S&W model 60 - tested for FIL

[hayzor]

Tested out a S&W model 60 last week. My FIL (a Doctor) bought the gun off a mentally unstable patient 20 yrs ago. He was concerned she had the gun and paid her $200 so he didn’t have to worry about her doing something crazy. It has been in a sock drawer for 20 yrs.
He wanted me to “test it out” and make sure it still fired and all. I was surprised when he dropped it off, stainless steel, and looks very nice. I was expecting an old beat up thing.
I pulled 5 hollow points out of it. They had different cases, but the same HP bullet, so I suspected they were reloads. Probably fine but I chose not to shoot them. I inspected everything - no wear or cracks. Everything looked good.
I ran a bunch or FMJ rounds and it was flawless, as I expected.
My 11 y.o. enjoyed shooting it more than my XD9.
Took it home, cleaned it, oiled it and reloaded it w/ FMJ’s. I need to get some SD rounds for it. It will be hard to give back to the FIL, I’ve already grown a little attached.

I’m not real familiar w/ revolvers – anything else I should check? It seemed pretty strait forward.
Also – for SD rounds in a revolver – how many rounds do you put through a revolver to be confident in the round/gun for SD?? I suspect much fewer than an auto.

Thanks,
hayzor

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[1911luver]

Hi nice gun that smith model 60 is,its a real classic. As to your question of how man HP's to put through a revolver,I'd say maybe a box or two to get a feel for them and verify point of aim/point of impact.

A revolver won't have any feeding issues or anything like that. Speer makes an excellent JHP load in their gold dot line,I'd try some of those out.

[1 old 0311]

They are built like a tank, and will last forever. I 'acquired' one in 1969 in Vietnam and though that one is long gone have owned one ever since. At about 21 ounces they are very easy for anyone to shoot even with hot loads. I use Silvertips, but there are many good ammo choices out there. Going price varies by region, but $400 is about average.

[ctr]

...
I’m not real familiar w/ revolvers – anything else I should check? It seemed pretty strait forward.
Also – for SD rounds in a revolver – how many rounds do you put through a revolver to be confident in the round/gun for SD?? I suspect much fewer than an auto.

Thanks,
hayzor

A couple of things to check.
Open the cylinder and empty the revolver.

Check around the forcing cone for pitting, see any? You should not.

Check the bore and cylinder walls with a light for rust and/or pitting, see any? You should not.

Spin the cylinder slowly and watch the ejector rod, is it straight and true? It should be.

Close the cylinder. Check the gap between the forcing cone and the cylinder - is it tight? You should not be able to easily put an index card in the gap.

Grasp the cylinder with a couple of fingers. Does it rock slightly? That is ok. Does it rock a whole lot? That is not o.k., the timing is out.

Pull the hammer back, grasp the cylinder with a couple of finders. Does it rokc slightly? That is ok. Does it rock a whole lot? That is not ok, the timing is out.

Push forward on the cocked hammer, does it drop? It should not.

Decock the revolver and pull the grip panels off. Check the mainspring for sights of rust.

That is most of it unless you want to pull the side plate off.

If you don't have any problems within 150 rounds you are good to go. Every problem I've had with a revolver happened in the first cylinder, btw.

Sounds like you got your hands on a fine model 60.