I've done a few, & received a few. And speaking of Canadians, Steve-
Several years ago(5?), spotted a good deal online for cheap but nice replacement grips for the S&W J-frame, square butt. Perfect for my S&W Model 63 Stainless Kit Gun, right? I ordered some for myself- several sets in fact- & posted about it in one of the gun forums, 22s or something.
A few days later I got a PM from someone on the forums. He lived in Canada, had a blue-steel S&W Kit Gun(Model 34?), and the company wouldn't ship to Canada, or charged some awful $$ to ship there or something. Would I please consider ordering a set for him & then send it on privately- he'd gladly pay for everythig reasonable.
I'd bought these grips for about $5/set- so I sent back a msg, saying I'd ordered several sets of 2 styles, what did he want? Anyhow, I sent him a pair as soon as I got his mailing address, told him look 'em over when they get there make sure they're OK. He seemed floored that someone would send him something like that with no $$ first. I figured that for a about $10 total on my end I couldn't lose much & it would save time. He got 'em, & was delighted even though that style needed a little fitting for his gun as well as mine. Sent me back a Canadian Postal MO which turned out to be difficult to cash but that sure wsn't his fault, & finally got it done without too much trouble. Worked fine for us both, I thought nothing more about it.
*Break*
RE: The S&W .22 LR Kit guns, 4" barrel- if you really want an exercise in futility, or severly overpriced goods, just *TRY* to find a good quality, custom fit holster for a S&W 4" J-Frame. Not for a snubbie, not for a 3" Chief Special- an honest to goodness 4" J-Frame holster. I wore out the internet for about a year back then- & except for a couple of Ebay auctions that went for over $100, never saw anything. They seemed gone from the market by then, & I finally gave up.
*Resume Story*
About 2 weeks later I got an email from him, said a little surprise was on the way. Nope, no hints or anything. It arrived about ten days after the email. (Later, he told me He'd seen some of my old posts in that forum about holster-hunting. And in Canada, by then, he said that while he could legally own the Kit Gun, and shoot it at a range, he couldn't carry it in the woods anymore. Couldn't carry it in *what*, you may ask?)
He sent me- free of any charge at all- a Lawrence brand, lined leather holster, right-side carry, forward rake, made *specifically* to fit the S&W 4" kit guns. Looks just like a smaller version of a very popular model Lawrence & others made back then for the S&W Model 19/66 4" .357 revolvers. It was, and is still, in beautiful condition, with only a little shallow cracking on top of the spring-loaded keeper strap. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Lawrence, they're out of business now, but made first-rate holsters.
He wouldn't take any $$ for it, I offered! All I could do was offer my profound & humble thanks. So far, in the past 5 yrs or so, 3 people have seen me with that gun & holster, and *All* have tried to buy that holster.
But it ain't for sale- and it ain't gonna *Be* for sale, either.
