Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Revolvers Rule!

Nice pictures of nice revolvers and some nice leather work.

It's fun when guys don't post pictures of unsafe gun handling.

You’ve had the last word. Now, give it a rest.

Nothing about Baldwin? I guess you already nutted. Now the clarity hits.

How about everyone gives it a rest.

Roger That.

Revolver picture.😊

I’m considering possibly acquiring a Fourth Model Safety Hammerless .38S&W, like this guy:



Never had my hands on one. So, what can you tell me about its handling qualities? How does its trigger behave? What would you estimate a fair price range to be?

Appreciate your observations and insights.

Cool factor for sure.

Like the idea for the rear sight blade.
Did you modify the front sight for the fiber optic?

Yessir. Ground off the old, integral, red insert front sight, milled a longitudinal eighth inch slot an eighth inch deep, bead blasted the surface, then epoxied the HiViz into the slot.

I’ve found those cockamamie original red insert front sights to be next to useless for precision shooting. The HiViz offers the bright fiber optic for quick work in poor light, and the crisp, clear sight picture of sharp, flat black corners and edges for precision.

My experience is a long and rather awkward trigger pull due in part to the angle the trigger pivots. Rather frail lockwork too. Very neat little guns nonetheless. Sights are almost microscopic too.

Yep, those are precisely the concerns which have held me back. But, they look so cool. I may simply need to continue admiring them from afar. Thanks.

Nice work! I really like that sight picture. Couple of my newer Rugers have fiber optic front sights. Appreciate them as my eyesight has naturally degraded with age.

Here’s a favorite and a more recent pic.

Have been struggling to figure out the grips it came with recently. Think I’ve got that resolved. I put the Houge’s and like them much better. Here’s how it arrived:


Pistol is a blast to shoot! Sights have become challenging of late and I’ve been exploring options. Not a complaint, just looking to adapt.

HiViz works pretty well with geezerly eyes:

I noted the pinned on one in an early pic you posted. Odds are I can handle that switch. The grinding and milling is beyond my capabilities although given the tools, time and task it might happen. Interested in playing with the rear sight notch width and depth. Need to acquire a few and experiment. Going to try sourcing them online. If unobtainable I’ll hit up the machine shop at work for some “government” jobs. Thanks.

Rob

Couple of considerations when selecting and installing a HiViz front sight: Pick the height thoughtfully. The hight the HiViz folks recommend for your particular model revolver may turn out to be a bit short if you use a taller than standard rear sight blade. The next taller front sight may be needed (too tall often turns out better than too short). Fortunately, adjustable rear sights usually have enough range to cover most discrepancies. As I recall, installation instructions suggest drilling incrementally from each side, and meeting in the middle. That is very good advice for preventing crooked or unnecessarily enlarged holes.

Shorter rear sight “take off” blades are everywhere, but not sufficient to accommodate a deepened notch. Taller blades, suitable for deepening the sight notch, are far less commonly encountered. The factory two dot blade intended for 3rd Gen. C.F. autos, when installed with the dot dimples facing forward, is excellent for J-Frames. For K-, L- and N-Frame revolvers, the factory blade made for one version of sight for the S&W Model 41 automatic works very well, and can be filed shorter if too tall for the particular use. Cold bluing juice takes care of filed sight tops and notches.

While correct sight heights can be computed mathematically, a temporary front sight, cut from a 1/8th inch thick sheet of black plastic for trial and error determination of relative sight heights, is more entertaining. The perfect set-up has the adjustable rear sight bottomed out for the heaviest bullet load to be used, so it can then be suitably elevated for lighter bullet loads without needing to adjust it so far up that it becomes awkward.

And, when removing a rear sight blade, I use a forked screwdriver I made by filling it, to engage the off-side nut. Doing that, I can regularly save the screw, rather than simply breaking the screw and replace it as is often recommended. When removing the sight blade out the right side, mind the tiny spring loaded detent plunger because, if it launches, you’ll not easily find it. Don’t ask how I learned that - and re-learned it repeatedly.

Reconfigured the 66-3 sights back to its previous HiViz setup:







As they’d been previously fitted, swapping took about 5 minutes, working slow. To paraphrase Pat Morita from Karate Kid, “Sights on, sights off. Repeat.”

This is a recent reproduction of my original PPC match revolver. I made this one using a Clark/Douglas 1:10 .357 ready-made barrel installed on a 2” Model 15 frame. I then had it Black Nitride treated for durability:



I made the original using a barrel I turned from a Numrich Gun Parts blank on my Sears Craftsman lathe. It, too, was installed on a 2” Model 15 frame, but commercially blued to match the frame. Here’s a 25 yard Ransom Rest 5 shot group of Winchester Super Match HBWC ammo fired from that original gun, just after I made it, back in the mid-‘70s:


(Sorry for the poor photo quality.)

While I was assigned to the CHP Pistol Team, I was still a road cop. When working the road, I carried a stainless steel version of my match gun in a Hoyt break-front holster, which would completely close around the fat PPC barrel. It was a very fast rig. The gun consisted of a Model 67 on which was installed a stainless barrel made by pistolsmith Earl Stroup of Fremont. And, that fat barrel was certainly impressive looking, particularly when viewed from out in front. Or, so thought a fleeing auto thief I pulled out of the bushes at gun point near Lexington Reservoir. Stunned, he asked, “Is that a f-ing silencer?” “Yes, yes it is,” I replied. “Why do you have a f-ing silencer?” “Well, if I should shoot you, even by accident, there’d be no muss, no fuss and no reports; I could just walk away.” He was most cooperative thereafter. I can only imagine what he told the other inmates after booking.

Regrettably, I sold my heavy barreled revolvers to other officers when I separated from the Patrol.

Here’s an example of the the recent gun’s capabilities at 50 yards:


Full disclosure: There’s a fifth hit, just cutting the 8-ring at 6 o’clock and conveniently obscured by the scope ocular in this photo. Seems like there must always be a group-ruining flyer.

Nice target gun! How do you manage to drive the pin out of the frame/barrel area and how do you re-install it properly?