Even I Have my Limits...

Wanted: Sandblaster & Hot-Bluing Tank!

I recently visited Collector's Firearms to check out a revolver that they'd added to their stock. It was a S&W Model 1917 in .45 ACP, at a very reasonable price. The Smith & Wesson Model 1917 revolver has long been on my acquisition list, but for various reasons, mostly financial, I've never been in a position to acquire one.

Back in the day, you could pick up Brazilian-contract M1917s for a song. Of course, back in the day, I was poor as a churchmouse, and even a song was beyond my budget...

I'd run across one at a gun show every so often, mostly with a $650-750 price tag, and pristine examples were easily on the high side of $1200.

Collector's had one, and for only $430. Of course, the reason it was only $430 was that somewhere in the recent past, it had been chrome-plated.

I'm not a fan of bright & shiny firearms, but I really wanted to own this model, even if it was just a shooter-grade version. So, off I went to check it out.

The pictures below don't really do justice to the Bubba-fied abomination this revolver has become... Holding it in your hand, it looks like the unholy offspring of a revolver and the bumper off a '51 Mercury. The sights are almost unusable in the bright sunlight due to the reflection & glare!

Looks like I'll have to wait a bit longer to acquire a Smith 1917. No way I was bringing this shiny monstrosity home!