Hocked Nickel

I went by Neil's shop first after work today. He still had the 50th anniversary Ruger MKII on his shelf for $199. In addition, he had a Heritage Arms SA revolver in .22LR with birdshead grips. He was wanting $99 for that. Neil was dickering with a young man over a guitar, so I moved on.

Kenny still had his hard chrome Hi Power. The price was still $599. Since I saw it last, I learned that Browning did indeed produce a hard chrome Hi Power. This pistol was no doubt one of those. Kenny also had several Ruger SA revolvers, all in large calibers. One wore the original finish, the other two were nicely reblued. Kenny also had a Smith & Wesson 4516. These are reportedly good guns, but they are a bit clunky for me. I've moved away from double action semi-automatics anyway. I keep a few favorites, but I rarely shoot them anymore.

Kenny told me he took a funny looking Smith & Wesson revolver into hock over the weekend. I asked him what he meant by funny looking. He said it was shaped funny and was "chromed", but it had the S&W trademark logo on it. I was happy that Kenny learned to look for the intertwined S&W, and I continued to query him.
Kenny told me he couldn't show me the gun, but he could look it up for me. He retrieved his bound book and looked up the gun. "It's a 38 model" he said. I asked if this was the caliber. Kenny did not know. I drew a quick sketch of a bodyguard frame, and Kenny said "That's it!" I tried to act nonchalant, even though I had a Model 38 in my pocket at the time. It's one of my favorite carry guns.

I told Kenny "Oh well......Chrome guns are a little flashy for me anyway. I'd rather have an old .38 special." It's a fine line to walk, letting a pawn shop dealer know what you are interested in, and then making him think he doesn't have it in back. I talked with Kenny a bit more, and then went back out into the advancing cold. The rain was falling, and it was getting colder, so I drove on home with a warmth in my hock shop scrounger's heart.