Stopped by my local shop a few weeks ago, and they had this little beauty in the used case. I’ve wanted a 3” Model 60 since I bought my first .357 revolver years ago, but couldn’t find or afford one at the time and ended up with a 3” SP101. The Ruger is a great gun, and I have carried it on numerous backpacking trips, but the slimmer, lighter S&W was always in the back of my mind. I’ve since amassed a number of J-Frames, have a lot of leather and other accessories for them, and it just made sense to standardize.



He wanted $750 for the gun used, and was only going to give me $250 for the SP101 in trade, which I thought was laughable considering what Ruger is asking for those things these days. I walked out, but came back a few days later when they were running a sale and ended up leaving with the Smith for $600 cash. My brother has been after me for years to sell him the SP101, so I ended up doing that. I was sad to see it go, but he gave me much better than the shop would have, and he still got a great deal on an excellent gun. And now I have my Model 60. I did make him promise to give me first dibbs if he ever decides to sell it, though!



The action was a bit rough but a quick polish of the non-critical surfaces took care of most of that. It still has a pretty noticeable hitch right at the end of the DA pull that I haven’t been able to figure out. It’s making it tough to get a smooth pull-through on the trigger, without disturbing the sights, and I end up basically staging the trigger, which I don’t like. I’m going to need to either re-work my trigger pull, or figure out what is going on in there. It’s only the very last part of the pull, after the cylinder is already locked up…I think it may have something to do with the hand and ratchet engagement.

I had it out to the range the other day with a box of .38Spcl HBWC reloads that I’ve been experimenting with, and was pretty pleased with the results in spite of the trigger struggles.The gun definitely has excellent accuracy potential.

10 rounds at 5 yards slow fire standing unsupported…first five shot DA (marked), second five shot SA.




10 rounds at 7 yards slow fire standing unsupported…first five shot DA (marked), second five shot SA.




10 rounds at 10 yards slow fire standing unsupported…first five shot DA (marked), second five shot SA.




10 rounds at 15 yards slow fire standing unsupported…first five shot DA (marked), second five shot SA. Things opened up a bit here.




I finished out the range session with a 5-yard roundup drill on the clock. I was pretty pleased with the hits, but I went over time on 4 of them…2 on the 2-handed string of 4, and one each on the one-handed stages, which cost me 20 points. Something to work on.




I took the gun back out tonight and put 50 158gr XTP H110 loads through it that were just under max. I don’t plan to shoot a ton of these though this thing, but I figured if I’m going to carry them I should see how they do. The sun was getting low, I was in a shaded bay, and the fireball was impressive. I didn’t save my targets from tonight but it hit to point of aim out to 15 yards, I was satisfied with the accuracy, and while the recoil would definitely get your attention it wasn’t at all painful. I always thought the SP101 was pretty decent for a small-frame revolver at handling magnum loads, and even though the Model 60 is a bit lighter and has a thinner grip with an exposed backstrap, I didn’t find it to be any harder to handle than the Ruger.

It fits in well with the rest of the J-Frames. I just need a 2” airweight Centennial now…

Nice! That's a sweet collection you've attained.

Awesome piece, great deal, and nice collection!
And very nice shooting.
I have a 3” 60 in 38 without the underlug from the 90’s? I had a 3” similar to yours with the underlug and the target sights, but stupidly sold it.
Glad you were able to find yours!

I need a 63. I really love that 32 you worked over as well.

Very nice!

You shoot that revolver very well, nice acquisition and addition to your collection.

Really scored finding that great unit. Comfort for future backpacking trips.

quote:

I need a 63.

That 63 really is a sweetheart. I've killed a bunch of nuisance critters with it, too. I'm not normally one to consider .22LR a viable self-defense cartridge, but I have been known to carry it when I'm gardening or working on the in-law's house and think I might encounter a raccoon or groundhog or something that needs dispatching. My single-six used to be my go-to for that kind of stuff, but the little 63 is just so much easier to carry around and doesn't get in the way when I'm working. I also find it kinda handy that the 60 is basically just a big-boy version of the same gun.

The air weight .22s have a lot of appeal, too, as there's basically no recoil and no real downside to such a gun. Your recent 43C thread almost got me...they had one at the LGS about a month ago and I was sorely tempted, but my gun funds were already allocated for something else. The 317 is also pretty interesting.

So many J-Frames, so little money .

The kids are out of town this week at the grandparents and I convinced my wife to go to the range with me yesterday...her first time in years. I brought the Ruger MkII and that Model 31. The MKII is easy to shoot, but kinda front heavy with the long bull-barrel. She did great with the Model 31..it's light and handy, and since it's center-fire the trigger-pull is nicer than the .22 models. Being .32 S&W, though, it still has very mild recoil. My 7 year-old likes it as well.

Sweet gat. Wilson Combat spring kit

Congratulations on a very nice and versatile revolver.

I'll admit I'm conservative in this area but I'd be careful with those spring kits.

The whole point of a gun like you have there is the versatility. You want it to reliability go bang with whatever load you put in it.

If the action is not acceptable as is, some smoothing out by someone who knows their way around a J-frame can get you pretty far.

Congratulations again.

quote:

I'll admit I'm conservative in this area but I'd be careful with those spring kits.

I'm right there with ya. I've had wilson kits yield light strikes before, and I've never tried an apex kit but I've heard reports of the same. I also don't like how a lighter rebound spring makes the reset feel. The most I will do these days to a spring is stone the ends to eliminate any burrs and potential binding, but unless they are worn out and causing a reliability issue, I typically keep the factory springs. I did put a Wilson hammer spring in my Model 69 because the factory one was absolutely horrible (both in weight and finish), but I had to shim the strain screw to add additional tension to fix some light strikes.

I don't mind a heavy pull, within reason, but it's gotta be smooth and consistent. Usually when it's not, it's because something has a burr on it or is improperly fit. I'm not one to go crazy with a Dremel, nor do I attack every surface with gusto...I'm not under a time constraint, and I don't have to make a living at this, so I'll make tiny adjustments here and there until I'm happy with it. I'm pretty sure that the source of this particular issue is the hand dragging on the ratchet right at the end of the stroke, so I'm going to have to be incredibly careful not to screw up the timing. Sometimes you get to a point where it's better to just accept "good" than it is to risk screwing things up by pursuing the "perfect".

There used to be a gentleman named Denny Reichert who lived about 45 minutes from me who was a wizard with an S&W revolver. I have a couple of friends with guns that he worked over (one of which is actually another 3" Model 60), and they are amazingly smooth. Unfortunately, Denny passed away a few years ago before I had a chance to meet him. I would have loved to have talked with him, watch him work, and have him go through my guns. Unfortunately that's no longer an option.

Nice looking gun. I love the looks of a 3 inch frame. It is a perfect balance aesthetically for a revolver IMO.

I don’t know. I put the Apex kit in my 640 Pro and have had perfect reliability and the trigger is waaaay better. Like night and day better.