Friday, September 11, 2009

Friday Gun Pr0n #128

Today's gun pic is the long-awaited "Mystery Gun" to which I alluded earlier this week.

S&W Model 34

This is a Smith & Wesson model 34-1 .22LR revolver. It's a J-frame Chief's Special (exposed hammer) with 2" barrel, a dead-ringer for the immensely popular model 36(steel)/637 (aluminum)/360 (scandium/titanium .357 Magnum. The only difference between this gun and its centerfire counterparts is that it holds 6 rounds instead of 5 (the model 432 chambered in .32 H&R Magnum has 6 rounds as well).

I had mentioned a while back that I finally understood the reason for owning a snubnosed .22LR revolver - inexpensive trigger time. TOTWTYTR gently chided me, knowing already the wisdom of having a rimfire doppelganger for the centerfire firearm one carries for protection. He acquired his own model 34 some time ago, and I got to shoot it at the Northeast Bloggershoot for AD we had in late March.

Saying I was hooked was an understatement.

I'd been quietly searching for a model 34 ever since shooting TOTWTYTR's model 34 - there's something about hitting a 6" steel plate at 25 yards with a snubnosed revolver to make you smile. Having a .22LR substitute for my .38 Special or .357 Magnum carry guns is both economical (overlooking the cost of the gun, natch) and practical - my gun club has a small indoor range that's limited to lead-only ammunition, and .22LR is eminently useful on that range. With a .22LR conversion kit for my G30 and the S&W model 34, I can have inexpensive carry gun practice literally any time of the day.

Next up, the range report for this bad larry!

That is all.

10 comments:

Bgg said...

Well, I guessed the caliber at least!

Nice pickup, and your rationale for choosing a rimfire double of your carry piece makes much sense.

Range report please!

Paladin said...

Beautiful gun!

Bitmap said...

The earlier kit guns were made on the even smaller I-frame. I think they should bring the smaller frame back for .22 rimfires, especially in scandium.

TOTWTYTR said...

It's a perfect training tool for anyone that has a J frame snubbie. Since I picked up a Model 60 about a year ago, the are a perfect match.

One bit of advice, though. Use only copper plated or copper washed ammunition. I found out very quickly that my Model 18 hates LRN ammunition. The barrel fouls very quickly and is a b**tch to clean. I have no reason to believe that the snubbies are any more forgiving.

Also, if your's has pinned barrel, you did very well.

breda said...

gorgeous photo.

Jay G said...

bgg,

Thanks! I was quite pleased with this find.

Interesting tidbit: I paid more for this gun than I've paid for any of my .22LR pistols.

Second interesting tidbit: At the gun shop where the transfer was performed, there was an identical Model 34 in the glass case directly under where we performed the transfer. Asking price was $225 *more* than I paid for mine...

Range report coming. I'm going to run it side-by-side with the 360 just for chuckles.

Thanks Paladin!

Bitmap,

It would be quite interesting to see what S&W could do with the I-frame given the latest in frame materials. I'd wager you could get a .38 Special gun even smaller than a J-frame that weighs only a fraction more than the P3AT...

TOTWTYTR,

Thanks for the tip. I pretty much only shoot Federal CP through my .22s because the unplated bullets foul EVERYTHING I run them through (ask brad_in_ma about the barrel of my Winchester 1906!).

Don't remember if the barrel is pinned or not. I'm still quite pleased with this gun!

Thanks Breda! I was also pleased with how nice this picture came out.

When I take my gun pics, I'll take anywhere from 10 - 50 pictures to get the one that I post. I was clicking through the bunch I saved from this photo session and this picture JUMPED out at me. Far and away the best one of this gun.

Barry said...

The revolver in the photo is not pinned. The other mod. 34 at the shop where you bought yours was probably pinned, explaining the higher cost. Pinned 34's are generally going for $500-$750, depending on condition.

DJ said...

A classy, classic, and highly useful piece.

Congrats!

TheAxe said...

That looks like so much fun, I hope you can sense the envy emanating from my eyeballs :)

Sara said...

I'm very jealous. I was hoping to find a model 34 before I gave up and bought a 317, I couldn't find a decently priced 34. Hope it's as fun as it looks!