Pawn Shop Rescue

[KEN L]

Found this in a pawn shop a few weeks ago. It "spoke" to me........ I didn't buy it then because I had some other "possibilities" in the works. Fast forward to this past Saturday and I'm back in the same pawn shop. I look in the case and its still there, as if patiently awaiting my return. I just didn't have the heart to walk away from it again. Sorry for the poor picture quality, but here are pics of before and after I cleaned it.

BEFORE

AFTER

Serial number is S873549. I really think this was once a cop's gun. There is freckling of the nickel on the sideplate and frame opposite the side plate and the grips are worn, the right one a little more than the left. The rest of the gun, which was apparently protected by the holster, is in pretty good shape. Doesn't appear to be a lot of finish wear, but thats what nickel is all about. Mechanically it is just about perfect. Appears to have been carried a lot, but shot very little. Ahhhh, if it could only tell me its life story.......

I took it out and put about 70 rounds through it at about 15 yards. It tends to shoot a little high and to the right, or maybe its me! Those shiny nickel sights are tough to see with these tired old eyes, but it groups really well, averaging about 2". Despite the nickel issues I really like the overall look and feel. Now I need to find a really nice SV Victory model to go with it! Anyone want to venture a guess as to approximate value and year of manufacture? I'm thinking maybe 1947......

 

[TACC1]

Although I'm not qualified to make value calls, you made
a nice "rescue". You should get points for that. TACC1

 

[opoefc]

1947 is a good guess. Close serial numbers were shipped that year. Ed.

 

[DCWilson]

I'm on the 1947 page along with everybody else -- I just picked up a postwar S-prefix M&P numbered about 5000 below yours, and it shipped in January of that year.

Unrefinished and wearing the original nickel in pretty good shape? I have to believe that's a $400-450 gun for anybody, and a would bring a lot more from some.

Nice catch. Whenever a gun that interested you is still on the shelf on a return visit, that's a pretty good signal from the universe.

 

[fyimo]

Congratulations on the rescue of that S&W revolver

 

[Iggy]

Congrats. That ol war horse deserves a good home.

 

[1blindref]

Good job rescuing that old war horse. I'm glad it found a good home that was meant to be.

 

[TNDave]

Very nice gun. Glad to see it made it's way to somewhere it belongs

 

[Grimlock]

Congrats. Pawn shop rescues can be some of the best

 

[KEN L]

I forgot to mention in the first post, the grips are numbered to the gun. Here's a couple of pics with some old stags that my 1917 has been wearing. They're not quite right for the bigger gun, but they're close and they're just a tad too big for the K frame, though it wouldn't take much to make them fit like a glove. I was actually gonna cut them down to fit my 2 1/2" model 66 once upon a time, but couldn't quite bring myself to do it. I've included a pic of the 1917 with the new guy. Enjoy!