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My wife got me hooked on the small S&W top-breaks and being me I had to research them. In the course of this I fell in love with the 'Bicycle' model and it's .38 S&W counterpart. Of course these things are collectable as hell and thus expensive. I bemoaned this sad fact to her and she shrugged and said, "make your own." I said, "I could do that." next thing I know it she was on gunbroker and snagged not one but two S&W .38 Safety Hammerless 4th models.
So I bobbed and re-crowned the barrel at 1-5/8" (because it looked right that way,) cleaned the gun up and made an ergonomic grip. Well, several actually; never made grips for a handgun and there was a learning curve. I finally finished the gun in 'antique gray.'
The trigger is typical of these old Smiths- a bit heavy but silky smooth. Slightly smaller than a J-Frame it carries easily in a pocket or holster. .38 S&W isn't the most potent round but it will do the job. I load a Hornady 148gr HBWC over 2.7 grains of Unique with a CCI primer. Not too hot for the gun, accurate as hell and decent penetration. The tiny sights are surprisingly effective; yeah, the sight radius is super-short, but this places the front and rear sights in the same focal plane which seems to work for me. Since I spend most of my day in my workshop and this is usually the gun I drop in my pocket I'd have to call it my EDC. Typically I'll carry a speed-strip for reloading.
How does it shoot? Pretty darn good, actually- this is a 7-yard rapid-fire target-
This is definitely in the running for my favorite revolver.
So I bobbed and re-crowned the barrel at 1-5/8" (because it looked right that way,) cleaned the gun up and made an ergonomic grip. Well, several actually; never made grips for a handgun and there was a learning curve. I finally finished the gun in 'antique gray.'
The trigger is typical of these old Smiths- a bit heavy but silky smooth. Slightly smaller than a J-Frame it carries easily in a pocket or holster. .38 S&W isn't the most potent round but it will do the job. I load a Hornady 148gr HBWC over 2.7 grains of Unique with a CCI primer. Not too hot for the gun, accurate as hell and decent penetration. The tiny sights are surprisingly effective; yeah, the sight radius is super-short, but this places the front and rear sights in the same focal plane which seems to work for me. Since I spend most of my day in my workshop and this is usually the gun I drop in my pocket I'd have to call it my EDC. Typically I'll carry a speed-strip for reloading.
How does it shoot? Pretty darn good, actually- this is a 7-yard rapid-fire target-
This is definitely in the running for my favorite revolver.
