# Smith revolvers anyone?



## jeager106 (Sep 27, 2014)

I now have 14 older Smith Revolvers, all in 90+ % condition.
I love Smith revolvers. ( and 1911's and M&P,s and..............)
I just bought a J frame M-36 square butt in the box with papers looking unfired.
The seller said he didn't know if it had been fired or not but it sure looked clean.
An "yes" I have shot the little beaut.
I paid $525 o.t.d. and think I paid a bit much but I carried the M-36 in detective work
and always wanted a nice J frame.
I spent a month in Fla. and we came home last week. We stopped at a huge
Cabela's on the way home & I spotted a realy clean M-36 w/o box for sale.
Asking price? A whopping $1100.00 bucks!
Are they smoking crack or what??????
I felt $525 was a bit high but close to a fair price, certainly no steal but fair.
Thoughts?
(by the way I managed to scarf up 1500 rounds of .22 r.f. ammo also)


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

Revolver prices are going crazy all over. For a while, I thought it was just around here, but a buddy said it's like that on the auction sites and in the various online classifieds too (I don't generally buy online; he does, a lot).

If the demand remains high (especially for those nice, older, pre-lock S&Ws), and some folks are selling them at those prices, those prices aren't going to drop.

For a nearly new revolver, in box, you got a GREAT deal by current standards.

You want to hear something even harder to explain? 
Ruger and Taurus revolvers are sky-high, too!


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## OldManMontgomery (Nov 2, 2013)

*Marketing and Panic*

The problem is gun sellers who know just enough to be dangerous.

For instance: Pinned barrel Smith & Wesson revolvers are no longer made. (True.) Therefore, any S&W revolver with a pinned barrel is a collector's item. (Sort of true.) Therefore, any of those revolvers should be worth enough to fund: my retirement, my kid's college tuition or a vacation to the Seychelles Islands - or some combination thereof. (False.)

The same holds true of Colt Single Action revolvers, Lugers, and in some cases (sellers), any thing possibly used in WWII.

The square butt M36 you purchased (as described) was reasonable. The 'really clean M36' at Cabbalas? Outrageous. Perhaps some nitwit with more money than brains will buy it; but as noted by DJ Niner, if people pay those prices, they will stay high and increase.


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## GCBHM (Mar 24, 2014)

I think the most perfect revolver made is the S&W Model 10/15. I also like the 19, 65 and 686.


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## RK3369 (Aug 12, 2013)

DJ Niner said:


> Revolver prices are going crazy all over. For a while, I thought it was just around here, but a buddy said it's like that on the auction sites and in the various online classifieds too (I don't generally buy online; he does, a lot).
> 
> If the demand remains high (especially for those nice, older, pre-lock S&Ws), and some folks are selling them at those prices, those prices aren't going to drop.
> 
> ...


I can't figure it out. I watch GB a lot and prices on all semis and revolvers are nuts. I can't afford to buy even bottom line acceptable ones now (maybe a Taurus, Charters OK,) but Smiths, Rugers, everything of any quality is out of site price wise and the Dems aren't even pushing at gun control hard right now, so I can't figure it out. Unless maybe everybody is trying to buy up now before Hillary gets in. Really weird, used gun prices are going through the roof and some ammo, like 9mm is getting cheaper every day.


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## Ratpacker (Mar 7, 2013)

My first S&W revolver was a mod.67 S.S. It protected me and my Tavern for 13 yrs. Now it is 34 yrs. old,& the scratches , scuffs and such, never looked better.
I just saw another one (67) for sale that had been high polished , like chrome. The hammer & trigger are machine turned jeweled. I think I'll go back and buy it before the weekend is over.


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## jeager106 (Sep 27, 2014)

GCBHM said:


> I think the most perfect revolver made is the S&W Model 10/15. I also like the 19, 65 and 686.


I can't agrue with that.
Current inventory; all Smith revolvers: 
M-36 -99.9%
M-28 (two) 4 & 6"- 90 + %
M-29 95%
M-15 (two) 90+%
Pre M-14 very nice, 95+%
M-10 (two) both 4" H-bar in box, unfired. pencil barrel 95+% I shoot this one.
M-25-5, box/papers, .45 Colt 4" (wish it was a 6") 90+%
M-19 4" 90% at best a good shooter
M-66 (two) 4 & 6" the 6" has box, papers, 90% and 99% in box.
M-60 Pro-Series .357 mag, 5 shot of course, adj sights, bought new-expensive, nice carry gun like new
M-57 6" 95+% dandy
M-657 no dash (s.s.) magnaported & trigger work, 95%
Taurus (HUH?) I add this 'cause it's my only Taurus, a nice revovler in 4" and .41 mag 5 shot.
M-686 and 586 both 90 + %
I'm not interested in anything but pre-lock Smiths tho the new Pro-Series "J" frame has a lock.
I lack a M-27, still hunting tho the M-28s I have are fine, the 27 still eludes me.
Samo with a Smith .22 r.f.
I have a slew of semi autos but LOVE the 1911 Kimbers.
I guess I'm a revovler guy thru and thru.


