loeman
Member
I finally received my first letter from S&W and Roy Jinks. It's been a long time since I received something this exciting in the mail.
Back in ancient times (1981) I went to a LGS in Fort Wayne, IN with the hope of finding a new 9mm that I could afford. The shopkeeper didn't have anything interesting to me, But he did have one used 9mm. He pulled out of the case the most beautiful semi-auto I had ever seen! It was gorgeous and it looked as if it had never been fired. I had zero knowledge of the S&W model 39 or pre 39 but I knew I had to have the gun. After exchanging $250 it was mine. Unfortunately nothing came with the gun but a Model 39 instruction sheet that turned out to be from a much later period. However, he did tell me that it was traded to him by a police officer who had never used it because he was convinced that his body chemistry would quickly destroy a blued finish gun.
After learning that this gun was significantly older than I thought, I made the decision to not use it as I had other guns to shoot. Now 32 years later I decided to get it lettered. The only disappointing thing about the letter is that if was shipped to a Mid-West Smith and Wesson distributor rather than a store in Fort Wayne.
Even after owning this gun for as long as I have, I have yet to see a semi-auto that has the eye appeal of the 39s. The proportions and the finish just seem, well.....perfect! I've attached a few photos for you to see along with the pertinent paragraph of the Jink's letter.
Back in ancient times (1981) I went to a LGS in Fort Wayne, IN with the hope of finding a new 9mm that I could afford. The shopkeeper didn't have anything interesting to me, But he did have one used 9mm. He pulled out of the case the most beautiful semi-auto I had ever seen! It was gorgeous and it looked as if it had never been fired. I had zero knowledge of the S&W model 39 or pre 39 but I knew I had to have the gun. After exchanging $250 it was mine. Unfortunately nothing came with the gun but a Model 39 instruction sheet that turned out to be from a much later period. However, he did tell me that it was traded to him by a police officer who had never used it because he was convinced that his body chemistry would quickly destroy a blued finish gun.
After learning that this gun was significantly older than I thought, I made the decision to not use it as I had other guns to shoot. Now 32 years later I decided to get it lettered. The only disappointing thing about the letter is that if was shipped to a Mid-West Smith and Wesson distributor rather than a store in Fort Wayne.
Even after owning this gun for as long as I have, I have yet to see a semi-auto that has the eye appeal of the 39s. The proportions and the finish just seem, well.....perfect! I've attached a few photos for you to see along with the pertinent paragraph of the Jink's letter.
