New to me pistol

Mike_H

Mike_H

autos are better - WRWD508
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Grand Rapids, MI, United States
I "inherited" a pistol from my grandfather yesterday. He's still living, fortunately, he's getting older (had his 85th birthday recently) just doesn't want guns anymore. He's been giving them away to different family members for a couple years. I have been wanting a 22 pistol for a while and mentioned to him that I was looking for one over dinner one night. He said, "I still have this one that I got a long time ago...do you want it?" OF COURSE!!! What a silly question...

Its a Smith and Wesson Model 651 "target kit." 4" barrel, J-Frame revolver with a target site set-up. Its a 22 Mag, and came with the 22LR Wheel too. He gave me the original box, the paperwork, his permit to buy, even the original cashier's check receipt he got when he bought it. He worked for Lear-Siegler and for a time they were able to get S&W guns at some sort of employee discount. So, he got this, a 41 Mag, and another 22 for my dad in 1987. The coolest piece of paperwork (to me) is the note from his employer describing the process by which he was to pick up and pay for the gun.

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I was really excited to get it, as its a pretty nice piece. I have a couple other pistols, but they are all "heavy" shooters and my wife has not enjoyed the experience. I'm hoping this will be good to try her into shooting a bit more.

Ok, enough blathering. Here are a couple pics. Needs a good cleaning, but I don't think its been shot much at all in the last 33 years! It still has the inspection tag on it! And, NO, Its not for sale, EVER! ;)

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That's a great little pistol! I inherited a sweet H&R Model 929 double action 9 shot .22lr. Lots of fun to shoot. You got a 22 mag cylinder with what S&W, that's going to be a riot!
 
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Beautiful piece brah! That one will be fun to shoot! I inherited a Western Sauer from my father years ago. It has served me well for snake defense. We get rattlers at least once every summer on my property.
 
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Mike_H said:
Range Trip Report. After I got the sights dialed in...Shes kinda fun! I have one of those resetting steel targets, and I can knock the paddles most of the time. The 22 LR is a little weak, but the 22Mag will flip them over!
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.22 mags are a ton of fun. I have a North American Arms short piston with a foldable stock & belt clip that I carry all the time, it came with a .22lr & a .22mag cylinder. It's tiny but perfect for wearing board shorts when I was in FL on the boat. Plus it's stainless so you can put it through the wash and it'll still work. When I'm in the woods I load it with rat shot, it's come in handy a few times and it clips perfectly to any pocket.

One evening I was helping my pal set up his tree stand & he asked me about it - I had the .22 mag cylinder in it and he asked me if he could shoot it. It was getting a bit dark, and when he pulled the trigger on that short barrel there was a ball of fire the size of a basketball from all the powder burning. Not effective as it could be, but lots of fun.

https://northamericanarms.com/shop/firearms/naa-22lr-hg/
 
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qslim said:
.22 mags are a ton of fun. I have a North American Arms short piston with a foldable stock & belt clip that I carry all the time, it came with a .22lr & a .22mag cylinder. It's tiny but perfect for wearing board shorts when I was in FL on the boat. Plus it's stainless so you can put it through the wash and it'll still work. When I'm in the woods I load it with rat shot, it's come in handy a few times and it clips perfectly to any pocket.

One evening I was helping my pal set up his tree stand & he asked me about it - I had the .22 mag cylinder in it and he asked me if he could shoot it. It was getting a bit dark, and when he pulled the trigger on that short barrel there was a ball of fire the size of a basketball from all the powder burning. Not effective as it could be, but lots of fun.

https://northamericanarms.com/shop/firearms/naa-22lr-hg/
Click to expand...

I have a buddy with one of those... It's fun, but it's a REALLY close range gun!
 
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Mike_H said:
I have a buddy with one of those... It's fun, but it's a REALLY close range gun!
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Yeah it sure is. I carry it my pocket all the time because you never know, and like I said before it's a great option for the beach or when you're wearing something that precludes a proper holster.
 
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