mhl6493

Thanks again for all the responses.  Sounds like the consensus is to clean it, shoot it, enjoy it, and invest nothing in it.  I certainly don't plan on taking the side plate off myself -- especially if someone else has already been in there -- no way I'd ever get it back together... :surrender:   The only thing I may do is find a gunsmith locally who can take it apart and clean the inside of it good.  Other than that, I'll probably do as y'all suggest and just let 'er be...

  That could be... but it feels pretty normal to me.  Hope they didn't remove the hammer block...

Well, so much for the Performance Center idea.  I sent Customer Service and e-mail, and just got this in response:   "Dear Customer, Unfortunately we cannot work on firearms manufactured before 1959 and the no dash version of the Model 15 was manufactured before that date. The finish is too far gone as well. We apologize for the inconvenience.   Smith&Wesson values its customers and we are happy to have served you today. Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require further assistance. Regards, Ashley"   Oh well, maybe I can find somebody else who would do the same thing the PC would have done.  Or maybe, as they said, the finish is just too far gone, though I find that hard to believe...

Thanks, everyone.  I'm thinking the finish is probably nickel - it doesn't show up too well in the pictures, as mentioned.  I checked the timing and lock-up, and all that seems to be fine.  But I'm guessing as was mentioned, the inside probably looks as rough as the outside.  I may see what it would cost to send it back to the Performance Center for a good once-over...

A friend of mine invited me to stop by his house this morning if I had time. I did, and knowing my love for revolvers, he gave me an old W&W Model 15 (no dash). Obviously, from the pictures, it hasn't exactly been babied. I was hoping to glean from the vast knowledge of all you S&W revolver aficionados some info about this gun. 1) I'd love to know approximately when it was made/shipped. I don't think my friend was the original owner, but he seemed to think it was 50 or so years old. Don't know if it goes back that far or not. Anyway, it's a Model 15-no dash, and the Serial Number is K345xxx. If any of you can help me on this, I'd be grateful. 2) Depending on the age, is this a gun rated for +P? 3) The finish is pretty beat up. Is this nickel, or stainless? Is it possible for stainless to show this much and this kind of wear? 4) I was planning on giving it a good once-over with Ballistol this afternoon, before I do anything else. If it's nickel, is this OK? 5) I would love to have this thing restored as closely as possible to what it once was, both externally and internally (if needed - not sure how to tell just by looking at it). But I don't feel like I have the knowledge or skill to do it (unless is it was fairly easy), and I'd hate to do any more damage to it. What would y'all recommend I do? Is there someone who had a good reputation for restoring old revolvers without breaking the bank? I'm sure I'll think of a thousand other things, but that's all I can come up with to ask at the moment. I'm thrilled and honored that my friend has given me such a gift, and I want to do what I can to take maximum advantage of it. If you can think of anything else I might need to know about this particular gun (or the model in general), I'd love to hear it.

  Thanks - that gives me some other options to consider, though it sure does deem like those uses S&W revolvers demand a premium price, when/if you can even find them...  I have a 4" GP100 with the big Hogue grip, and I love it as a bedside gun, but it's definitely a handful.  Glad to know the 3" handles differently.  Hopefully I'll get to try one out before I made a decision.  

  I looked at that model, but I'm not really wild about the smooth cylinder...

Like many of you, I'm constantly thinking about "the next one."  At the moment, even though it may be a while before I can afford it, I'm thinking about these two revolvers, both in the 3 inch variety:   Ruger Wiley Clapp GP100 -- http://www.kygunco.com/ruger-wiley-clapp-gp100-357-magnum-%7C-38--58266   S&W 686+ -- http://www.kygunco.com/smith-and-wesson-model-686-plus-357-mag-38-special-3in-stainless-revolver-28347   Both have their advantages and disadvantages from my perspective (i.e., I'm not a big fan of the internal lock on the Smith), and I realize that ultimately if possible I need to put my hands on each of them before purchasing either -- which is probably going to be next to impossible given local availability.  But, that aside, and realizing that neither of these guns is really "better" than the other, which would you be most interested in purchasing, and why?  Would love to hear your perspective... 

  Richard, now you've gone and done it - you've made me break out my dictionary...  :google:  Seriously, I agree with you about the wheel guns.  I have several autos, and will probably have several more.  But the wheelies are by far my favorites...

  Gotcha.  Thanks.  I just made my first "classifieds" purchase a few weeks ago from TNcitizen22 up in Knoxville, and I have to say that he he was a great guy selling a great gun at a great price.  I had never really *seriously* looked at the classifieds until recently, and I have to agree that there are a lot of good sellers over this way.  I definitely keep my eye open a lot more now...

So just out of curiosity, as an East Tennessean, where besides Bud's Gun Shop in Seviereville do y'all find these great deals over this way?  

  Oh, gotcha.  Are those the old Uncle Mike grips?

