Picked up an oooold S&W yesterday. NYLES would appreciate it.

[Jcordell]

Yesterday I was just browsing through one of the better pawn shops in the area. The shop had a Pre-War (WW II) Heavy Duty revolver with a 5" barrel for sale. He was only asking $400.00 for it. The timing is dead on. There is no end shake, the bore is clean and the finish is probably 85% and all the parts match.

Now for those who are saying so what(?) the Heavy Duty and the Outdoorsman were large frame revolvers that were designed to shoot high velocity 38 Special loads. Sometimes called the 38/44 load or the Super Police. This load was introduced by Smith & Wesson in 1930. It was their answer to Colt's Super 38. The 38/44 was the predecessor of the .357 magnum which was introduced in 1935.

On imfdb the models can be found as the S&W Model 20 and Model 23.In 1957S&W started numbering their models. Both models were discontinued in 1967.

The Pre-war models are hard to find anymore and they typically sell anywhere between $700 - 900 dollars. The pawn shop owner knew what he had, but told me that most of his customers would just look at it as being a big old (emphasis on old) heavy 38 special revolver and wouldn't want it. So he priced it accordingly. It had been in the case for a few days and I was the first person to actually look at it. I left with it. It will safely handle +P and the hotter +P+ 38 loads without any trouble. It's a great revolver. Belongs in Public Enemies.

A few photos. Trust me this is a big deal if you are into collecting Smith & Wesson. Or if you are old like me.