The New Arrival

Click to play some 38 Special while you read about my 38 Special.

I took possession of my surplus S&W Model 64-3 tonight. I haven't fired it yet, so this is just a "first look" article.

First of all, it is in FANTASTIC shape, except for the Pachmayr grips which have been crudely modified for someone with slightly smaller hands than my own. No matter. New grips are cheap, and these have plenty of life in them, they're just ugly. The stainless steel of the rest of the gun is in really great condition. There are a few dings and scratches on the right side, but none are deep or really all that noticeable.

The cylinder locks up like a Swiss watch. It has almost no play side to side when the gun is at full lockup (trigger pulled fully to the rear, hammer down as if it just fired). It has no play front to back, which is great. Front to back play is more serious than side to side. Regardless, this one locks up tight. The trigger is heavy and slick, like you'd expect from a DAO revolver.

Overall, I am really liking this gun a great deal. I bought it because, well, it was cheap and I like S&W revolvers. Who doesn't need another .38 Special anyway? Sure, the .357 Mag walks away from it, power wise, but the good old .38 is a great deal of fun to plink with and is a great soft shooter for training new shooters. Handling this thing makes me want to go back to the pistol matches I enjoyed so much in high school. Shooting in the revolver class is pretty cheap if you load your own ammo (which I do). I can't wait to get this thing back where it belongs: on the range.