Thinking of selling my S&W 64-3. Tell me why I shouldn't.

[HiggityHank]

I have one of those funny feelings, but I can't really place it. I picked up the 64 for a song, amongst a collection of other firearms. I like the gun, but I never shoot it. Mostly due to the gun it sits next to on the rack, a 4" nickel 586.

I feel like the 64 is kind of redundant, having a 4" revolver that only shoots .38spl when I've got a 4" .357 right next to it. Any reason I should keep the 64 or should get rid of it and let it live out its days being shot?

 

[Hanwei]

If you don't shoot it... and you don't necessarily love it for some other reason... sell it and get something you will shoot and love

 

[ateamrob]

if you plan to get something else in place of it as a shooter and this one just gets no trigger time then, sure go for it.

if you just want to sell it because it does not get much use I say, keep it. You can never have enough guns and someday you will think to yourself, man I wish I still had that gun. I learned the hard way over the years. I sold all kinds of guns that I thought I would never shoot or use and EVERY SINGLE one of them I wish I had held onto.
There are only a select few that I sold to get something else in place of it that I didnt regret down the road.

good luck in your decision.

Rob

 

[Jose]

if you plan to get something else in place of it as a shooter and this one just gets no trigger time then, sure go for it.

if you just want to sell it because it does not get much use I say, keep it. You can never have enough guns and someday you will think to yourself, man I wish I still had that gun. I learned the hard way over the years. I sold all kinds of guns that I thought I would never shoot or use and EVERY SINGLE one of them I wish I had held onto.
There are only a select few that I sold to get something else in place of it that I didnt regret down the road.

good luck in your decision.

Rob

What he said

 

[drgrant]

Take it out and shoot it one last time, with its "competitor. " If it doesn't spin your gears at that point, then dump it and move on. This smoke test has worked pretty well overall for me. If I don't leave the range thinking "Selling this is a dumb idea." then it gets sold. I've had to make a few exceptions over the years, though, due to needing money or whatever. I'm done with that.

-Mike

 

[Pilgrim]

I never sell. I have however traded up for something I wanted more. Even then there's a couple that I wish I still had but at least I got something I wanted more.

 

[eisenhow]

You should keep the nickel gun as a safe queen and bring that 64 out to an IDPA or an ICORE match.

 

[HiggityHank]

While I like the idea eisenhow, I really love shooting the pimped out hand-cannon

I'm planning on hitting at least one IDPA or USPSA event with a M&P40 fullsize this year though... it looks like a lot of fun.

 

[drgrant]

Another thing to keep in mind is 38 SPL revolvers make great training guns, especially if you reload. (It is trivial to download and make accurate fluff loads that have minimal recoil and blast). Much less of a pain in the ass than dealing with a typical .22LR pistol.

-Mike

 

[Len-2A Training]

The S&W 64 was one of the first guns my Wife purchased. Then with her carpal tunnel, she was only able to shoot it single-action. It largely sat as a safe-queen.

Spin forward about 5 years and I became certified as an NRA Instructor plus decided to give that gun and a few others to Greg Derr for a trigger job. It came back very smooth and sweet to shoot. Now my Wife can shoot it either way plus I use it for training purposes.

Ya never know . . . I'm against selling guns unless the gun is just horrible (I've sold a handful in that category), otherwise they are shooters or safe queens, but not up for sale.

 

[ScottS]

FWIW, I keep a S&W Model 64 (bobbed hammer, DAO) as my "anyone can use it" gun. If I wanted to take a newbie to the range, I know they could handle the gun with a minimum of "education" on the function of the gun itself, and I can concentrate on other things. If I found myself in a situation where I had to shove a gun and 50 rounds at someone, I know that with almost no training on the gun they can be quite effective in defending themselves. I can't say the same for almost any other gun I own. A DAO .38 is a lot like an older, trusted, reliable car: it won't bring a whole lot on the used market compared to its "worth" to me.

 

[Jose]

Do not discount a simple S&W K frame as a defensive weapon either. The humble .38 S&W Special has put legions of people six feet under.