From Gun Digest Books comes “The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson,” fifth edition. Jim Supica and Richard Nahas, two pre-eminent authorities on these guns, are the authors.
Let me call your attention to a couple of things in the photo accompanying these comments. You’ll note that on the hard cover of this edition it says “500+ New Listings.” Take a moment to consider how much research is required to uncover that many new learning points regarding the history of iconic American art and workmanship, rendered in steel.
The other point in the picture is one of the uncatalogued Smith & Wessons you’ll find in the book but wouldn’t have found in gun magazines or catalogues: my Model 66 stainless Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum with the extremely uncommon barrel length of three inches. This exhaustively researched tome tells you when it was introduced, etc.
Those many collective decades of research are worth something. This book is “coffee table quality,” with exquisite “gun porn” photography of rare and beautifully engraved guns all over its nearly six hundred glossy pages. That doesn’t come cheap. Retail on this book is $74.99.
But, hear me out. You’re paying for the knowledge that went into it more than for the pretty pictures. (And, if cost is an object, you can get the electronic version for about thirty bucks, the price of a hardcover novel in a bookstore.)
I am a collector of twentieth century Colts and Smith & Wessons. The first advice you’re likely to hear from a veteran collector if you’re just getting into the hobby is, “Buy the books before you buy the guns!” There are a lot of fake and forged collectibles out there, and books like this tell you how to watch out for them and not get suckered. Knowing the details has earned me tens of thousands of dollars in value when I recognized something worth far more than the seller’s asking price, and has probably saved me as much in allowing me to recognize over-priced crap and resort to my shoe leather instead of my wallet and walk away from a bad deal.
The Smith & Wesson Collectors Association, SWCA consists of an elite group of connoisseurs who know their stuff, and those SWCA people are raving about this book.
And, as I’ve said earlier here, you can always ask your local library to buy it for you or see if it’s available on inter-library loan. But, really, if you’re into these fine firearms, you’re going to want your own copy.
I’m just glad that S&W is finally ditching that hideous hole near the cylinder release. I can now buy their revolvers again once my choices are ‘upgraded.’
Mas, 75 bucks for coffee table book-quality, 600 glossy pages of research and gun porn? Sounds like a bargain to me! Enjoy!
Thank you for this update, Mas. As a Smith & Wesson enthusiast for most of my 73 years, I have a copy of the 3rd edition. In my world, it is invaluable. While hunting in the deep woods of Maine, my hunting partner fell in the deep snow and somehow lost his model 66. After we did finally locate it, I took a good look at it and discovered that it did in fact have a 3″ barrel. Being a fan of S&W and owning more revolvers than I actually needed, I was very surprised to see this revolver, as I never know that a 3″ model 66 existed. It was what he called a “Lew Horton” special run. Being an FFL holder, I was familiar with Lew Horton’s Wholesale, and the other more well know firearms wholesalers. I know that Smith & Wesson has done special runs for other wholesalers. Fortunately for me, my home state of Pennsylvania has many gun shows, and after some searching, I finally found a 3″ barrel model 66. I have been reading your columns almost since I discovered firearms. Thank you for sharing your knowledge with the gun community.
It is a good update, but there are still errors in it that were in the 4th edition. For example, the 629 made for the Alaska State Troopers is listed as a 629-1. Mine is a -3 and only 15 were made. It is still a very good reference.
I have a S&W Model 60, .357 Magnum with a 3-inch barrel, but that’s probably not a big deal. Love it anyway, along with its brother, with a 2 and 1/8th-inch barrel.