Smith and Wesson |

by Woodsbum

Finally got a chance to take out the .357 I got. I took it out and plinked with it a bit the same night I took out my KSG. The only time I could shake free of all my other commitments was after work and in the early evening, albeit just past dusk. All the shooting actually occurred via flashlight or with the aid of my truck’s headlights. It is also nice to note that it was 30 degrees, very windy and I had my family with me. Needless to say, it wasn’t all pina coladas and bikinis. There was a strong shiver influence with each shot fired, so keep that in mind…..

Here is the “semi” final configuration for this pistol. I have an M-3 military holster for it that I had to do some leather work on to allow it to fit over coats and a Butler Creek oversized hand grip on it until I get my custom corian grips built.

Current Configuration of S&W K frame

Due to the bad weather, my range was not the best in the world. I actually tried to take pictures of it several times, but it was too dark. Just so you understand where I was shooting, I live in a densely wooded region of the US that has a lot of logging that takes place. We were shooting on a skidder landing off the side of a logging road at about 3500 ft elevation. There were patches of snow on the ground, it was 30 degrees according to my truck’s thermometer, and there were 25+ mph gusts of wind coming off the edge of the ridge. The only way I could get a solid range for the distance I was shooting was to wander around with my range finder until I could get any reading I could. The ONLY range that I could get to register was 19 yards from the top of a rock sticking out of the ground to a stump that we used to prop up the targets. All shots were at 19 yards for as close to “scientific” accuracy as this redneck could muster at that time…..

These shots were fired at a IDPA cardboard target at 19 yards distance in high wind and through the use of my truck’s headlights. The first one shows the 158 gr .357 Independence brand cartridge results.

.357 158 gr Independence Results

As you can see, I must have held a little low and left. For sake of my pride, I will blame gloves and environment for the poor shooting. I will say that it was not too bad considering I could barely see the old school fixed sights. Most of my aiming was by instinct and best guess since I couldn’t see the sights that well. For those of you who are not familiar with the sizing of these targets, the ring is 8 inches in diameter. This means that I had around a 4′ grouping. Also, for pride’s sake, I will mention that these were also the first 6 rounds I put through this pistol since I purchased it.

IDPA Target Specs

The next shots were taken with Remington 140 gr .38 Special. I was pretty frozen at this time for I almost forgot to shoot something to take pictures. As you can see, my son already got to this target a few times with the KSG we were also plinking with. Again, the range was 19 yards and in the same conditions. The only additional thing I would mention is that I had already been shooting for about 90 minutes and there are 2 holes right next to each other… Yup. Almost put one in after another… Oh yea…. Then again, forget the others that are not touching…..

.38 Special 140 gr results

Now I would like to point out that I also fired 1 round of Horady 140 gr Leverevolution in .357. I killed an empty .38 special box at around 12 yards with a single shot right through the center of the box. That tells me that all 3 of these rounds seem to hit in the same location at similar distances. I am sure that with someone warm and having a steadier hand, there will be some definite differences in trajectory and point of impact. For this cold and 1/2 frozen redneck at night and dealing with cold family members, I claim that the fired the same.

Since I decided to start increasing my firearms inventory beyond the firearms that I was intimately familiar with I have run across several that impressed me. This is definitely one that impressed. It impressed me more and I enjoy shooting it more than any other pistol I currently own, which really says a lot for those that know me. The only thing I have enjoyed firing more was my KSG.

by Woodsbum

Because I got so lucky and ended up getting a very fair price for a wonderful firearm, I decided to do a quick write up on it. I felt that this was important because it seems that everyone is so engrossed in automatics and tactical firearms that many phenomenal pistols get overlooked and ignored.

Here is my newest bush pistol, the Smith and Wesson Model 13-1.

Smith and Wesson Mod 13-1

I am almost a little embarrassed to admit, but I almost passed on this pistol. These pistols are the old military and police models that remind me of the 1980’s TV shows like TJ Hooker. It doesn’t fit my hand very well, and I am not fond of that little bump at the top of the handle. Overall, it just isn’t that pleasing to my eye. Then I handled it and started to think more logically about this little gem.

First off, this pistol has fixed iron sights. There are no adjustments to ding up and where you point it is where the bullet seems to go. Secondly, the entire cylinder swings out for the allowance of speed loaders to be used. Speed loaders are about $10 – $15 per loader, which is more than cheap enough. There is even an extractor that almost dumps the spend cases from the cylinder. Third, this is a .357 so I can also shoot .38 for cheaper plinking. Fourth, it is a revolver that mechanically allows all 6 cylinders to be loaded without the firing pin resting on a cartridge. You have to pull the trigger all the way for the hammer to go completely forward to strike a primer. I can now carry all 6 cylinders loaded without worrying too much. Lastly, the action is incredible for both single and double action. I swear it is the smoothest action I have ever used in a factory pistol except for the Python and Anaconda. It is incredible and the double action is smooth enough to not seriously through your aim off. It’s great.

Here it is from the other side.

Smith and Wesson Mod 13-1

My entire thought on this pistol was to get it all rigged up for use as a bush pistol. As such, I ordered an old military M-3 style holster and borrowed a set of oversized K frame grips until I get the ones I want. Here is what the holster looks like.

M-3 .38 Holster

Here are the old, borrowed grips I threw on there for now.

Butler Creek Grips

Now back to my thoughts…… I already have a single action .44 mag that I built a cross draw holster for. It is an absolute nail driver, but it is a .44 mag. Both the pistol and the ammunition is heavy if you carry much of it. By getting something a bit smaller in caliber and a considerably lighter pistol, I will have a much easier to carry package. Even if I only carry a few .357 and mostly use .38 I will be much farther ahead with consideration of weight.

The other thing I wanted to do was cut down the length and size of my bush pistol. My .44 has a heavy frame and a 6 inch barrel. Even though that is not too bad for someone my size (6’4″ and the size of a small black bear) it does get unwieldy after a full day of trampling through the brush. By even cutting down a few pounds and 2 1/2 inches of pistol length it will make a difference after a hard day of hiking.

I did think about just using one of my semi-automatic pistols like my Glock or Beretta. The problem with that was the whole idea of having something that I could get completely nasty and dirty without creating doubt as to whether it would fire. I also wanted a pistol that could double for hunting if need be. By getting a .357 and 4″ barrel, I could quite easily take a deer if I needed to.

After really considering the possible scenarios and using some logic that skirted around my dislike of the frame/shape of the pistol, I did get it and have been quite happy ever since. This really taught me a valuable lesson that I would like to pass along to my readers. Just because you might not like the “old school” look of something, don’t discount its usefulness. This 1970’s pistol looks exactly as such, but it really is a diamond in a pile of cut glass. It’s smooth, dependable, and tough enough to take anything that I might dish out. Most importantly, however, is the fact that I found an old pistol that was unloved and have now given it a good home…… Poor little lost pistol!!!

Now get out there and find your own bush pistol.

The perfect meld of backwoods, backyard, and back in the day

Tag Archives: Smith and Wesson

Shooting my Smith and Wesson Mod 13-1

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