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## hillman (Jul 27, 2014)

I've owned a 10-8 3" heavy barrel round butt since the '70s. It's part of my HD system now, but I carry it occasionally. It's startlingly easy to keep on a 10" target at 25 yards shooting SA, and not a lot worse DA. S&W did a fine thing there. That M&P40 I had, now that was another story.


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## oldman45 (Feb 17, 2014)

I have several S&W revolvers, all pinned and pre lock. It would be difficult for me to pick a favorite but it could be an unfired model 25-5 in six inch or a 686 in four inch or a 66 in four inch.

Then again I have a lot of S&W auto loaders and my EDC is a 1911 from their custom shop.


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## DJ Niner (Oct 3, 2006)

RK3369 said:


> I can't figure it out. I watch GB a lot and prices on all semis and revolvers are nuts. I can't afford to buy even bottom line acceptable ones now (maybe a Taurus, Charters OK,) but Smiths, Rugers, everything of any quality is out of site price wise and the Dems aren't even pushing at gun control hard right now, so I can't figure it out. Unless maybe everybody is trying to buy up now before Hillary gets in. Really weird, used gun prices are going through the roof and some ammo, like 9mm is getting cheaper every day.


A few of us have kicked it around, and the closest thing we can figure is the Internet and rich folks ruined cheap local used gun sales.

If you lived in or near a small town with a little hole-in-the-wall gun shop, or even if your medium-sized town had several independent sporting goods stores, when they took a used gun in trade, they marked it up a little bit and sold it quickly, so it wouldn't end up hanging around for years. No one outside of town saw it or knew what it sold for, and the retailers didn't know what similar guns were selling for in larger towns, where there are always a few richer folks who would pay anything (reasonable or not) if they took a liking to whatever they found in the used-gun rack/shelf.

Then along comes Internet advertising and auctions. Now, that relatively small handful of folks with more money than good sense drive up the prices EVERYWHERE, by buying at ridiculously prices, and everyone that sees the final bid at the auction thinks, "Hell, I've got one of those too, it must be worth at least that much", and there go the prices, soaring as high as a rocket on the Fourth of July. Even small shops can afford to run an online auction, so they put most of the desirable guns up for auction, and walk-in buyers never even get to see them, in many cases.

At least one of the larger pawnshop chain stores sends ALL of their pawned/purchased guns to auction. They don't even sell/display guns in their stores. When one of these stores moved into my town a couple of years ago, I went in and asked where their guns were, and they told me that they didn't sell guns in their stores, and why. These stores are removing guns from circulation in our smaller communities and selling/shipping them (in most cases) to other, larger, more well-off communities. Once my gunnie-type friends and I realized what was happening, we vowed to never do business with this pawnshop chain for any reason. But we are generally gun buyers and traders, not the "normal" customers for this type of business, so I doubt they are feeling any pinch. It's more of a principled boycott than a punitive one.

As long as a few folks with money to burn keep paying those high online/auction prices every now and then, to stoke those big-city market values, there will be far fewer reasonably-priced used firearms in our smaller communities. I can't blame the owners/sellers for getting the best price that they can, but I do mourn the loss of the occasional "good deal" found in a tiny off-the-beaten-path gun shop.

I think it also affects new gun prices; if a used revolver is selling for X dollars online, well, the new version of the same model must be worth X + $100-$200 at least, right?


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## Rhetorician (Dec 17, 2014)

Hello to all:

I picked up a Model 360PD, scandium / titanium, J Frame, 357 back last Summer in a pawn shop for a few cents less than $400 out the door. I really like it and have carried it CCW. But the trigger pull is very, very hard. I am thinking of either getting rid of it or having some work done on it. I was offered $650 for it by a fellow on the Smith board. "What think ye?"

Wife says I will be sick if I sell it for it cannot be replaces.

She is probably right, is most of the time. She did pick me!!! LOL!!

My thoughts.

rd


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

DJ Niner:


> Then along comes Internet advertising and auctions. Now, that relatively small handful of folks with more money than good sense drive up the prices EVERYWHERE, by buying at ridiculously prices, and everyone that sees the final bid at the auction thinks, "Hell, I've got one of those too, it must be worth at least that much", and there go the prices, soaring as high as a rocket on the Fourth of July. Even small shops can afford to run an online auction, so they put most of the desirable guns up for auction, and walk-in buyers never even get to see them, in many cases.


Reminds me of what happened to cars from the 50's thru 70's especially the muscle cars. Cars that were mass produced and literally a dime a dozen. A Chevelle is a Chevelle is a Chevelle no matter what it has under the hood. Everybody who has one thinks it's worth a fortune. Barrett-Jackson and the televised publicity and hype surrounding it have driven up prices. Prices are dropping on those types of cars though as the current fad eventually wears off. It will probably happen with guns as well.


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## Spike12 (Dec 10, 2008)

While I've had a S&W revolver from time to time (19-2, 27-2) I will comment that Cabella's prices are certainly, IMHO, not representative of national prices. I usually find them to high to 'you got to be kidding' on their used guns. 

I can't say on S&W products but I certainly can say on Ruger stuff which I know much better. Their GP100 prices are $50-$100 higher than my local store.


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## Donn (Jul 26, 2013)

Despite being old technology, limited ammo capacity and heavy DA trigger pull, revolvers are flying out of my LGS. No sooner are they in the showcase, they're out the door. I had to wait for my Model 36 and am still waiting for a Model 60 with a 3" barrel. 586's or 686's? forget about it. They're gone soon after getting off the truck. Same-same Ruger GP100 and SP101's. About the only ones most people pass by these days are the S&W 460 and 500's. Anything else? Don't blink.


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## dakota1911 (Jun 9, 2015)

My wife recently bought one of the little 5 shot Bodyguards in 38 Special. She went to the gun store and talked to a lady saleslady she likes. Took her over an hour to buy it and she looked at a bunch of revolvers. Of course she is not going to give up the S&W 469 in 9mm she has been carrying since the 1980s. Still her and her friends are getting older and revolvers are the in thing right now.

I don't have a bunch of S&W revolvers. Bought a 66-1 last year from a friend and a 686 back in the 80s soon after they came out. Here it is with a GP100 I also bought back in the 80s.


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## RK3369 (Aug 12, 2013)

I think it's a reaction to people being concerned that perhaps in a few more Democrap administrations, they aren't going to be able to buy a handgun any longer. One way or the other, the politicians are going to eventually sell us down the river. More non gun owners out there than gun owners nowadays. People want safety, politicians make them think they are safer if we remove guns from everybody. False sense of security but when they find out, it will be too late.


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## Binable (Aug 26, 2013)

It could be that as more and more people (women are into guns more than ever) get into the shooting sports simple supply and demand economics kick in. These newbies prbly don't spend a lot of time, nor would they know where to look, attempting to find the best price on a firearm. They just go to the nearest store out there, like an overpriced Cabela's, and buy whatever looks cool. They just pay whatever the store asks. ..more folks buying..production not keeping up with demand..newbies driving up the price by overpaying..bingo, higher prices. Bad news for us guys & gals wanting a good price. The upside is: more folks to frustrate the Obamas, Bidens, Bloombergs & others who'd love nothing more than to strip us all down to nothing.


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## SGWGunsmith (Jan 8, 2015)

Serious situations require seriously "reliable" tools. My two main carry guns have been tuned and smoothed for double action, *"bung-hole squeezed tightly shut"* situations. If the circumstances will allow the use of single action fire control, no problemo. :numbchuck:


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## Gruesome (Apr 30, 2013)

Just the one, but nothing else is really needed. Model 66, no dash, made in 1972, 4 inch, stainless. I keep an ugly old set of Pacmayer combat grips on it, but I need to get something swank on there. Thi sis the only handgun I kept from the large stash left to me when my father passed, and I'll have it until the day I pass on and it goes to my son. The trigger is the best I have ever used. In SA it is a perfect blend of "doesn't go off just by looking at it cross eyed" and "seems to fire by telepathy." It is easily the gun with which I have the most accuracy, except MAYBE the Ruger 1911. MAYBE.


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## Steven (Mar 2, 2012)

One of my favorites, 627 V-Comp. I also have a 625, Model 617, 18 and 22a, and a 929 9mm

Smiths are great to shoot. I shoot about 300 rounds a week out of my 617.













Smith 22A, Model 627. Model 929, no picture yet.


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## RK3369 (Aug 12, 2013)

I have purchased several of many brands of semis and revolvers. My most favorite guns in any style are the S+W's. They just feel good, shoot great and perform consistently. I have an SD9ve which is just a great shooter. If I could easily carry it concealed, it would be my edc. Kinda big for the way I dress for work but it's just a great gun. The old model 10 revolvers are also great. Kinda like a good old reliable car that you never want to get rid of.


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