model 65

[S&W SS Revolvers]

I didn't want to hijack the perfect revolver thread but it got me thinking, I think the best looking revolver is a model 65 3in. I love the fixed sights look on my model 60, the 65 looks even better. but I have a question, I noticed some 65's are lady smiths and some are not. whats the deal with that? same model number just different variations? this one is on gunbroker right now, if I had the money I would buy it. nice looking!!

I bought one for my Sharon in 1994...it is to say the very least INCREDIBLE! It's locked up in the safe now; with that said I REALLY wish S&W would build them again. IL or not preferaably not! Hers is sooooooooo sweet. It may have 300 rds. through it and the 1st shot I made in it (one of the only) was dead in the bullseye (luck ?) with a .357 . Size is el perfecto IMO. When they come after em' it is second to last compared to our 686-3 6"...

 

[BC38]

I have the exact same revolver, right down to grips.

Only S&W I have with frame mounted firing pin - the trigger is amongst the smoothest of my entire collection.

Me too - or at least I will by this time tomorrow.
It's in layaway at the LGS and I hope to find the time to go liberate it sometime tomorrow!
Mine is a 65-5 but otherwise exactly the same - including the factory rubber.

 

[sawlog]

glad to see im not the only one that likes them

 

[jrandyh]

Love the 65 3 inch too.
JR

 

[BC38]

Well, I ran out of time and didn't get a chance to "liberate" my new-to-me 65-5 from layaway yesterday - but I did today!

So here it is, just exactly as I brought it home - haven't even had a chance to clean it up yet.

Once I shoot it a few rounds with these stock grips, I'm thinking I may switch to a set of magnas. With the smaller grips this may become my new favorite carry gun!

 

[BC38]

Anybody got any suggestion for some slim wood grips for the M-65? I CC-ed it for the first time last night and although it rode great in my old Bianchi 3S holster, the grips felt out of place and too bulky.

I usually carry my Rossi M971 2-1/2" snub in this holster and it has significantly smaller grips - comparable to a square-butt J-frame.

I'm thinking of maybe taking a heavy sanding disc to a beat up old set of RB magnas I have and slimming them down some. Gotta do something, or else its gonna be just a BBQ gun - 'cause these grips are just too big & bulky to conceal comfortably.

 

[Bigdog357]

My lady wants to come out and play, she's got a bobbed hammer and loves wearing her Uncle Mike's grips - Sexy

 

[Kernel Crittenden]

Anybody got any suggestion for some slim wood grips for the M-65?..

Hard to get any smaller than a Magna, since they follow the exact grip frame profile. I like the Hogue Bantam grips ($15) for the RB K/L frame. They're small, but the have a tiny little pinkie rest, and they fill in the area behind the trigger guard some. (Which can save your knuckles from a battering). I think there's vendor from Thailand making a two-piece wood knockoff for not a whole lot of money.

 

[sanausnol]

Love my 3" Model 65s. I carry the 65-5 on the top right regularly. Also love the 13 but it is too pretty to carry

 

[pinto]

You want slim?
Hard to beat the old hard rubber/gutta percha.
Much thinner than the issue wood scales.
These are on my 3" 64-5, but you get the idea.
No idea if they are original or repro.
Cheap off eBay:

 

[BC38]

You want slim?
Hard to beat the old hard rubber/gutta percha.
Much thinner than the issue wood scales.
These are on my 3" 64-5, but you get the idea.
No idea if they are original or repro.
Cheap off eBay:

I like this idea! So far I haven't been able to find any like these...

 

[pinto]

I like this idea! So far I haven't been able to find any like these...

Have seen similar grips HERE.
Might be worth checking out..

 

[semperfi71]

Gun Grip - Home Page for repro "gutta percha" S&W grips. And I thinky they and "vintage Grips" are the same company. They might sell them without the screw and escutcheons so be sure to investigate.

They are usually NOT shiny but flat black. that can be remedied with a light coat of Birchwood Casey's Oil or a light spray of gloss varnish.

To avoid cracking them in installation measure the width of the grip frame. Cut a piece of hard plastic, or metal tubing to be very, very slightly longer than your measured frame. Insert the grip screw inside this tube and apply the whole shebang to your grips.

The standard M65 barrel configuration probably weighs as much as the Lady Smith barrel configuration. So there is probably no "gain" in barrel weight "forward" of the LS model. This is because the standard M65 barrel is thicker than the LS and so is the ramp which runs the length of the barrel on top.