I agree, Patton. I love mine - minus the internal lock that I wish wasn't there...

Very nice!

The LCR is definitely somewhat harder to conceal in a pocket than the 442 was because of the grips.  It's all a trade-off I guess.  It also came with the Hogue Boot grip, and I'm anxious to give it a try.  It would definitely be more concealable.  Ugly as sin, but concealable...  :D

Last year I bought a Smith and Wesson 442 to fill a role in my carry rotation.  Some of you may remember my posting on this forum that shooting it absolutely hurt the webbing of my hand.  I don't just mean recoil, I mean pain.  Rather than trying out some other grip options, I traded it for something else.  That's one I wish I had a do-over on...   Last week I had the opportunity to buy a Ruger LCR 38 from TNcitizen22 through the classifieds here (a great guy and a great price, BTW), and today I had a chance to take it to the range.  Wow, what a difference!  It's actually a little lighter than the 442, but those Hogue Tamer Grips make a world of difference.  If anybody might be on the fence about the LCR because of it's light weight, don't be -- I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.   Happy to know that the lightweight revolver niche in my collection has again been filled...  :)

Doing some reflecting, and I really think my problems boiled down to 2 major things.  One, my hands are pretty small.  Even a 1911 is a major handful for me, and getting a good grip consistently takes some effort.  And two, I think not having a place to naturally put my shooting-hand thumb affected my grip.  It really wasn't comfortable on top of the thumb safety, or under it.  I'd go back and forth from each position, and I think that had an impact on how I was holding it.     Before I change out the grips or do anything else, I'm going to try to go back to the range in the next few weeks and try to shoot it some more, keeping my thumb consistently in one spot.  I think that, more than anything, will help.  

  Yeah, that's pretty much what I was doing - or at least attempting to do.  Sometimes my shooting hand thumb would be under the safety - really couldn't find a comfortable spot for it.  

Finally had a chance after two weeks of waiting to take the Loaded to the range this morning.  Put 77 rounds of various kinds of ammo through it without a hiccup.  As expected, it was a blast to shoot!   I do have a few observations, some of which I'd like to get your input on.   1.  As much fun as shooting the 1911 was, I shoot my CZ 75B much more accurately.  I'm sure it's just my not being used to the "punch" of a .45 compared to 9mm, and I'm confident that will improve some with practice.     2.  My hands hurt some after I was done - particularly my support hand (and more particularly still, the bottom part of my index finger and upper part of my palm below the index finger).  Do you think it was the grips?  I love the way the crossed-cannon SA grips look, but maybe I need something a little thinner and perhaps a little more "grippy" to prevent any movement in my hand?  Not sure if that's the cause of the discomfort.  May just be that it was a .45.   3.  Even though I have an XDs .45 and therefore am somewhat used to having a grip safety, I found that numerous time, my firing grip didn't engage the GS, and the gun wouldn't fire.  I mean, at least 5 or 6 times this happened.  Never have had a problem with the XDs.  Could that also be a result of the stock grip panels being too thick and not allowing me to get a good grip?  I do have small-to-medium sized hands.   Anyway, it was still a lot of fun to shoot.  If anybody has any any input on #2 and #3, I'd love to hear it.  Thanks!

  Yeah, that's my "Plan B."  I'm not sure I'd like the way they look on a stainless steal revolver, but I'll go with it if I need to.  

Thanks for all the replies.  I read on Smith and Wesson's forum where one person actually sent their 640 to Smith and Wesson for them to install the XS night sight that comes standard on the M&P 340.  I figured, why not contact S&W and see what something like that would cost -- sight, labor, shipping.  Here's the response I received:   "We would like to thank you for your e-mail and contacting Smith & Wesson / Thompson Center.  I am sorry but that sight would not work. It is shorter than the stock sight so you would see some of the sight slot and also it is wider than the stock sight.  We do not have another sight that will fit that revolver."   I know from what I've read that it has been done -- even by S&W, as I mentioned.  So I wonder what has changed?  Or, does this guy not know what he's talking about?

  Yeah, since this is an often-carried gun, and sometimes at night, a better sight makes sense to me.  But I definitely get the other perspective too.

Yeah, then there's that... :)

  Thanks, Patton.  Do you have any recommendations of a good gunsmith in our area?

I'm wondering, is it possible to change the front sight on a Smith & Wesson 640-3?  And if so, who could I take it to to do this kind of work?  I'd love to replace the plain black front blade with something like an XS Big Dot with a tritium insert.  The older I get, the harder it is to pick up the blade quickly.  The XS would allow me to pick it up more readily regardless of the lighting conditions.  I can't see any evidence, however, that the blade can be easily removed.  But I readily admit that I don't know exactly what I'm looking for.  Any ideas on this?  Could a lgs do this kind of work?  I love my 640, and I'd love to love it even more...