shot it. NOTE: When looking at a used .22 revolver, in addition to normal inspection, check the cylinder face for dents or "peening" which can indicate dry-firing or a timing issue.

 

[sigp220.45]

It seems like Model 63s have always brought decent money.

I had one in the 90s that was an absolute jewel. It didn't have any of the difficult extraction issues that have plagued almost every other Smith .22 (admittedly all K frames) I have owned. Of course I traded it off for something stupid like a beaver skin tophat or a McRib meal.

After that, no Model 63s came near me at a decent price until about five years ago and a buddy said he knew a guy with a problematic Model 63 that he would sell with full disclosure for 400 bones. Deal.

This poor thing must have had sticky extraction issues, which someone tried to fix with a power drill and sheer determination. The guy I got it from sent it back to the Mothership, who promptly returned it with a note that said - chambers out of round, no parts available for this Model.

They weren't kidding. I tried it with .22 LRs, and had to hit the ejector rod with a big rubber mallet.

There is a happy ending, of sorts. I rented a reamer, poured some wine, put War Horse on the TV, and by the time boy and horse were reunited I had a .22 Magnum Model 63, which works great.

 

[Oscar Zulu]

A .22 mag Model 63 was a dream gun of mine when I fly fished in snake country, the .22 mag snake shot being a magnitude better than the same in .22lr, and in stainless in case of a dunking. But S&W didn’t make one….
I bought a very nice 63 last year (no box, rubber grips) for 600 last year at a show. Wasn’t in the market for one, just thought it was too good a deal to pass up.

OZ

 

[PeteC]

What I discovered was a gun that didn't have as nice of a D.A. pull as my K frames...

Could you possibly expand on this a little? Or anyone else, TIA!

here is why I ask:

Since my first post, I had an opportunity to handle and shoot one of the two I mentioned above. The finish and grips looked pristine, no marks on the screws, or the sideplate, grips, but... EVERYTHING on this gun seemed stiff (?) Cocking the hammer required extra effort at the end of the travel, single action required extra effort, never mind DA. Mini Mags and Aquila Subsonic extracted well compared to my 18-4. 3 guys fired a total of ~30 rounds, same thing. When I asked the owner about it, he replied "It has always been like this" (I think this is my only post ever complaining about the action on a S&W).

 

[Old Corp]

About 10 years back I was working on one of my first 'retirement jobs' - p/t at a large, busy LGS that handled a lot of estate sales.
From one of the estate sales I picked up a pristine M63 4". Put a set of J frame Combat finger-groove grips on it. Think I paid $300-ish IIRC....

It shot great - BUT had the well-known sticky extraction issues many of these are known for.....
I cleaned and polished chambers to no avail. after shooting 3-4 cylinders-full of any .22 ammo, you'd be using considerable effort to eject or even chamber fresh rounds.
- I began to refer to it as my '.21 caliber M63'.

A friend allowed me use of his Brownell's .22 finish reamer. What a great difference THAT made! Easy extraction, easy round insertion - like a different gun. Same accuracy as before, but became enjoyable to use instead of a PITA like it was before.

Had the original owner/operator of Lobo Gunleather make me a great little thumb-break high-ride holster for it. (J frame 4" holsters are not on every corner...)
Great woods walking outfit and often will bring it when working on my hunt lease.

 

[PALADIN85020]

Here's my "little" S&W .22, a Model 34-1, shipped in 1981. It has all the bells and whistles; red ramp, white outline rear, smooth rosewood stocks, and nickeled. I have the original box and papers.

John


(Click for larger image)

 

[S&WIowegan]

Model 63

I have a nice 4" Model 63 I keep handy for "removing" varmints from my bird feeders. Works very well in the winter when my neighbors go to Florida.

 

[clang444]

A .22 mag Model 63 was a dream gun of mine when I fly fished in snake country, the .22 mag snake shot being a magnitude better than the same in .22lr, and in stainless in case of a dunking. But S&W didn’t make one….
OZ

Sure they did, only is was called the 651:

 

[clang444]

To me personally the older ones are more valuable only because they are usually made to a higher standard - but that's just my opinion. You also might want to check out the M43 which is the same gun but in carbon steel and blue finish.

The M43 has an alloy frame. The M34 has a carbon steel frame.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Also love my 63s. Have a 2 and a 4, plus a 4 inch 651.
When I need to ease that Rimfire Magnum urge.

