To shoot or not to shoot? Smith and Wesson Questions

teacher39

teacher39

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Hello,

I know this sounds cliche, but I have purchased two smith and Wesson revolvers that I don't know much about. I've done a fair bit of online "research" which lead me to more questions that I hoped that I might benefit from everyone's collective wisdom and experiences here. I never intended to start my hobby with revolvers to be honest, but I was offered the opportunity to purchase these two from a man who inherited them from a family member. He didn't want them. They were in their cardboard shipping boxes, tucked into the wooden boxes with blue velvet with all of the tools and paper work (registration cards, care manuals, and even advertisements for Smith and Wesson knives. Never fired, other than the three test shots, that I learned to look for reading about it on this forum. I went with a friend to look at them and... Here I am.

1. 27-2 357 Magnum Stainless 8 3/8 inch barrel serial#N394###

2. 29-2 44 Magnum Stainless 8 3/8 inch barrel serial #N357###

My questions are:

How old are they? I was told by the owner that he got his brother's collection 20 years ago.

I would like to try shooting them, but I also know they have value. How much value is lost shooting them? I really wanted to start on a 9mm because of the cost of ammunition, and haven't gotten around to reloading, so I realize that 38 Special would be reasonable, but the 44 would be a bit pricey (I checked out Al Simmons and Fishing World in my area). They are pretty cool to hold and behold!

Thank you all for your time,

Pete
 
You can buy commercial 38 Spl reloads with lead bullets. These will shot very accurately, with little recoil, so you should not develop a flinch.

A 38 revolver is an excellent way to learn how to shoot well.

The 44 will teach you how to flinch. A little goes a long way.
 
Send a PM to sailor723. He has a S&W catalogue with dates for serial numbers.
Since you say the guns have been test shot, I guess they can't claim to be never shot. I don't think a low round count will affect the resale value. Both the guns are the pre-lock models and people like them. If you would prefer SA guns, sell them on the EE. I'm sure they will be snapped up quickly with low round counts.
 
teacher39 said:
1. 27-2 357 Magnum Stainless 8 3/8 inch barrel serial#N394###

2. 29-2 44 Magnum Stainless 8 3/8 inch barrel serial #N357###

My questions are:

How old are they? I was told by the owner that he got his brother's collection 20 years ago.

Thank you all for your time,

Pete
Click to expand...

Hi Pete,
According to the SCSW they were both manufactured in 1975 or 1976.
 
Wow! I thought everyone would be asleep by now! I really appreciate the feedback. Ganderite, thank you for the recommendation of the 38 Special reloads. I love The North Bay Area. I have family in Trout Creek. I will wave as I go by on the way to Sudbury this weekend. Stillalive and RPIcka, I had thought of selling them, but I promised the gentleman I purchased them from that I would honour his family members collection by taking good care of it. Islandguy, thank you so much for the date information. That's just 4 or 5 years younger than I am!

I never had the fortune to have grown up in this hobby surrounded by knowledgeable and passionate people such as yourselves. I hope that I would be able to one day have the privilege to pay forward your kindness to another "new guy".

Pete
 
Thanks Pete for the kind words.
If you are going to keep the guns, then do give them a go!
As these are your first handguns, do as Ganderite says and start with the .38Spl. I would go one better and suggest you try and find the 148gr hollow based wadcutter rounds. These are target loads that make nice cookie cutter round holes on the target. They are also light on recoil. Progress to the 158gr lead round nose and when you are ready, go with the 158gr jacketed soft point in .357 and after that, the 125gr offerings. Very nice bang and flash!
The 29 will also shoot .44 Spl. So when you are ready to try that gun, start with the .44 spl. The most common commercial .44 mag offering is the 240gr. jacketed hollow point. I recommend you hold off on this for a bit and also shoot it outdoors! All .44 ammo will be pricey unless you reload. The 8" barrel will help but make sure your fundamentals are secure. A flinch is very hard to get rid of!
 
You can get a good new .38/.357 for around $800-1000. If you want to hold onto these and not shoot them it doesn't matter. I shoot .38 Special a fair amount, more than any other round I guess. It is almost the same as a 9mm round I think. There is a big difference between the .38 S and a .357 Mag. It is fun to blast off a .357M and you can do this with a good gun. One thing is the .357Mag is a longer round so if your only shooting .38 Special the cylinder is clogged up with powder and you can't really shoot the .357 after the .38S with out a good cleaning.

If you decide to not shoot these than one option is looking at a single action revolver. I would look at the Ruger Blackhawk in .38S/.357Mag. There is also the Convertible and this allows you to shoot 9mm and .38S/.357M. The single action revolver is a little cheaper than a D/A model and lots of fun. I almost prefer the S/A to be honest. I almost always fire a D/A as single action anyway, just out of habit for one thing and the trigger in S/A is so sweet.
 
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