[Jocko1911]

Ahhh. I see.

 

[ether]

That’s a beauty, ether! I am a sucker for stainless….

See!!! That's my problem with lighting! It's actually bright nickel. The healthy layer of preservative may not be helping either. Maybe better?

 

[dsk]

Electroless nickel was advertised as looking like stainless steel, so it's easily confused with the latter. It has a more silvery hue as opposed to the yellowish hue of ordinary nickel. If I'm not mistaken it doesn't require a copper substrate underneath like most nickel finishes.

 

[Horse'nround]

I don't have a 29-2, but I did come across this Model 29 "no-dash" in the famous 6 1/2" barrel length a few years ago. I had just gotten my tax refund plus the government's economic "stimulus check" (remember that one?), so I decided what the hell, I'll get me a .44 Magnum! To be honest these early Smiths are works of art nearly the equal of any Python. I rarely ever shoot it though due to the cost and availability of ammo.
View attachment 741437

NICE !! So that's a 57' - 62" gun VERY SWEET not many of those around.

 

[dsk]

1961 according to the fine folks on the S&W Forum.

 

[FDM1]

To be honest these early Smiths are works of art nearly the equal of any Python

Beauties from any perspective!

 

[Hawkeye fan]

Very nice indeed.

 

[ether]

And yes Python grips changed shape and checkering several times over the years. Deer Hollow Online has a good article on what they looked like and when.

Python target grips reference guide – Deer Hollow Enterprises, LLC

www.deerhollowonline.com

I knew there were generational differences, but I'd never studied them. That link is a good resource Based on that info, aesthetically, the Gen2 is probably my favorite. I think you might have hit the sweet spot between generational improvement and (relative) generational decline.

I never noticed until now how the checking of the earlier ones follows the curvature of the Colt medallions. That's a pretty cool detail.

 

[dsk]

I kinda prefer the early 3rd gen grips of the 1970s myself, which is why I chose repros of those for my 2020 Pythons. Colt dished the LH grip on the Gen2s to provide speedloader clearance but left the RH grip unaltered, which to me looks unbalanced. Apparently Colt agreed as the Gen3s were made more symmetrical with the dished area on both sides.

 

[ether]

I kinda prefer the early 3rd gen grips of the 1970s myself, which is why I chose repros of those for my 2020 Pythons. Colt dished the LH grip on the Gen2s to provide speedloader clearance but left the RH grip unaltered, which to me looks unbalanced. Apparently Colt agreed as the Gen3s were made more symmetrical with the dished area on both sides.

I can really only speak to aesthetics compared to my later Gen3 dark walnut grips. They're solid and well-made, but nothing to write home about compared to some earlier ones.

S&W was probably making nicer grips at the time my Colt was made, if that's all they could do better BURRRRN!!! (kidding)

 

[dsk]

Colt's grips took a nosedive in quality in the late 1980s. The modern reproductions by Deer Hollow are far better. I've actually considered buying a set of his to replace the original grips on my Diamondback.

 

[dsk]

Oh, speaking of which...

 

[USMM guy]

Nice! The whole box thing is so overrated. I am surprised some enterprising person or company doesn’t go into a specialty business just making boxes for all things “collectible.” It could be done on a fairly large scale with appropriate setups and 3D machines etc. I would be interested in seeing a cost to launch and operate something like this… then you might have to deal with copywriting and trade marks etc. other things I am sure would be cost associated.

There are people doing this already.

 

[USMM guy]

Funny thing but I was thinking of that earlier today. It's only two years younger than me, yet somehow it managed to survive five decades in nearly new condition. If I traveled in a time machine back to 1971 when it was brand-new and sitting in the glass case at the gun store, when Nixon was still president and people were watching The French Connection at the local theater it would have looked almost exactly the same as it does today. Me, not so much. I'm no longer wearing diapers but my baby butt isn't nearly as smooth as it once was.

Sometimes you come across these gems. Just in the last year I have found a 1936 made Winchester model 42 shotgun and a 1919 made Winchester model 1907 WSL. Both of them are in like new condition.

 

[FDM1]

There are people doing this already.

I have a buddy that would buy right now repro boxes for some old Colts he has if he could find them. Do you have a link for anyone doing this type of thing because he has never been able to find them?

 

[dsk]

I have a buddy that would buy right now repro boxes for some old Colts he has if he could find them. Do you have a link for anyone doing this type of thing because he has never been able to find them?

Just look on eBay and Gunbroker. There are many of us who don't want to encourage this sort of thing because it's enabling the counterfeiters. The guy I know who sells them is well-known on the collector's forums as a con artist who makes a lot of money selling his repros as the genuine article.

 

[FDM1]

Just look on eBay and Gunbroker. There are many of us who don't want to encourage this sort of thing because it's enabling the counterfeiters. The guy I know who sells them is well-known on the collector's forums as a con artist who makes a lot of money selling his repros as the genuine article.

Yeah, I don’t think my friend is interested in supporting any “con artists” but I will pass this info onto him.

 

[M-Peltier]

Excellent find DSK. I still have not found "The right one" and just have to settle for my new generation 2020 Python with Deer Hollow grips. Some day I keep telling myself. Lol

New reproduction boxes are all over Ebay, and the more upstanding sellers will list them as such, but once in a while a proper used correct and genuine box shows itself too, but god awful expensive.

 

[Largeorangedrink]

When I worked at a gun shop we always put a sticker on the box with the FFL log book number, page number and line number so we could easily find the box that matched with the gun we sold. We carried many of the same revolvers and pistols and we didn’t want to mix up the boxes and guns for obvious reasons. We also stuck a price sticker on the box and if the employees needed to they would write information on the box. If the box followed the gun through many owners and gun shops there would be many stickers, labels and writing on them. We all did it. If I see a box with no evidence of passing through at least one gun shop I always assume it’s a repro unless there’s a damn good story behind why the box looks brand new.

 

[Mozark]

The unique beauty of those original pristine Pythons have always presented me with the dilemma of having a firearm I’d love and hate to shoot.