Old gun
 

Howdy folks

My wife has an old S&W 38 Special pistol that belonged to her dad.

She tells me it has not been fired in 15 years
and the ammo is at least that old probably older

Is this Gun Safe to fire?

and what about the ammo?

Of course I would clean the gun before I tried to shoot it.

Any other tips?

thanks!

Re: Old gun
 

Keep away from special +P ammo until you get an age of the gun and determine if it can handle it.

Have fun and shoot the thing.

E-A

Re: Old gun
 

I have rifles that are over 100 years old. Your revolver is probably fine.
if you are worried about it have a gunsmith take a quick look at it.

The oldest ammo I have fired is about 60 years old.

Re: Old gun
 

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Re: Old gun
 

If it is a revolver check the indexing of the cylinder to make sure there is not excessive play (movement) or misalignment between the cylinder and the barrel cone. When the cylinder is open make sure there is not too much play and that it locks up tight when closed.

Re: Old gun
 

I don't know. Can you post some pictures. Also, you can take it to your local gun shop and ask them. Just make sure you have it in a case.

Re: Old gun
 

I have to echo the take it to a gunsmith, he'll have the tools and the expertise to judge the condition of the gun.

The important part is the indexing, and not shooting +P loads until you know if it can handle it.

Re: Old gun
 

Thanks everyone for you replys :D

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h5...rken/mygun.jpg

Nope, No corrosion The bullets look good too.:D

Gonna go shoot that sucker in the back yard!

I'll let you know how it goes

Re: Old gun
 

nice little s&w. used to be called a chiefs special. great little hide out piece

Re: Old gun
 

Smith & Wesson Model 60 Stainless 38 spl...will handle +P just fine...YOU might not..:no_ma:

I would recommend some bigger grips on it first...like these:

Re: Old gun
 

15 YEARS!!!???
OMG!!!!!

That was like the early 90's, or somethin'!!! :confused_ma::banghead:

Re: Old gun
 

Silvercity, that last set of grips is beautiful.

Agree, Smith Model 60, safe for +P.

Best self defense loads for that would be the new Speer Gold Dot 135 grain 38 special +p.

Re: Old gun
 

Looks in fine shape. Nice piece.

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Re: Old gun
 

Great advice That would def. make it easier to keep a hold of. Thanks

Haven't had a chance to shoot it yet....Went to Costco and wally world and did some more stocking up.

Maybe after work tommorrow

I have shot quite a few pistols in the past,38, 45, 9mm.
My dad was a cop for 30 years. So I grew up going to the range on week ends
Been a while though.
I was a Purty good shot too.
even if I do say so myself :D

Thanks guys...
I'll let you know when I get a chance to fire it

Re: Old gun
 

I have underwear older than that....:D

Gun and ammo should be fine as long as they've been kept clean and dry....

Re: Old gun
 

I've got a 55-year-old Browning A5 shotgun that was my Dad's and there is no problem shooting anything out of that.

When you said old gun, I was envisioning an ancient revolver with a cylinder with about 15 degrees of slop.

Re: Old gun
 

15 years..
the gun you should not worry..(make sure it is clean and lubed..
In my time have fired 60 + years ammo....
For all of you reading this ,,the really old ammo had primers that were not good for your barrel..(sp)
But 15 year ammo..
In my thoughts do not worry..
will be fine...
Dusty

Re: Old gun
 

Shot gun..
if the rounds are plastic..
cool..
if paper do not try..
But i think paper went out longer than 15 years.
.D

Re: Old gun
 

That is certainly an early version Smith & Wesson model 60.

I have one that is identical. I purchased it new in 1977.

The papers that came with it said DO NOT use +P ammo.
Smith made newer versions in later years that would handle +P ammo but not this one.

I have been told that these were popular in Viet Nam as concealed pieces with U.S. soldiers and pilots. Back then a stainless steel gun was a rarity.

Re: Old gun
 

Yes they did back in those days...liability issues I am sure. I would not recommend a steady diet of high pressure loads in any fiream not specifically designed for them. A few +P rounds every once in a great while won't hurt...the gun, that is...I doubt the shooter will ever make a regular habit simply because they ain't no fun to shoot..:thumpdown

IMO, simple wadcutters or standard pressure 38 Spl. loads are about as good as it gets performance-wise out of a 2" barrel anyway...

For what it's worth, Smith & Wesson AIRWEIGHT alloy J-frames are now +P rated...OUCH! :rant: I can almost GUARANTEE you won't be shootin' many of those. :smokin:

Re: Old gun
 

I've got a Taurus titanium in 38 that is rated for +P. The pistol is incredibly light, less than a pound but it's no problem to shoot because the barrel is ported. Because of the porting, there is no muzzle flip at all and the perceived recoil is quite low. A lot of what we interpret as recoil is really the barrel flipping up. Get rid of that and follow up shots are much quicker too.

I've got another Taurus revolver in .41 Mag with a 4 inch barrel, also ported. I wouldn't want to shoot it unported. Though there is no flip, it comes back with a pretty hard slap. I shot it once on a cold day, after about 18 rounds, my palm was bright red and stinging.

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This looks like it may be a Model 36, if so, DO NOT USE +P's!

If it is a Model 60, it's an older one and may not handle +P's (you'll know when your cylinder jams or blows up in your face).

In normal condition it should shoot regular '38's. No need to mess with plus P's anyway.

As for indexing, ware safety classes or you'll get shaved lead in your face and/or eyes!

If it does, the indexing is worn and out of sync.

Either way, always use shooting glasses.

Other than that, those grips are fine. They make it highly concealable.

You could carry it in your back pocket very easily.

Maranatha,

:smile:

Re: Old gun
 

That's a "Body Guard Special".

Maranatha,

:smile:

Re: Old gun
 

Re: Old gun
 

Here's both.

http://www.snubnose.info/docs/bodyguard.htm

http://www.snubnose.info/docs/M637.htm

These are great hide a ways and you can shoot them all day long with out any problems.

Maranatha,

:smile:

Re: Old gun
 

I beg to differ...the pistol in question is a S&W MODEL 60 .38 Spl, the model 36 is BLUED...all earlier Smith stainless revolvers started with the number "6", as in 60, 64, 65, 66, 67, etc. Current SAAMI pressure limits for .38 Spl and .38 Spl +P are 17,000psi and 18,500 psi (old rating 20,000psi) respectively...NOT a problem for any Smith J-frame I ever owned from the 70's. New J frame Model 60s are also chambered in .357 MAGNUM (35,000psi).

You may be thinking of the older revolvers in .38 S&W or New Colt Service cartridge with a 14,500 psi rating...I would not shoot +P in one of those (if you could chamber it). If any doubt lingers, Mr. traderken, call Smith and Wesson yourself and ask them.

The .38 S&W (.38 Colt New Police)

By Chuck Hawks
"Smith and Wesson devised this black powder cartridge in 1877. It was intended for the relatively weak top-break Smith revolvers of the period. Colt also chambered revolvers for the cartridge, which they called the .38 Colt New Police. As I understand it, the only difference was the flat-nose lead bullet loaded in the Colt version of the cartridge. (The S&W version used a 145 grain round-nose lead bullet.) Both claimed a muzzle velocity (MV) of 730 fps and a muzzle energy (ME) of 173 ft. lbs. There was also a variation of the .38 S&W called the .38 Super Police or .38/200. These used a 200 grain LRN bullet at a MV of 620 fps with 176 ft. lbs. of energy."