[Story]

What's wrong with that? Seems to be perfectly cromulent to me...
__________________
FTFY, Mike.

Dylan,

I second the 2" snubnose Colt or S&W .38 Special suggested above.

I'd also suggest you address the NYC license issue simply by having the character - even if only referenced in past tense - asking one of his quasi-criminal friends in the music world what he'd do about self-protection, and this friend provides the aforementioned weapon for a handful of Jacksons and the promise that your character "forgot where you got this".

To save you the time searching, I've seen various oldtimers comments about paying for or selling a Model 36 around 1970-71 for $85 - 90.

So a 'friend' selling your musician character a cold .38 for $100 cash wouldn't be out of line.

nb : This begets another question - what happens to the hero if there's a shooting in NYC circa 1970, with an unlicensed revolver? At least the shooter won't have to worry about empty cartridge cases left behind...