Funny thing is my LGS is the same way with used guns. Years ago I tried to make a deal on a Colt King Cobra. He said we don't negotiate on used guns. I paid his price but made it up when I used it as a trade for a Dan Wesson CBOB 1911. Now days the King Cobras are somewhat getting a premium but so are the CBOBs.
Thoughts about a Model 36
- Thread starter mainegrw
- Start date
If it is in the budget, maybe you can negotiate a deal for both guns. Lay the cash on the counter and see if they let you walk away.
Kframerbluvr
Member
I would wave $300 in large bills in front of him and see if he bites.
swkohnle08
Member
I found a 1971 M 36 at my LGS for $460 and it was in excellent condition and it looked like it was hardly ever shot. I then bought a new M 637 thinking the 36 was too nice to EDC and shoot regularly. Turns out the 36 is a great shooter and feels right in my hand. The 637 with its air weight frame was not much fun to shoot and no where near as accurate as the 36. I sold the 637 and now my EDC is my M 36 and I love this little gun. Now I carry the 36 IWB, OWB and pocket carry all depending on my mood and wardrobe that particular day.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Been away for a few so I'm a bit late to your question. I picked up this 1963 Mod. 36 this month for $429. No box or stuff. It has a few nicks on the side plate, but otherwise it's a nice little Chiefs.
You said the one at your lgs has good mechanical characteristics but some blueing loss. If you've going to carry it, the "character" is going to come. I believe the gentleman (or gentlewoman) from Tennessee who drives a Chevy Z71 has the right idea: $350 out the door.
Best of luck with your negotiations.
Cheers,
Bob
You said the one at your lgs has good mechanical characteristics but some blueing loss. If you've going to carry it, the "character" is going to come. I believe the gentleman (or gentlewoman) from Tennessee who drives a Chevy Z71 has the right idea: $350 out the door.
Best of luck with your negotiations.
Cheers,
Bob
Attachments
I think the price is a little high for the description you supplied, but it's there and local so if you feel comfortable with it I say go ahead. Everybody need a model 36, they conceal well and I've been shooting one so long it feels like an extension of my arm.
I wish... Sadly they were right about the 96D and it did sell at their asking price a little while after I made the offer. Instead, the money I would have spent on the 96D bought a near brand new Sig P226 in 22LR. It still had the shipping oil all over it, and shoots extremely well, the antithesis of the mosquito really, or at least it was before the mags started falling out of the gun during shooting. I ended up sending it in to Sig, maybe bad batch of mags, maybe bad mag catch, maybe both, I'll let them figure it out. I will say though, as the frame is a standard P226, I can convert it to 9mm, 40, or 357 Sig easily, so no big loss missing out on the 96D, and I am not all that sad about having to send the gun in for repair either. I am a little annoyed though that it's the second 22 I've bought this year that immediately needed to go out for repair, the other being my 617-6, which I unknowingly bought with a seriously bulged barrel obscured by a really dirty bore.
Anyway, I digress... Payday is Thursday, and I am going to swing into the shop on the way home from work, and see what I can do on the 36 by itself. Maybe I can talk them down a little, the 96D was in great cosmetic condition as is, the 36 not so much, and being a revolver it's a little bit harder for them to sell. The masses want semi-autos or will spring on a brand new Taurus 85 or Charter Arms Undercover before an old, ugly-looking S&W 36 at the same price point, and the collectors only want pristine examples. Their loss...
If you want to get a deal, you can't become emotionally involved. Offer what you want to pay and if they won't take it, just walk away. Eventually, one will come up in the condition you want for the price that you do want to pay.
If you aren't 100% sure, then walk.
If you aren't 100% sure, then walk.
bedbugbilly
Member
- Joined
- Nov 10, 2010
- Messages
- 381
- Reaction score
- 154
I bought my first 36 - the snub version - about three years ago. About same vintage you are looking at. I paid $350 for it - had a ratty box but was in pristine shape - basically a "sock drawer gun". Original wood grips. I considered myself lucky to find it and had no problems with paying that price and have never regretted it - it's one of my primary CCW handguns.
I bought my second 36 about a year later but the 3" version - no box, Pachmyre grips and about 90 - 95% - mainly holster wear at the muzzle. I gave $350 for it as well and was happy to get it. I also CCW it at times and it's a great "kit gun".
I look at it this way . . . if you like it . . . and the price is within reason . . . why spend hours and hours as well as gas and mileage to try to get something that may be just a bit cheaper in price?
While I "carry" with 38 Special - I also reload and love the 38 Colt Short cartridge for general plinking and critters that need to be dispatched. I use a Lyman 358-242 120 ish grain RN that I cast and it's a fun cartridge to shoot out of a 36 for general "play".
I love my M & P K frames but the J frame 36 is one of my favorites - it just doesn't get any better!
Good luck!
I bought my second 36 about a year later but the 3" version - no box, Pachmyre grips and about 90 - 95% - mainly holster wear at the muzzle. I gave $350 for it as well and was happy to get it. I also CCW it at times and it's a great "kit gun".
I look at it this way . . . if you like it . . . and the price is within reason . . . why spend hours and hours as well as gas and mileage to try to get something that may be just a bit cheaper in price?
While I "carry" with 38 Special - I also reload and love the 38 Colt Short cartridge for general plinking and critters that need to be dispatched. I use a Lyman 358-242 120 ish grain RN that I cast and it's a fun cartridge to shoot out of a 36 for general "play".
I love my M & P K frames but the J frame 36 is one of my favorites - it just doesn't get any better!
Good luck!
So... I went down to the LGS to see about striking a deal on the Model 36. It was still there, still priced at $350, and I still really wanted it, but I didn't negotiate, no offers were made, I didn't buy it...
This is where things get awkward. Those of you with fierce brand loyalty should stop reading now, and save yourself from the disappointment.
Ok, so with that said, I'll continue: I scan the used cases for the 36, as they had moved it, and there, in the next case over from where she lay was something that caught my eye. It was another revolver, around 25 years older than the 36, and was of the E-Frame variety. Yes my friends, it was a Colt, a Colt Official Police to be specific.
BUT... I have some good reasons for why I chose the Colt over the Model 36, which I will layout in another post over in Firearms and Knives - Other Brands, as I have a couple of questions that I am hoping someone may be able to answer. Look for my post shortly if you are curious.
There will be other 36s, every gun store I go to has at least one for sale all the time, and almost always reasonably priced, some in much better condition than the one I was considering. The Colt on the other hand...
This is where things get awkward. Those of you with fierce brand loyalty should stop reading now, and save yourself from the disappointment.
Ok, so with that said, I'll continue: I scan the used cases for the 36, as they had moved it, and there, in the next case over from where she lay was something that caught my eye. It was another revolver, around 25 years older than the 36, and was of the E-Frame variety. Yes my friends, it was a Colt, a Colt Official Police to be specific.
BUT... I have some good reasons for why I chose the Colt over the Model 36, which I will layout in another post over in Firearms and Knives - Other Brands, as I have a couple of questions that I am hoping someone may be able to answer. Look for my post shortly if you are curious.
There will be other 36s, every gun store I go to has at least one for sale all the time, and almost always reasonably priced, some in much better condition than the one I was considering. The Colt on the other hand...
Last edited:
