1970 Smith & Wesson Model 36 (Chief's Special)
I picked up this little revolver a while ago from a private sale, the blue was thin in some areas on the cylinder and I ended up buying it for a really good price. I touched up the blue a little with Oxpho-Blue, I recommend that you avoid cold bluing solutions at all costs, they smell horrid and they rarely do a good job, but in this situation I plan to use this gun as a carry piece and the cold blue on the cylinder doesn't look half bad. (the pictures are unaltered)
I like the old-school 1950 detective/private eye look of this gun and since I've migrated to the .357 Mag/.38 Special cartridge for all my wheel guns at the moment, this was a good addition to my collection. It's classic and powerful for a small frame "pocket pistol".
As you can see in the above pic, there is no lock on this S&W, I won't turn down a gun with a lock.... but I feel that the the lock hole diminishes the look of the gun and regardless of what you might value the gun at, it will always be worth less on the market than one without.
The pinned barrel is one of the features that collectors look for, I don't know why it's more desirable, neither of the Colt Pythons I own have pinned barrels and they are much more desirable. The pinned barrel was discontinued at around 1982, a feature that was eliminated to reduce production costs, but I haven't read any reports of un-pinned barreled guns being any less sturdy or reliable.
The revolver originally came with a set of vintage Jay Scott Stag-like grips, I found them to be overly thick and not comfortable in the hand. Even .38 Special target loads were unwieldy, so I decided to sell them for something else. I have always wanted a pistol with ivory type grips and I think this one sports them well without being gaudy, chintzy or "pimpish", I ordered these from Boone Trading Company, who offers this faux ivory set for about 65 dollars (with the medallions). Real ivories will cost you about $400... this is more than the entire gun cost!
The right side shows the most wear and tear, it isn't bad, but it puts this gun in the "excellent condition shooter" category rather than the "good condition collector" category, I very much like to shoot my guns, and this one will definitely get some carry and range use.
Fixed sights on this gun are low and discreet, it really helps to avoid snagging the gun on the draw. Lock-up and timing are superb on this little revolver. The fellow I purchased it from bought it in a like new condition a year or two ago and carried it for a while in a cheap Hunter holster he purchased separately. The Hunter holster is the culprit for dulling the like new finish, it was loose and the chromed snap rubbed on the cylinder. I have since bought a very nice Bianchi lined leather holster that carries it correctly.
If you're in the market for one of these classic guns, then buy now! I've seen these recently go for the price of a song and they won't be available at those prices forever. I think there is a Colt revolver frenzy going on at the moment and when that dies down, the pre-lock S&W revolvers will take the spotlight...
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