It's all P-F.com's fault

[shooter220]

The last of the really nice finishes on the blued Smith revolvers seemed to kind of go away in the late 80s (and many folks say they had been "sliding" for a long time before that).

Not only was it not as hot a seller anymore once the 6-- guns came out, stainless requires very little finish work. A good bluing job requires a fair amount. Any savings to Smith on buying Carbon Steel went out the window when they invested time to make the bluing look nice - or as nice as it could look given evolving EPA rules.

I would go as far as to say there aren't many nice bluing jobs on guns anymore, short of some high-end 1911s.

-shooter

[Dagga Boy]

I picked up a beautiful blued model 25-5 with gorgeous grips the same day as I impulse bought the SSR. That 25-5 went into the display gun cabinet in the man room and will probably never be shot. 25-5's were our duty guns, so all the ones I have ever had time on were beater duty guns. It was nice to get a collector piece. It has a soul. The SSR lacks the soul stirring character of the guns of a different time. It does exhibit the modern machining advances and theme of many more modern systems. It fits the role of a "service" revolver as opposed to an enthusiast revolver. The Ruger GP100's were always like that for me. Not soul stirring, just something I wanted to shoot as much as possible.

The nice thing about the SSR is that I don't have to make decisions about my pride of ownership guns. The 3 1/2" Model 27 (maybe the best looking DA revolver ever made), my 2 1/2" 66, or the numerous big bores can all sit happily in the safe as "examples of goodness" rather than taking any chances with them with a bad round, dropping, or other possible hazards. Like Tamara said, the SSR can get dumped in the range bag with a economy pack of .38 for some work with no issues or concerns.

[nalesq]

Because people mostly stopped buying them. Blued revolvers are fun to coonfinger and "Ooh!" and "Aah!" over, but soulless steel is a lot more fun to shoot and neglect.

Ironically, then, the only Smith & Wesson revolvers I own simply to "shoot and neglect" are blued revolvers: an ancient Model 10 acquired in college which I left long ago at my parents' house so that there is a beater heater handy whenever I visit them, and a well-worn Model 19 rescued from a shelter (a hole-in-the-wall pawn shop). My Model 19 is mostly a rather handsome revolver that is none the less relegated to "shoot and neglect" status, because I bought it for cheap due to the fact that some imbecile inexplicably engraved his social security number into the side-plate, perhaps while drunk. But if there was some way I could fix this nasty scar, my 19 might well be elevated to "Ooh!" and "Ahh!" status.

[Tamara]

Ironically, then, the only Smith & Wesson revolvers I own simply to "shoot and neglect" are blued revolvers...

Oh, I totally grok that. The closest thing I have to a "range bag" Smith at the moment is a pre-Model 18 that shows enough signs of honest use that I don't worry if it picks up another freckle or worn spot.

[TCinVA]

Oh, I totally grok that. The closest thing I have to a "range bag" Smith at the moment is a pre-Model 18 that shows enough signs of honest use that I don't worry if it picks up another freckle or worn spot.

I just bought a model 34 that lives in my range bag for double action precision practice. Over 1,000 rounds of dirty rimfire so far with no cleaning.

...as I typed that I felt a disturbance in the force, as if a hundred guys on the Smith & Wesson forum just rolled their eyes and cried out in agony.

[Chuck Haggard]

I just bought a model 34 that lives in my range bag for double action precision practice. Over 1,000 rounds of dirty rimfire so far with no cleaning.

...as I typed that I felt a disturbance in the force, as if a hundred guys on the Smith & Wesson forum just rolled their eyes and cried out in agony.

That's because they did. You aren't supposed to shoot blued S&Ws, you are supposed to whisper to them while rubbing them with a soft cloth, then place them gently back into the safe. So I've been told.

Whatever. My model 10 2" has some actual pits on the outside from being AIWB in the summer.

[Tamara]

That's because they did. You aren't supposed to shoot blued S&Ws, you are supposed to whisper to them while rubbing them with a soft cloth, then place them gently back into the safe. So I've been told.

I have a couple of older Smiths that are unfired and on which I have yet to talk myself into the $200 trigger pull.

[rsa-otc]

Generally I don't keep guns I don't shoot. The lone exception has been the gun my wife bought me for my birthday 12 days prior to us getting married. And that one has well into the tens of thousands of rounds through it before it was retired to be a safe queen.

Right now I find myself jonesen for a Mdl 13 3" round butt. Should I come across one of those in decent condition for a good price I'm sure it would follow me home. It would be shot, caressed cleaned and whispered too.

I'm a wheelie kind of guy and prefer the fit and feel of the older blued K frames. Sometime around when they started to offer the smooth faced trigger they changed the trigger profile and , the upper part of the trigger started abrading the top of my trigger finger during prolonged shooting sessions. The older specimens with the narrow serrated trigger faces don’t evidence this problem.

[Tamara]

Generally I don't keep guns I don't shoot.

My 401k has been outperforming most people's 401k's. Further, worst come to worst, you can't shoot a zombie in the face with a hundred shares of AAPL, but if it gets time to strap a colander on my face and play Lord of the Wasteland, an unfired NRA EXC+ 100% Triple Lock is still a .44.

[Chuck Haggard]

I have a couple of older Smiths that are unfired and on which I have yet to talk myself into the $200 trigger pull.

I'm well known to be a heathen. The first thing I asked a friend when he got in his brand new John Wayne commemerative lever gun and John Wayne ammo was "when we gonna go shoot this?". He almost had a heart attack.