I think I have found a real jewel

[skeet]

Some of y'all may remember I have been looking for a S&W 57 41 mag handgun. I bought a whole bunch of factory ammo for it many years ago(5?). Anyway..I do have a Ruger single action 41 but have wanted a 57 double action. Well I have found a model 657 in 3 inch. Has 4 boxes of ammo less 10 rounds and one box of empties..so it's been shot 60 rounds. Even has a new set of carbide dies. So even though I'd rather have a blued gun with a 4 inch bbl. I am going to TRY to be happy with this one. sigh....:confused:

[Larryjk]

You can always swap it for what you really want. S&W is making the Model 57 again, but the prices are naturally higher.

[skeet]

Yep..they be makin 'em again but they are in the new lock frame with the firing pin in the frame..blick..just turns me off. Get a queasy stomach thinkin about how they have ruint the S&Ws, No square butts anymore either..

[Larryjk]

The safety was a Bill Clinton idea; stupid like many he had. Firing pin in the frame vs hammer is a relative thing. Should have bought years ago, Skeet!

[skeet]

Most of my keepers i did buy years ago. Most are pre 1960 guns..at least in the S&W line. I even have a Registered Magnum..which is nothing but a prewar m-27 but some guns I just didn't have a need for so didn't buy them. Now I want a 41 mag in 4 inch but they are kinda scarce...at least in good condition. I'll just have to live with a 3 inch I guess

[270man]

Well 41Mag fans,

It's confession time. In the early 80s I bought a 6-inch M57 and tried it out for a while. Didn't like the big butt on the walnut stocks, but hadn't yet discovered Pachmayer Gripper rubber stocks (my favorite). Sadly, I traded the Smith for a Ruger Bisley in 41Mag, with 7-1/2" barrel but didn't like that one either. Eventually sold it. Somewhere along the way I also owned a Ruger Blackhawk in 41Mag but dumped that one with no regrets. A few years ago, I found an extremely tight and accurate Ruger Redhawk stainless with 7-1/2 barrel and Pachmayr Grippers already in place. It has been a great large-bore handgun but now I can't really think of a use for it and have been looking for another S&W M57. I agree with most of you that the current S&W products have gone south. Besides that, they are grossly overpriced. Maybe some of you can learn from my mistakes.

270man

[skeet]

I've had lots of guns I wish I had kept..or figured later they were worth having. I sold a S&W 53 not long ago. Just didn't shoot it..and it had been shot..so why? Anyhow..I was on another site getting some info and have been offered a 4 inch 57 Nickle gun in the box plus a 100 bucks for the 657 3 incher..So I'm gonna be the proud owner of a 4 inch 57 I think.

[buckhunter]

It gets to a point of how many do I need. Pretty much quit adding to the collection. Just replacing.

[Larryjk]

As a young fellow I was blessed with a dealer who sold me many pistols and ammunition to try. I would shoot them for a few months and then go back to him to see what else he might have I would want to try. He always gave me back, in trade, what I had paid for the last handgun on the next I wanted to try; and I bought more ammo from him to shoot in it. This went on all through high school ( those were the good times, when you were considered "responsible enough" to be trusted with a handgun). That wonderful fellow died when I had left the area, but I always stopped to see him when I was in that area.
So, the point of this is not how many do I need! It is how many do I want to try. Another old fellow, who went on to his reward 4 years ago, said "So many new guns, and not much time to try them".