Looking at a Smith model 64

Sounds like a plan! Always better to check out a gun in person versus ordering one essentially sight unseen. Hope it passes inspection and you get a nice S&W Model 64!

If it shoots as good as the 64-5 I got from AIM, you'll be very satisfied. Nothing like a smooth K-frame trigger pull, single and double action.

For target shooting, some inexpensive Wolff springs will make it even nicer.

Hope it works out.

I ordered two used 64s at the same time, sight unseen, thinking that I could keep the best one and sell the other. I liked them so much I ended up keeping them both.

There's something about the model 64 and 38 special that just meshes so well. If your 64 is in decent shape, I think you'll be very pleased.

They're great sixshooters. I hope you get a good one

I got to handle one belonging to a friend, a 64-2 snub. Has special meaning to her because she inherited it from her brother. I cleaned it up and replaced the mix of old ammo in it with some decent stuff. Would love to have one myself. For $300 it should be a deal. Hope it works out, enjoy.

My crystal ball says basic fixed sight 4” barrel 38 Special revolvers prices are going to increase dramatically in the next few years.

The reason is as States like California move towards banning semi-auto pistols the demand for revolvers will increase as that will be the most common handgun available. Simple market economics is the supply decreases price will increase especially as people want a handgun.

A well maintained Model 64 is a treat!!! $300 seems like a pretty fair price.

The 64-8 is a great revolver, even with the internal lock and the two piece barrel. I have both a 3" and a 4" 64-8, and they are every bit as accurate as my 64 "no dash", and probably more robust than the "pencil barrel" original.

Both of my -8's were surplus guns, the 4" was probably a domestic corrections gun, and the 3" came back from France.

My 64 has been great. Get one you won't regret it. It will be a great companion for your model 10.

$300! You sure didn't hurt yourself there.

$300 was a deal, at least around here. Anymore, if you can find a beat up one for $350, youre lucky.

I got this one off J&G Sales a number of years back when they were sitll cheap. Paid $250 for it. They havent been that for a long time, and the guns they have had, seemed to be a lot rattier the last couple of times Ive seen them.

When I got mine, the outside was scuffed up pretty good, and the Uncle Mikes grips were trash, but the gun was spotless on the inside, and the cleanest gun Ive ever bought or seen from a shop. They must have run them through an ultrasonic cleaner or something similar. Ive never seen anything like it.

Mine came DAO and the hammer spur removed. The trigger is buttery smooth. It seems while it was a bit rough on the outside, it was well maintained and cared for function wise. Its also a great shooter.

A Houge mono grip and a little Mothers polish and a rainy afternoon cleaned up the outside pretty good.

I just let a buddy talk me out of my 4" but I kept my 3" and 2" Model 64's. The 3" may have the smoothest action of any Smith I've ever owned. I know it is factory because I know the original owner and I'm the second owner. It will never leave me.

A buddy of mine got one from SOG last year not long before they closed. He paid the extra $10 to have one hand picked, but it was towards the end of their supply. With shipping and transfer on his end he had about $310 in it.
Handpick got him one that was not stamped by the agency. The rubber grips were ripped and the finish was pretty well scuffed up. No big gouges or deep scratches, but the exterior wasnt pretty. The gun locked up as tight as could be and has an excellent trigger
He took it home and spent a couple hours cleaning it up and lightly hand polishing it with Mother, mag wheel cleaner & polish and he put a nice set of S&W Magna grips on it
You would not believe it was the same gun when he was done. He didnt really polish the gun so much as buff out the light scuffs and scrapes and gave the gun a nice even but still satin finish.
At the range it shoots as good as it looks. Trigger is much nicer than my pinned 64-3. Like I said, the trigger is pretty nice and despite all the negativity with S&W revolvers with the lock, MIM parts and 2 piece barrels, this gun shoots! I think my buddy got a deal and if you saw his gun in a shop they would be asking $450 for it, and if you knew how it shoots, you’d pay it

They tend to have fantastic triggers. Can't beat them for simple, reliable handguns.

Local gunstore had these on sale, some of you might recall seeing one of these in your last extended stay in Georgia!



