S&W's Model 63

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The S&W Model 63 pictured below is my wife’s first handgun. Produced in January 1979, sold to us in September 1979, it is the revolver that helped my wife develop her impressive shooting skills and it is the revolver used when our three sons where first developing proficiency with a handgun. Despite its many years of use, the original box, anti rust wrap, cleaning tools, screw driver, and sales receipt remain intact and it remains in excellent condition. The little gun has no finish defects, no cylinder timing problems and its rifling remains clean and sharp. It is a firearm that reflects a good deal of family history and one that reflects a good deal of Smith & Wesson history.
 

The 22/32 Kit Gun concept actually began with a San Francisco, California Smith &Wesson dealer named Phillip Bekeart. Bekeart contracted S&W to manufacturer a .22 rimfire revolver on a larger than traditional, square butt, S&W .32 hand ejector “I” frame. This original version, with 6″ barrel, was produced from 1911-1941 as the .22/.32 Hand Ejector Bekeart or .22/.32 Heavy Frame Target.

A more compact .22/.32 Kit Gun model was produced on the round butt “I” Frame with a 4″ barrel from 1935-1941. The term “Kit Gun” reflects the model’s compact size and suitability for being packed as part of a fishing tackle kit. Both firearms went on to become standard S&W catalogued firearms1). In 1957, the Target became the Model 35 and the Kit Gun the Model 34. In 1977, a new .22/.32 Kit Gun was introduced as a square butt “J” Frame with a 4″ barrel, as pictured above.

An easy gun to master…

There are lots of reasons why the little Kit Gun is easy to shoot accurately. The rear sight is micro adjustable and it stays put…. and yes, it could use a little blackening. The rear sight rib runs right into a barrel rib and the barrel rib extends to the a ramped front sight. All of the surfaces are either bead blasted or serrated to kill reflection.

 

In addition to the good topside hardware, this Model 63 has a medium width checkered target hammer and a smooth trigger surface. A coil spring double/single action revolver, trigger pull is smooth; 7 lbs for the double action pull and a crisp 3 lbs for single action.

Like most swing out cylinder revolvers, the Model 63 is fast and easy loading and ejecting. If there is any down side, it is the small grip that takes some time to find a comfortable grip. If that proves to be too much work, there are lots of oversized aftermarket grips, but they pretty much defeats the benefit of a compact 22 rimfire and the intent of the Kit Gun.

Did I mention the Model 63 is easy to clean? Which suggests nothing but procrastination is responsible for that pictured muzzle.
 
This type of Model 63 is long out of production, but they are out there on the used firearm market and readily available on gun auction sites… probably a bit more than when this one was purchased for $225. They make a nice alternative to generic rimfire autoloaders and they are great for teaching trigger squeeze techniques.
 
There are current Model 63 and aluminum alloy Model 317 Kit Guns, but they bare little resemblance to the original. They are larger and/or heavier 8 shot guns, synthetic gripped, round butt J frames. Triggers are ribbed, hammers are narrow and they have an integrated lock mechanism. Barrel length is currently 3″, but 5″ was also available at some point in time. Long gone is the nicely finished barrel top ramp and ramped front sight. MSRP on the new guns are $769 and $759 respectively. The original? Something to look for on used gun shelves and gun shows.

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