All Time Favorite

by Charles, Monday, October 29, 2012, 13:11 (4355 days ago)

In 1990, I walked into a gunshop in Farmington New Mexico and spotted this pistol. It is a chopped Smith and Wesson 1955 Target Model (25-2). I was told, the guy who sold it to him, had it done for mountain lion hunting on horseback, but didn't like it. As soon as I cocked the hammer, I could see why. It had the worse action I have ever felt on any DA sixgun, in my life. I could see the original target hammer and trigger had been changed out, but that was all I could see.

The price rght at $210 out the door, so I took it. At home it was taken apart and
the worse mish-mash of pre and post war parts you can imagine. I kept the hammer in it and started going through my parts box changing every spring and internal part. At the end of the day, I had a smooth and slick DA and SA acton and trigger pull. I narrowed and polished an old target trigger to produce what you see in the pic.

It shot really well at the range, but I had to order a lower rear sight blade to get it down shoot where I wanted. My old favorte load of 452423 sized .454 over 7.5/Unique gave an honest 950 fps over the screens. The grips started life as a set of Herritts Shooting Stars that were reshaped to my liking.

This handgun is as close to sixgun perfection as any I have owned. It is my all time favorite handgun of the hundreds that have passed through my hands over the past 55 or so years.