New to me handgun!!!!

[JerryB]

Last weekend my grandson "Scrateshooter" came up from north Texas for a few days and brought a handgun he asked me to keep for him until the Rapture. I told him that I wouldn't need it after that. It is a new in box Smith & Wesson Model 13-4 he bought on the S&W forum three or four years ago. The owner said it was new in box when he got it and appeared to be unfired. Grandson thought I might need a gun to do some .38 and .357 shooting with. I have not shot it yet but I have been busy loading several boxes of both rounds.
Do any of you know when the last 13-4 guns were made? All I can find online is the Model 13 was discontinued in 1999. Were there any dash numbers after the 13-4? I'll do a range report when I can get to the range.

ETA: I forgot to say that the grips on the gun are Eagle Secret Service Rosewood grips.

[Blaine]

I'm jealous.

[walks with gun]

Very nice carry and trail gun, awful nice grandson.

[ollogger]

Sounds like a nice one!! don't know if there was a 13-5



Brad

[gamekeeper]

Very nice carry and trail gun, awful nice grandson.

+ 1 to that....

[Tycer]

I do love a K frame! Which barrel length?

[OldWin]

K- frames are the best!

And for me, all old Smith's in general.

[JerryB]

13-4 4 inch square but, the heavy barrel gives it a great balance.

[Griff]

That'd be the darker shaded twin to my mdl 65! Love the 4" barrel, square butt and fixed sights. I did have a fluorescent orange insert installed in the back of my front sight, then replaced the hammer and trigger with color cased versions to add a bit of "color" to the gun, the trigger is serrated, and unlike the original smooth skinny trigger, this one is the same width as the trigger guard (after slimming it down a bit), and a clean, crisp 3-lbs on single action and an even, smooth 11-lbs on double. I have the "large" Pachmyer grip on mine, it fills the hand perfectly... for me.

I've shot many a perfect 300 point score on our PPC course with this revolver, with an average of around 37 "X" count. Even using the inmate produced "+P" SWC ammo we used for qualifying! A fellow deputy, (the range master for many years), used a mdl 13 he was issued to shoot perfect scores with "X" counts in the high 50's, hitting a perfect 60 "X" count on many occasions. The heavy barrel and near perfect ergonomics of the K frame, when mated to a grip that suits the shooter, makes for a great shooting firearm.

I've always thought I'd get a mdl 13. I'd hoped for one of our dept's' used ones when they began issuing Berretta 92s, but the county used them as trade-ins!

[JerryB]

Griff,I had a 3" round butt 65 that I carried for a lot of years. It had a very smooth action and carried just about perfect. A friend of mine wanted it for his collection so I sold it a couple of years ago for twice what I paid for it. This 13-4 is a perfect replacement for it. The trigger on the 13 is a narrow smooth trigger that shows the colors just like the hammer does. My grandson and I think it might have been a special order instead of an after market job. The colors are just to clear to have been done after the gun was shipped and sold, possible???

[walks with gun]

These forums are starting to confuse the bejesus out of me, I was putting away a little money for a compact 9mm, and now you guy's have reminded me how nice it is to shoot those K-frame revolvers. Nice gentle yard plinking with mild 38's or loaded with .357's for scary moments. I've got some thinking to do now.

[Griff]

Griff,I had a 3" round butt 65 that I carried for a lot of years. It had a very smooth action and carried just about perfect. A friend of mine wanted it for his collection so I sold it a couple of years ago for twice what I paid for it. This 13-4 is a perfect replacement for it. The trigger on the 13 is a narrow smooth trigger that shows the colors just like the hammer does. My grandson and I think it might have been a special order instead of an after market job. The colors are just to clear to have been done after the gun was shipped and sold, possible???

I don't know what the standard config for the mdl 13 was, except blue, heavy 4" bbl... I was issued a mdl 10, then bought myself a nickel mdl 19, and finally this mdl 65... I know the hammer & trigger in mine were out of a mdl 19, that our department armorer had as spares and installed in my gun.

[Lefty Dude]

When I had my 13-4 it was the most accurate Smith I ever owned. When I first got the piece, with .357" jacketed rounds it had a vicious recoil. I opened the forcing cone to 11 degrees, it had a very tight cone, if not at all. Then I slugged the bore and found it to be .3545". I started shooting cast bullets sized .356" and the piece came alive. I found that it liked 9mm jacketed bullets.
One of my Shooting Pards has a Colt Snake 6" in ,357". We slugged the bore on that piece and it was .355". With my cast loads the 13 out shot the Snake.

Like a fool I let the piece go. A Friend in Northern Arizona has a Grandson that was working on a Cattle Ranch. He needed a good solid piece to carry in his Saddle bag while working out in the brush rounding up strays. The Young Man still has the piece. The sale stipulation was if he ever wanted to sell it, I would hold the right of first refusal. And also buy it back at the same price as he paid me.

This piece was very interesting, it was a Dept. trade in, and new, never shot. Stamped in very small letters when the crane was opened was; "Prescott, AZ. DCS". We assumed it was purchased new and then a Dept. switched to 9mm pistols. I had two, and sold one to a Friend. I think I paid $150.00-$175.00 each. This was 20 years ago, IIRC.

Yep; Model 13's are a real S&W sleeper for sure.