I have only a M13-4 in the 3 inch configuration and I consider it the best handling S&W ever made. I would think it would be perfect for most concealed carry options with a cartridge that is unquestionably a good one. But I do not carry it because I am afraid to lose it or mar its finish.

I someday intend to find a M65 3 inch at a "reasonable" ( is there such a thing anymore? ) price and it will be my CCW.

 

[BC38]

Gun Grip - Home Page for repro "gutta percha" S&W grips. And I thinky they and "vintage Grips" are the same company. They might sell them without the screw and escutcheons so be sure to investigate.

They are usually NOT shiny but flat black. that can be remedied with a light coat of Birchwood Casey's Oil or a light spray of gloss varnish.

To avoid cracking them in installation measure the width of the grip frame. Cut a piece of hard plastic, or metal tubing to be very, very slightly longer than your measured frame. Insert the grip screw inside this tube and apply the whole shebang to your grips.

Thanks for the link and the tips. I'm not quite ready to throw $50 at a set of grips just yet. I got an escutcheon installed in my set of old beat up RB magnas and put them on. I think that with a little "shaving down" to make the panels thinner they may work out pretty well. Since I've already got these old magnas and nothing else they'll fit, I'm going to try that first, but I'm saving your link and info in case they don't turn out to my liking.

I have only a M13-4 in the 3 inch configuration and I consider it the best handling S&W ever made. I would think it would be perfect for most concealed carry options with a cartridge that is unquestionably a good one. But I do not carry it because I am afraid to lose it or mar its finish.

I someday intend to find a M65 3 inch at a "reasonable" ( is there such a thing anymore? ) price and it will be my CCW.

Well, I picked this one up for $500 + tax and its in really good shape - as you can see in the pictures I posted above. Its only flaw of any significance is the knurling on the end of the ejector rod is a little buggered up - as you can see in the picture below. Probably an attempt to loosen it by someone who didn't know they are left-hand thread...

 

[markeb]

Yep, I do like the M65 also. On the left is a 65-5 LS, and on the right is another 65-5, and the middle is a 65-2. Getting ready to watch the Belmont. I want a triple crown winner.

 

[old bear]

I've always preferred the ejector rod shroud on my revolvers, I like the balance and, yes the looks as well. I'd wanted a M-65 Lady Smith for some time but prices have gotten crazy!! Last October when surfing Gun Broker I found one, threw out what I thought was a silly low bid and forgot about it. A week later I got a message that I was the winner. Fired it the same day I got it. It is one of the most accurate revolvers I own, it's a joy to shoot with hot 38 special +p ammo and sane .357 Magnum ammo. It's one of my ready house guns and when weather dictates a coat or sweater it's often carried CCW.

The only thing I find interesting is it feels much heavier than either my 2 1/2" M 19 or M 66.

 

[rcp1936]

It is my carry gun

 

[sawlog]

I've always preferred the ejector rod shroud on my revolvers, I like the balance and, yes the looks as well. I'd wanted a M-65 Lady Smith for some time but prices have gotten crazy!! Last October when surfing Gun Broker I found one, threw out what I thought was a silly low bid and forgot about it. A week later I got a message that I was the winner. Fired it the same day I got it. It is one of the most accurate revolvers I own, it's a joy to shoot with hot 38 special +p ammo and sane .357 Magnum ammo. It's one of my ready house guns and when weather dictates a coat or sweater it's often carried CCW.

The only thing I find interesting is it feels much heavier than either my 2 1/2" M 19 or M 66.

im a shroud fan too, looks complete that way

 

[BC38]

Thought I'd come back and post an update and pictures of my "Revised Magnas" just for grins & giggles.

I took them off, ground off the mushroomed ends of the medallion studs, slimmed the grips with a wood rasp, smoothed them with a drum sander on my dremel tool, then sanded them with 220 grit. Deepened the medallion holes and used a dremel grinding wheel to take a little off the backside of the medallions to make them a little thinner. Deepened the escutcheon holes then put the escutcheons and medallions back in them with a dab of clear epoxy to keep them in the slightly enlarged new holes (making them deeper without making them slightly larger was all but impossible with hand tools). Rubbed a little boiled linseed oil on them shortened the grip screw about 1/8" (dremel tool again) and VOILA' slim wood grips! Not the prettiest anybody's ever seen, but the magnas were fairlyy beat up to start with, so I'm satisfied with the results...

Edit: As you can see the finish is a little flat. Would a little RenWax be a good way to seal the wood and give them a little gloss?