A born again Model 12

Absintheur

Absintheur

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Jan 31, 2008
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Some weeks ago while set up at a gun show I bought an old beater Model 12 (airweight) S&W for next to nothing. This gun had seen better days and had been worn by a LEO next to the skin for years. As a result it had some deep corrosion and the finish was shot. First thing I did was to round butt the pistol, (was a square but when I bought it) dehorn the hammer, and smooth the trigger. After all that was done it was a great shooter but visually left much to be desired. After talking to a smith down near Bloomington Indiana I stripped the guts and sent it off for some Duracoat. Ernie managed to fill the pitting and put on the flat earth brown finish that I wanted. Well the gun is back and I am very pleased with the results. I think that with about 2000 to 3000 times dry firing I will have the coating on the bearing surfaces worn in and I will be back to the same great trigger I started with. This one will likely spend a good deal of time in my back pocket or under my arm in a Kramer Confident T-Shirt.

The ugly before pics....

mod12.jpg

mod12b.jpg


and now...

mod12c.jpg
 
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I have been told it holds up very well, I'll find out as I carry it some, just got it back today. It is a baked on finish and I have seen AR's that have been finished with it and it seems to hold up well on them. Of course they don't live in a holster with the rubbing that occurs with carry.
 
Nice weapon. The first handgun that I ever owned was a Smith Model 36 with a 3" barrel. I haven't fired it for years, but I would never get rid of it.
 
Thats some serious corrosion..
Looks like it came out really good. Its really satisfying to take a gun that has had a hard life and bring it back..

The Dura kote holds up well, but like most coatings, if you do a lot of holster presentations, it will wear the edges. No big deal though. Enjoy ...
 
Very nicely done. It's hard to believe just how deep the pitting was.
 
Iron City said:
Nice job.... I'm a novice so what does "round butt the pistol" mean?
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I started to explain it, but searching a pic took a lot less time(.07 seconds, according to google!).
344489.jpg

Not sure about recent manufacture(or if both were made at the same time), but many of the older compact J frames, like the original model 36 came with a square butt. At some point, they changed to(or added the option of) a more compact round butt that allowed the use of smaller and more aesthetic grips.

edit: btw, I didn't realize an alloy frame could corrode like that.
 
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That IS a nice job.

How do you go from square butt to round butt? Seems like that would be a tough job . . . :confused:
 
Ralph, Brownells or somebody used to sell a jig, or you can trace the frame and cut to fit a set of grips.
 
Very nice! I had a 2 inch Model 12 but stupid sold it years ago. I still have a couple 4 inch 12s though, and they aren't going anywhere. :D

I hadn't seen that Corbon load before. What bullet are they using in it? I have been keeping some of the Speer Lawman 158 FPTMJ +P loads as a reload. I figure if I actually HAVE to reload my 642 in a fight I might be wanting to shoot holes in things at that point.
 
I think the S&W Model 12 is an overlooked gem.

I recently picked up a like new (maybe unfired?) 4" Model 12 for $165.

I didn't need it, but I just couldn't pass it up !

.
 
I have the Brownell's jig but only use it to rough in the cut, I use the grips to finish the job. The original grips had a hole where the medallion was attached and I think the combination of different metals along with the space to hold moisture created that pitting. I was amazed at how well that part turned out. I dry fired it about 700 times last night and already there is a noticeable improvement. I also managed to cause my carpel tunnel to flare up...lol. I am thinking a pair of light maple Ahrend's grips would look really nice with this finish.

Revolvergeek said:
I hadn't seen that Corbon load before. What bullet are they using in it?
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One of the guys at Cor Bon gave me a case of that after a weekend of gello testing. It was meant as target ammo, not for SD purposes. Not sure whose bullet it is, when I see Mike I will ask. It shoots extremely well in my old Bianchi L Frame tho. The Model 12 will be carried with Cor Bon DPX when it is ready to be carried.
 
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Makes sense. I had seen a couple other brands of 147 fmj (pratice ammo for agencies issuing the 147 +P+ Hyrdashok I presume), just hadn't seen that one.

I generally carry my snubs full of 135+p Gold Dots, then a speedloader of same, and a speed strip of the FMJs. I am impressed with what I have read about the DPX, but I have so much of the other loads it is hard to justify buying up a bunch of that right now.
 
That's what's nice about doing gello testing with a company rep...lol...free samples. I don't think I have ever left with less than 10 boxes in various calibers. I have even gotten to shoot preproduction samples of some of the more exotic calibers.
 
Alfaholic said:
Very nicely done. It's hard to believe just how deep the pitting was.
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I agree! I was also thinking that was pretty deep to have been caused just by being in contact with skin, but who knows?

Either way, it turned out really nice:thumbup:
 
I was discussing that deep pit with my Dad and we also thought that as this did belong to a LEO it could have been picked up at police auction as a suicide gun . Blood trapped in there could explain the depths of the pitting more than simple body moisture. We had some suicide guns pass through the shop at times and it is amazing just how fast blood will eat into metal.
 
"Suicide guns" sounds like a heavy metal band.

Looks good, I saw the old school 70's detectives on the new US "life on Mars" all pulled out their snubbie Model 12's and it really hit me just how cool and iconic that gun really is. I
would like one blued with the standard wood grips. I bet those big rubber grips shoot a lot better though.

I love rescuing old knives and guns.
 
great job on the 12, it's always great to see an old worker come back to life. hard to beat a bobbed k frame round but for a great carry gun. i lean toward the steel frame 10's myself but you've given me the itch for a 12. thanks,
 
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