Our son was recently hired as a police officer by a local town here in Illinois and this has been his first week at Academy. He has wanted a Smith and Wesson .357 Mag for several years (yes, apparently at least SOME of my training has stuck... ) but was saving up his money to purchase his own house and to get married. He accomplished the house purchase about a year and a half ago at the age of 21 and got married this last fall, passing up different deals on revolvers that I would have probably not had the willpower to resist, myself.
He has put a lot of hard work into achieving his goal of becoming an officer, and when he graduates in another 3 months or so I would like to give him a meaningful keepsake to mark the event; something that he, our daughter-in-law and their future kids can enjoy for a lifetime. Considering the significance of the occasion it would seem natural that a nice revolver would have particular meaning to him, so I am looking to see who here might have a nice, older S&W for sale, preferably a pre-lock. Unfortunately my budget doesn't currently allow me to spend the kind of money that a lot of these guns sell for on G-broker, but I should be able to swing $600 or so, depending on what's available. It would be awesome to buy locally, but it's very difficult to find good gun deals here in the kommie state where we live.
This will not be a CCW or backup duty gun but rather a family keepsake suitable for pleasure shooting. As such, here are the criteria he would probably prefer:
1. No snubbies, but preferably a 4-6" barrel.
2. Stainless would be great, blue also would be fine if the finish looks nice. Nickel is probably not a good idea.
3. .357 Mag in a K, L or N frame, please. I know he would also enjoy a .22LR in a 17 or 617, however.
4. Adjustable rear sight is preferred, although I wouldn't absolutely rule out a fixed model if the right deal presented itself. (Yeah, one of those deals that he passed up was a model 681 for $399!! )
5. Nice condition. It doesn't have to be of museum quality that's in brand-new condition, but I don't want to give him something that looks like it bounced around in a toolbox for the last 6 months, either.
6. A pre-lock model is preferred, but again, a post-lock model might work, depending on what it is.
I'm not totally adverse to buying something that needs some TLC as long as it doesn't need to be sent off to be re-blued or require costly repairs. Ugly grips can be replaced. Disassembly/cleaning is something I can handle, as well as certain minor repairs. If it's a particularly attractive model, some flaws can be lived with. My goal is to find something affordable that I can be proud to give him and he will be proud to own.
Thanks for your time!