 

[VaTom]

Could you possibly expand on this a little? Or anyone else, TIA!

here is why I ask:

Since my first post, I had an opportunity to handle and shoot one of the two I mentioned above. The finish and grips looked pristine, no marks on the screws, or the sideplate, grips, but... EVERYTHING on this gun seemed stiff (?) Cocking the hammer required extra effort at the end of the travel, single action required extra effort, never mind DA. Mini Mags and Aquila Subsonic extracted well compared to my 18-4. 3 guys fired a total of ~30 rounds, same thing. When I asked the owner about it, he replied "It has always been like this" (I think this is my only post ever complaining about the action on a S&W).

If you are used to a S&W center fire revolver, the trigger pull on the Model 63 may feel different. The mainspring is a different design than that of say a Model 10. If I recall correctly it is a coil type spring instead of a leaf (flat) type spring. Pull the grips to compare it. Correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Walter Rego]

VaTom is of course correct, the J frame Model 63 uses a coil spring for the main spring. My theory is that the geometry of the hammer fall or arc is different on the J frames than the K frames or maybe it's due to the shorter grip frame not being able to use a longer leaf spring so a heavier weight mainspring is needed to ensure reliable ignition.

My explanation may not be 100% technically accurate but I think I'm on the right track.

There are reduced power spring kits available but given the wide variety of .22 LR ammo out there reducing the mainspring weight may compromise reliability with some brands and not others. Using a reduced power rebound spring is especially tricky. You may need to experiment. Here's a pic of my 1980 Model 63 with a set of Goncalo Alves Smooth Target Stocks.

 

[ralph7]

Could you possibly expand on this a little? Or anyone else, TIA!

here is why I ask:

Since my first post, I had an opportunity to handle and shoot one of the two I mentioned above. The finish and grips looked pristine, no marks on the screws, or the sideplate, grips, but... EVERYTHING on this gun seemed stiff (?) Cocking the hammer required extra effort at the end of the travel, single action required extra effort, never mind DA. Mini Mags and Aquila Subsonic extracted well compared to my 18-4. 3 guys fired a total of ~30 rounds, same thing. When I asked the owner about it, he replied "It has always been like this" (I think this is my only post ever complaining about the action on a S&W).

You ain't felt stiff until you tried a 317.
My trigger pull is horrendous, yet I read where it is necessary in such a lightweight rimfire.

 

[ajgunner]

This is one that I bought the holster for years before finding the revolver. Not the first time this has happened, and judging by all the classic leather that lives here, probably not the last time the holster is bought first. Some of us just have a soft spot for well broken in quality leather.

 

[PeteC]

If you are used to a S&W center fire revolver, the trigger pull on the Model 63 may feel different. The mainspring is a different design than that of say a Model 10. If I recall correctly it is a coil type spring instead of a leaf (flat) type spring. Pull the grips to compare it. Correct me if I am wrong.

VaTom is of course correct, the J frame Model 63 uses a coil spring for the main spring. My theory is that the geometry of the hammer fall or arc is different on the J frames than the K frames or maybe it's due to the shorter grip frame not being able to use a longer leaf spring so a heavier weight mainspring is needed to ensure reliable ignition...

@VaTom, you are not wrong, but with respect, I am used to the coiled springs on the Model 36 and 60, and also to the trigger pull on my model 18-4, ~~1977 vintage.

@Walter Rego, Awesome stocks on your M-63!... I agree, and I do have .38/.357 K frames to compare to my Model 18. But - I only have Model 36/60 J-Frames, and wanted this to be the .22 companion piece with similar trigger/action. Oh well, live and learn,

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[VaTom]

@VaTom, you are not wrong, but with respect, I am used to the coiled springs on the Model 36 and 60, and also to the trigger pull on my model 18-4, ~~1977 vintage.

Thanks for the feedback.

I don't have a stiffness problem with my M63. Back in 1983 when I first took the job of chief at a small campus department the Chiefs issued revolver was a Model 60. The action was too stiff for my liking as I was used to K frames at my previous position so I carried my 2" Model 64 until we transitioned to Glocks in the Mid 1990s.

Thanks!

 

[rockquarry]

If you shoot these guns regularly you'll likely become accustomed to any extra stiffness and probably won't notice it, but I don't know about double-action. I've had a late '70s Model 63 for years and can't recall ever firing it double-action.