Questions on my new S&W M60

[warddc]

I saw a used S&W model 60 today at the gun shop and couldn't leave it there without a home. It is chambered in .357 Mag with a 2-1/8" barrel.

I would like to find out a little about it though and thought you folks could answer some of my questions. I would like to know about how old it is. It is a model 60-9 with serial number CBJ2xxx. It also has what I think is some flame cutting right ahead of the cylinder on the yoke. I didn't notice the cutting until I got it home. Is this cutting normal and OK? There is no flame cutting however on the top strap (which is what I looked for in the store.) The cylinder seems tight at lockup and the timing looked good. I took it apart to give it a thorough cleaning though once I got it apart it seemed very clean and just needed a little lubrication on the internal action. Anyway I picked it up for $320 I hope that isn't too bad of a price.

dave.

 

[Old Fuff]

I don't find a listing for a "CBJ" serial number prefix, but I suspect it was made around 1997. S&W's Customer Service Department could probably do better.

I wouldn't be suprised if a previous owner shot some 125-grain JHP/.357 Magnums through it, but I'd expect gas cutting on the topstrap or at the back of the throat, not around the back of the yoke. Are you sure that what you were seeing wasn't lead splatter?

If the gun isn't damaged the price seems reasonable. I think the former owner got tired of the punishment caused by shooting .357 Magnum cartridges in so light a gun.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I think the former owner got tired of the punishment caused by shooting .357 Magnum cartridges in so light a gun.

I have an identical revolver, plus arthritis, plus computer wrist. My model 60 isn't a genuine joy and delight to shoot with full house .357 magnum rounds, but firing them is by no means punishing. If I planned to shoot 1,000 rounds, I'd prefer my model 27-2 or a Python with a six- or eight-inch barrel, but the little gun doesn't deliver unduly bothersome recoil.

Flame cutting on the yoke sounds awfully improbable to me. I'd suspect that's an accumulation of shaved lead and/or some kitchen table gunsmith's self-styled "fixing." If it is, indeed, flame cutting, I'd take the gun to a very competent gunsmith to have the cylinder and breech gap and alignment checked.

I paid $350 for mine somewhat over a year ago, and promptly poured a bunch more money into it: bead blasting, hammer and trigger jeweling, porting, stocks, and replacement rebound slide and main springs, plus holsters, of course. I've painted the front sight since this picture was taken, but it's showing signs of holster wear.

 

[BigG]

IIRC the 357 J Frame was first produced in 1996. I bought the Model 640, which is similar to the 60 but with an enclosed hammer. When the AirLight 357s came out, I turned the 640 in for one of those.

 

[warddc]

Not leading.

Standing Wolf,

Since there is no flame cutting on the topstrap I was thinking the grooves probably weren't flame cutting either but I thought I'd check. The grooves are weird. It is not built up leading or anything. I have cleaned the area shiney with yellow lead wipe clothes to get a better look. They don't line directly up with the gap between the cylinder and the forcing cone. They are slightly ahead of that on the little bushing like thingy (the technical term) ahead of the cylinder on the yoke directly below the forcing cone. Just small slits that angle down each side. They are probably only a a few thousands thick. Strange. I just wondered if this was normal. guess not. I'll try an post a pic.

dave.

 

[Old Fuff]

While some find the model 60 to be …. ah …… exhilarating when firing .357 Magnum cartridges others don’t. This is especially so when a gunshop commando talks a newbie into one as a first gun. I can also say from personal observation that a fair number of new users can’t hit a barn while inside with the door closed, even at short range. On the other hand their performance improves when a lighter-loaded .38 Special cartridge is substituted with less recoil and blast. One advantage of the magnum is that one can use .38’s in it, but you’d be surprised how many owners don’t know it. Anyway, one “unintended consequence†of all this has been a number of them showing up on the used market, sometimes for attractive prices. This can be good or bad, depending on one’s views. I have no idea how long a very light-framed revolver can hold up to a steady diet of 357 rounds, and I don’t intend to conduct any experiments in that direction. I would only say that a potential buyer of a used one should check it out very carefully.

 

[James Bondrock]

I have no idea how long a very light-framed revolver can hold up to a steady diet of 357 rounds, and I don’t intend to conduct any experiments in that direction.

Few people are hardy enough to shoot a J-frame .357 to destruction.

 

[Standing Wolf]

Hello, warddc!

I think one of those famous worth 1,000 words pictures would help. I just looked at my model 60 and reread your posts, and am sorry to say I don't understand. Too much Thanksgiving dinner, maybe.

 

[warddc]

here's a pic of the groove.

The groove is the dark line right ahead of the cylinder.

d.

 

[Majic]

A wild guess, could it be you are looking at shims?

 

[warddc]

not shims

I have pulled the crane off the gun and looked closely. These are two slices on the crane body roughly at 90 deg to each other. They look so sharp, clean and flat bottomed that they almost look like they were cut by machine. There aren't any shims. The cylinder just slides over the crane and bumps up against the stop.

d.

 

[Standing Wolf]

The groove is the dark line right ahead of the cylinder.

Ah-hah! Now I understand!

It's a sort of washer and part of the cylinder-extractor assembly. Mine looks identical. I don't know why it's not round.

 

[BluesBear]

Isn't that part of the cylinder bushing?

The bushing is fitted to control the end shake of the cylinder.