Smith & Wesson 61-2

[Kirk Freeman]

Just paid a buddy price for a Smith and Wesson 61-2 "Pocket Escort".

It is unfired (no box though), purchased from a police supply place in Danville, Illinois decades ago.

Any issues with the Pocket Escort? Any helpful hints for the good of the order?

 

[gunman41mag]

Just paid a buddy price for a Smith and Wesson 61-2 "Pocket Escort".

It is unfired (no box though), purchased from a police supply place in Danville, Illinois decades ago.

Any issues with the Pocket Escort? Any helpful hints for the good of the order?

What caliber ???

 

[451_Detonics]

What caliber ???

It was only made in one caliber.

The early models suffered from feeding problems but as yours is a -2 that should be an issue. They are just small guns with tiny sights.

 

[gunman41mag]

It was only made in one caliber.

The early models suffered from feeding problems but as yours is a -2 that should be an issue. They are just small guns with tiny sights.

I'm not an old-timer like you guys I google it it's a 22 LR

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Sorry, gun. Like you said it is a .22lr. I thought it would be immaterial to state that it was a .22lr since S&W only made it in .22lr.

451, thanks much. I'm not much of a tiny gun person but this is from someone who I worked with in LE who is now in a bad way and I bought it to remember him not really to shoot. I may never shoot it, just let a nephew have at it in the future.

 

[451_Detonics]

The 61 was mad in the early 70's, from 1970 to 1973. Some guns were assembled from leftover parts as late as March 1974. The Model 61 was a rehash of an earlier design, the 1908 Pieper Bayard. The gun has abysmal ergonomics and suffers from a five round magazine. S&W also decided to use a die cast aluminum frame and added a sideplate which weakened the design greatly from the all steel Bayard. I have seen several with cracked and broken frames.

Despite the short production life there were almost 65,000 of these tiny guns made.

Robert De Niro used one in two movies, Taxi Driver and Goodfella's, it even showed up in an anima movie "Eden of the East".

 

[Kirk Freeman]

Goodfellas! Really? Wow, I missed that. Which scene?

 

[alc1985]

I bought a new one in around 1971 in chrome finish. At that time there weren't many small 22 lr pistols around. It never worked very so I traded it in for a Sterling 22. The trigger on the Sterling broke the first time I shot it.
That ended my small 22 desires.

 

[Kirk Freeman]

So, I shouldn't shoot it. Just keep it as (yet another) a safe queen?

 

[snorko]

Shoot away. They have a mixed reputation at best but I like them. I recently sold mine with a slew of other guns to clear things out and it is one I regret letting go. It would not feed the last round about 20% of the time but was fun. Take down is super simple too.

BTW, you can get a barrel nut thread adapter and you then have a cool tiny suppressor host.