I installed the clamshell Pachmayr's, took it out shooting, and offhand, it shoots well. Before my eyes went and iron sights got fuzzy, I would have a tighter group, but at 50 yards, this will work.



The newest looking M64's had already been snapped up by the store employees, this one was in pretty good shape and left because of the deep DOC serial number which was not on the removal able side plate. The store employee bragging to me about the one he bought, the serial number was on the sideplate and he had an extra sideplate, so his pistol looked new. These are and were great, pre lock, revolvers. I prefer this period for a couple of reasons. While I miss the pinned barrel, the pinned barrel era had recessed cylinders which I did not like. I like being able to look at the side of a revolver and seeing case heads. And the recessed cylinder extractor stars were a pain to clean. And then, I like the firing pin on the hammer. A direct strike mechanism provides more energy to the primer and thus, gives more positive ignition. Instead of the hammer energy being dissipated through a transfer bar, then to a frame mounted firing pin, whatever kinetic energy the spring gives to the hammer is transferred directly from the firing pin to the primer.

I am going to recommend, if you want a great load in one of these fixed sight 38 Specials, a load of a 158 grain lead bullet with 3.5 grains Bullseye. This load shoots to point of aim in these older revolvers, the sights were graduated for 158 gr bullets, and this load shoots exceptionally well in all of my 38 Special revolvers. Depending on the pistol, it averages 760 fps in a four inch barrel, that is a standard pressure 38 Special load and is appropriate for any 38 Special ever built.

Bump it up a half grain in a 357 case, and you have a very accurate load that will not leave lead rings in the cylinder.

I own a pair exactly like yours. My M10 ignited a spree of Smith and Wesson accumulation that has no end in sight.
6 or 7 in the past year. Going shopping again in a couple of weeks.

My pair of Model 10 and 64 police trade-ins have been never failed to satisfy. You just simply cant go wrong with one.

t seems

stonebuster said:

That's what's happening to me. I was looking at a S&W M28 Highway patrolman and 686-4 when I saw the 64-8. I figured the $300 M64 was the cheapest way to get my Smith "fix." But I know it won't last long.

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Good luck with that!

Im a sucker for a nice Smith as well. And no matter how much you think you might be cured, it seems theres always something else you just gotts to have, calling your name.

The snubbys are my downfall these days, but anything nice will do. Just picked up a nice 625 last week. What was I to do? It knew my name and just kept mournfully crying it!

stonebuster said:

That's what's happening to me. I was looking at a S&W M28 Highway patrolman and 686-4 when I saw the 64-8. I figured the $300 M64 was the cheapest way to get my Smith "fix." But I know it won't last long.

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I've been trying to get my "Smith Fix" for about 75 revolvers worth. It won't last. Sometimes buying 2-3 at a time will last longer than buying 1, but the urge keeps coming back. About 5 years ago, I decided to sell off all of my Smiths that I didn't shoot regularly and the others that I call my collection. Plan was going pretty well but I think looking at the empty spaces in the safe brought the urge right back and its full again and now some overflow. It is an incurable disease.

They are wonderful revolvers whether new or years old. I have a heavy barrel 4" S&W M10 and a .357 3" S&W M65. They both are awesome shooters and have been with me for ages.

About 4 years ago a friend called me to say that a LGS had some Model 64’s for $200 OTD! I figured A: they were all gone, B: they were junk, or C: he’d been hitting the Scotch way too hard!

But out of curiosity I went to check. Lo and behold! There were about 25 Model 64-3. 4” heavy barrel, LEO trade-ins. There were no marks or stamps on the guns so they didn’t know the source, but most were in good to very good condition. The owner had no problem with me picking through them and I found several that were in very good condition. (I limited myself to 3 ).
And the best part was that my friend was right about the $200 OTD price! I almost got another one!

Took them home, cleaned them up, polished out some minor stuff and took them out to the range. With 158 grain SWC ammo they shot to point of aim. With 125 grain +P they shot low, as expected. All have the expected good K frame trigger. They all shoot better than I can hold these days. One now lives in my vehicle, one in my wife’s car and the last has a permanent place in my range bag.

I check with the shop fairly frequently, but the owner says that was a once in a lifetime buy! Just glad my buddy called me!