Does that revolver model have a stainless steel frame or an aluminum alloy frame?

Looks stainless steel. I have a mid-1980s Model 649 in .38 Special that is all stainless steel. I really like it and it's my favorite of the J-Frame Smith & Wesson tribe. Best of both worlds. I'm not keen on double-action-only revolvers. I like having choices. The shrouded hammer offers thumb cocking for more precise shooting, yet hammer spur is protected so that it does not snag on clothing if drawn from a pocket or from beneath a coat or other covering garment.

I shot an earlier rendition of that revolver once. Was made before the advent of the lock mechanism with the required hole in the side of the frame. It was "enthusiastic" with full powered 158 grain .357 Magnum ammunition, yet was surprisingly doable in small doses. I only fired five rounds through it. I can't imagine shooting one of the Smith & Wesson Airweight models .357 Magnum. Well, I'd do it just for the experience of having done so. I imagine that the sensation would be about the same as having a pro slugger thwack one's held out and opened hand with a baseball bat.

The lock could be trouble, especially with hard kicking .357 Magnum ammunition. I experienced spontaneous lock engagements during shooting someone else's Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum not long after the lock was introduced. So did my brother-in-law when he took his turn. I'm afraid I'd have to modify the revolver by removing the lock mechanism, before I would be willing to rely on the gun.

It's a sobering feeling to have a revolver lock up during use when the ramifications are considered.

My Model 649 is in .38 Special and dates to 1985. It would have come from the factory with the rubber stocks, but I had to go all retro and install a pair of 1950s "high hump" walnut stocks on it with a Tyler T-Grip for improved handling.

 

It’s stainless steel. I’m not sure when it was manufactured. I’ll look through the paperwork and/or see if I can determine the age based on serial number.

The gun is “as new” and has never been fired.

 

I just checked the date on the little brown envelope that contains the factory test cartridge. The gun was test fired at the factory in late 2006, so it’s reasonable to assume that it was manufactured on or close to that date. It’s a 2006 vintage, stainless steel gun.

 

I decided to make my Pietta copy of an 1858 Remington New Army into a convertible. I installed a gated conversion cylinder, and only had to cut a loading gate through the recoil frame to accommodate it. I took it out and test fired it, and had nothing but smooth operation. Now all I need to do to finish it is blue the newly cut gate. This cylinder can be easily removed and the percussion cylinder still works just fine in the gun, so now I can shoot it as either a percussion revolver or metallic cartridge, depending on my mood.

 

Well done, Waltese!!

I also have a Pietta, and have wanted to do this. How did you cut the recoil plate?

 

Nice!

 

Thanks fellas.

Wry, I used a coarse sanding drum on my Drexel tool. Once the .45 shell lay in the gate nicely, I cleaned up my work with 1000 grit emory cloth. I'm going to use Birchwood Casey Super Blue cold blue to blue it.

 

Just picked up this old Pietta, new in box, from the early 1970s.....

 

Nice find Wry, those are pretty good old revolvers. Here is my M1860 made in 1861. It's actually about to get some work done to correct the wedge to arbor fit and tighten the barrel back up. I'll probably start on it this week.

 

Waltesefalcon, you are accomplishing post-graduate gunsmithing right here on the Forum!

 

The work on the 1858 Pietta was simple. The work I'm about to do on the M1860 well be much more involved, though much less noticeable. I'll be sure to take plenty of photos.

 

I finised up my Pietta project. I am not as pleased with the bluing as I could be, but it's cold blue, and there is really only so much you can do with it. I just wasn't going to go through the effort of stripping the entire gun down and rust bluing it when it's just a fun gun.

 

I’m just astounded at your smithing skills. Beauty!

 

Thank you. This was a really straight forward job. It didn't require much skill, just a steady hand and patience.

 

Just picked up a 1905 production Winchester 1895, the last John Browning designed lever action. Of course, it's chambered in .35 WCF, which isn't the easiest ammo to find.

 

What a terrific looking old rifle. I really like the 1895, but have never owned one.

 

A fantastic acquisition efauser!

While a now obsolete caliber, the .35 WCF could be said to be undeniably effective on all North American big game. Said to have an enthusiastic recoil as well.

The Winchester Model 1895 is a way cool lever-action design from the fertile mind of the great John M. Browning. Its box magazine was just the thing for the coming jacketed spitzer bullets with their superior exterior ballistics which were on the horizon in 1895 when the rifle made its debut.

Of all the pre-1900 Winchester lever-action models I think the Winchester Model 1895 is my personal favorite. I've had two of them.

It's a hoot to open the Winchester '95. It looks like it really spills its guts, but is fast and slick.

I once had a '95 chambered for .30-40 Krag and still have a '95 chambered for .405 WCF. Mine was made in 1904, the year the .405 cartridge was introduced. Quite a potent lever-action rifle and genuinely grim to fire off the bench rest for extended shooting sessions, which leaves the shooter stunned as if he's just been in a bad car wreck and is stumbling dazedly down the side of the highway. It's the only long gun I've ever fired that lived up to its recoil reputation and I've sampled some reputed hard kickers. It'll rattle the fillings in your teeth!



I've had this one 40 years this year. Had a big time concocting handloads for it at a time when only ancient cartridge cases could be had and bulllets were a custom order proposition. Ken Waters' "Pet Loads" and seat-o'-the-pants experimental handloading were the sources for load development. Took one deer with it early on, a buck at 90 steps. Texas sized white tails simply don't offer enough substance for the .405. A perfect hit dropped him where he stood, then after a short interval I witnessed a geyser of dirt erupt from out of a plowed field hundreds of yards behind him.

Since then the '95 .405 has mostly been used to entertain other willing shooters, especially our two sons and their friends when they were all young.

 

I added a second Uberti SAA to the stable. I plan on getting into cowboy action and a second SAA in .357 was the most viable option for my second revolver.

Before settling on the Uberti, I had considered getting another Bisley in .32-20 to go along with my old 1905 Colt. I had also considered getting a second M1860 and shooting in the black powder category.

I decided on the Uberti partly because it is cheaper, but also because I load for .357 and .38 spl all the time, and because I'd like to get a lever gun in .357 and it will compliment the SAAs nicely.

Here are my two Ubertis.

 

I'll be the first to admit: I had no idea these existed. I'm not a Glock fan, but thought this was interesting!

https://glockwatches.com/en-us/products/gw-34-4-24