By John MarshallThe Smith & Wesson Model 60 revolver was

an epoch-making development. It was the veryfirst production stainless steel handgun. While itwould seem common today, in 1965 most hand-guns were made of carbon steel, and came bluedor sometimes plated for rust resistance. The littlestainless Model 60 was therefore revolutionary,starting a trend that continues today. Stainlesshandguns, and in par-ticular stainlessrevolvers, are com-monly encounteredas we enter the 21stCentury.

Following thefatal heart attack ofSmith & Wessonpresident Carl Hell-strom in 1963,William G. Gunn wasappointed to that post.In 1964, under Gunn’sleadership, plans were begun to make the neces-sary tooling changes to produce the Model 36Chief’s Special revolver in stainless steel. This littlefive-shot .38 Special revolver was designed to becarried constantly, and the rust resistance of stain-less steel would prove to be a tremendous benefitand sales multiplier.

Some technical wrinkles had to be ironedout. First, stainless steel is much more difficultto machine than carbon steel. Secondly, twostainless mating surfaces tend to gall, or stickwhen working together. Lowering the chromiumcontent of the steel solved the machining prob-lem, although a downside to this is that itreduced the rust-resistance a bit. Hardening andtempering adjacent parts to different levelsimproved the galling problem.

The Model 60 was essentially a stainless cloneof the Model 36 five-shot revolver. Both revolverswere swing-out cylinder J-frame double-action .38Specials, with a two-inch barrel and an externalhammer for single-action cocking. The Model 60in its original version weighed 19 ounces.

The first production began in May of 1965, and39 revolvers were completed by late summer ofthat year. The Model 36 was originally announcedat a conference of the International Chiefs ofPolice, and Gunn decided that the Model 60would be introduced in the same way. In October1965, the new stainless Chief’s Special wasannounced to the world. Production serial num-bers began at 401,754. The little revolver took thefirearms press by storm, and many articles werewritten about it. Samples were dunked in freshand salt water, subjected to simulated rain, andburied in wet dirt for long periods of time. While

stainless steel will rust under extended extremeconditions, it is far superior to carbon steel ornickel-plating in resistance to corrosion. Thediminutive revolver showed its superiority in alltests and got the ringing endorsement of virtuallyall gun writers who could get their hands on one.A few die-hards claimed that this model’s triggerwas not as smooth as the Model 36, and that itsvaunted rust resistance was not much better thanplated carbon

steel. But thosenaysayers werefew and farbetween.

Orders piled infor the Model 60 atSmith & Wesson, farexceeding the ability ofthe factory to keep up. Youwere considered very lucky to snagone. I was one of the lucky ones, and got onealmost right away. Although Arizona had not yetbecome a concealed carry state, many of the firstones showed up as open-carry field “kit guns” inthis state, and police undercover agents clamoredfor them. Sadly, I let my first one go in a tradeafter a few years, not realizing that I had whatwould become a prime collector’s item. Those

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36 CCLLAASSSSIICC HHAANNDDGGUUNNSS:: TThhee SSmmiitthh && Wesson Model 60 Revolver

TThhee SS&&WW MMooddeell 6600 was the very first pprroodduuccttiioonn ssttaaiinnlleesss steel handgun.

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