Followed me home... 66 w/3" barrel

[ZWolfgang]

I have been eyeing a 3" 66 in a local pawnshop for a couple of months... this last week I decided to visit the shop, and if it was still there I was going to buy it... well, it was there, and now it's here. The gun was in excellent mechanical condition with a nice, smooth action, but the finish was not exactly "fresh"... it wore the badges of being around a while... scuffs, light scratches, kinda dirty, but all stuff I knew I could zap with a little home refinishing job... so I got her home, stripped her down to the bone, did a surface "peel" with a ScotchBITE pad, followed with Flitz on cotton bore swabs. Cleaned out the insides, did a little action polishing, put her back together, buttoned her up, and put on some Ahrends grips. She's a much happier revo now! Here are some pics from today...

 

[Sir William]

Great! Nice pics.

 

[DTown24]

Sweet!!!

 

[100W_Warlock]

How do you take such nice pics?

How do you take such nice pics?

Is that an old pair of jeans as the backdrop?

Please, do tell us some secrets...!!!

 

[Russ5924]

Have had a Model 66 with 4" barrel for awhile have to say one of my favorites.When I really want to look good I take that

 

[ZWolfgang]

100W...I have the benefit of years of professional experience with a camera and lighting. These were done with available light in my gun room... a north facing window to the back left and a floor torchiere lamp illuminating the upper walls and ceiling to the left and some reflectors to bounce some of that light around onto the gun. Open north light is a very cold colored light as compared with incandescent room light, that's why you see a mix of both warm light and cold light on the gun. Camera was a Canon 20D with 17-85 zoom lens. Camera on tripod with electronic cable release. ISO 200, f/11, exposure about .8 second. Used one of my denim shirts as a background. Pretty simple, really. But it does help that I've done this for a living for many years.

 

[Captain38]

Loaded and Cocked Poses

Zwolfgang, or is it DHart? ,

Again, great looking handgun and outstanding photography. You're obviously a master at detailing a firearm and taking pictures of the finished product as well. Have you photgraphed handguns using this loaded and cocked pose before? I've never seen anyone else do it. Are the rounds live or are they actually inert? Just curious.

 

[ZWolfgang]

Captain... years ago I signed up here as ZWolfgang but have since gone by DHart everywhere else. I should change here too for consistency.

I really enjoy acquiring slightly tired looking S&W stainless guns and refreshing them to like new, then photographing them. My idea of "fun"! Much more enjoyable to me than buying new guns... plus the older ones don't have any locks in them!

I think gun photos are much more appealing when the guns have ammo in them... it gives them much more "life". And of course, no people or pets were put at any risk during the process.

 

[dasmi]

Ya, the hollow points in your shots really add a certain something. Just don't blow off your shutter finger

 

[Jungle Work]

Hell of a nice looking pistol. I have three inch Smith in the Models, 36, 60 and 686.
I have a 66, 2 and half inch that I had armoloyed and the hammer dehorned that I carried on boat patrol in the winter under my Parka when I first started in LE. I really, really like Smith Revolvers.

Jungle Work

 

[Longbowshooter]

Let me get this straight. You saw a THREE INCH MODEL 66 IN GOOD CONDITION AND LET IT SIT FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS?!!!!! The only thing more unbelievable is that it was still there.

Congratulations. I let one go late last year thinking I could use the $ (375.00 believe it or not) on something else. I want to kick myself everytime I think of it.

 

[DHart]

The gun was in a pawn shop that I would guess is not visited by S&W collectors. But the owner knew he had a hot item and marked at $489. He probably could have gotten that or more in an online auction. But he just left it on the second shelf down. I suspect most people who saw it had no idea how unusual it is and just balked at the price. I made a deal with him for the 66 3" and this NIB 586-5, so I got the price down somewhat...

 

[abelew]

Again, very nice guns. I had the option to pick up a 586, but declined because I didn't want to pay what was being asked for it. You have some fine pieces of history there, and your starting to make me drool, and give me a revolver bug.