These old working guns hold my interest more than the pristine safe queens. If only they could talk what stories could they tell?

I just picked up an old working gun and though I have not put much wear on it myself I plan on using it as my regular hiking companion. There are no real dangerous predators in Ohio but there are a few snakes and the occasional feral dog.

22/32 Model of 1953 Kit Gun shipped in April 1954

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Regards,
Guy-Harold Smith II

Thanks, James.

The four-inch was carried every duty day and shot quite a bit for ten years, until we transitioned to semi-autos.

The "snubby" lived in my unit as a last-ditch weapon; I shot it for quals the first two years on the job, then quit bothering. I don't think it has had 500 rounds through it.

.

I picked these two up one different trips home from Australia. Found both of them while looking for a 4" 19 or 66. Maybe this time I'll have better luck finding a .357. I guess it's about time I took some better pictures of them.

The first is a 4" M15-3 Combat Masterpiece that shows quite a bit of holster wear. It has an odd mix of features for a duty gun. It has smooth football Targets, a pretty sharp target hammer, and the target trigger is just a shade wider than the guard. The hammer's just wide enough that several of my thumbbreak holsters won't snap over it. At some point I'll get around to replacing the trigger with a smooth "combat" or "Ranger" model. So much for the target features. The rear sight leaf has been rounded off and touched up with cold blue, like the one in Bill Jordan's "No Second Place Winner." The overtravel stop has been removed from the frame, which is understand was commonly done on service revolvers.


Up next is a Model of 1950 .38/44 Outdoorsman that someone chopped to 4" for holster use. It has its share of bluing wear and dings from carry. The original Patridge front sight was remounted (and needs to be redone again), though it was reshaped into a more of a ramp shape. It shoots fine, but begins to bind after 100 rounds or so. Hopefully it just needs a good internal cleaning. The timing needs to be corrected (stops just shy of full lockup if you cock it slowly) and the thumbpiece nut is missing. It isn't pretty and I wonder why somebody would go to that trouble when they could've just bought a 4" Combat Magnum, M&P, or Highway Patrolman, but I still find it interesting.

All of my guns are working guns. If not before I got them certainly after I got my grubby mitts on them.

But if I had to choose one to post on this topic, it would be this 357 Magnum that I acquired while living in Utah in the late 1990s. This is one weird pistol.

I lived in a small town up in the Utah mountains. There was a guy running a tiny gun shop set up in a 10x30 foot shed in the front yard of his rural home. I stopped by one day just for fun and he had about 40 Model 19s (4") in the glass display case. He had bought out all the revolvers the Carbon County Sheriffs Dept. sold as surplus after switching to Glocks. Way in the back of the four rows of 19s sat this N frame, sticking out like a sore thumb. He had all the guns tagged at $275, including the N frame.

I snatched it from his hand as quickly as I could.

No idea why the CCSO had it. Not a service weapon for them. The UHP carried 3.5" Magnums but not them. May have been confiscated and used for service. Don't know. Serial would suggest an early 1955 date but letter shows March of 1957. Also, the S138,000 serial should make it a 5 screw model but it has a 4 screw frame. Name and 1960 date written in pencil under one stock but he was not with the CCSO according to their records. No clue as to who he was.

Gun has been carried a lot. Much holster wear and original stocks show damage consistent with police carry (right stock all beat to Hell).

This gun has perhaps the smoothest action of any revolver I have ever tried. Feels like about an 8 pound DA pull that's like glass rollers on greased runners. Somebody who really knew what he was doing slicked up this gun.

I have shot it a lot and packed it many times. I could easily live with it as my only handgun if I had to choose one. I wish it could talk and tell me its story.

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No life story has happy end.

Great gun and great story Saxon!

TxShooter,

If you are tired of that nasty ol' Outdoorsman I'd be intersted in taking it off your hands. I have a growing interest in cut down N-frames and that one appeals to my twisted new taste in revolvers.

Dave

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RSVN '69-'71
PCSD (Ret)

"That said... there was a mechanism in place where a trooper could buy a handgun THROUGH the state, via a payroll deduction plan. The state fronted the cash and acquired the pistol, the trooper took delivery, and then paid it off bi-weekly. This was to help ease the burden of making the guys buy their own gear, but remember that general issue of firearms to US police didn't really catch on until the 70s.

This system was still in place when I hired on. Some guys would buy another pistol as soon as they paid off the current one, and kept a running tab, so to speak. Like most good things, it eventually went away."

My city police department did the exact same thing. For awhile, they even did it without taxes. $10 a payday was a niceway to get guns.

I bought a M28, a M19, a M25-5, and a M24-3 thataway. Unfortunately, all were sold or given to ex-wives (the M19). Luckily, I managed to buy back the M25-5 in '07.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Dave, I'll keep that in mind. I don't have any solid plans on what to do with it. Technically I could qualify with it, not that I would. Our regs require at least a 6 shot .38 with a minimum 2 1/2" and maximum 6" barrel.

Deputy Sheriff (Texas) HD ca 1955



Police revolver (Texas town), also 1955, different geographical use. Knives not related to revolver.



rayb

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"cumplo pero no obedezco"

Hi,
Here is my M&P 4 inch production 1954. Classic working mans gun.

Thanks,
roaddog28

Here are my two partners who protected me and countless citizens for a total of 15 years til we went to autos.

My late Fathers Model 66-2 he used for many years with the Sheriff's Department we both worked for.



M&P that was used by the NYPD. Should have held on to this one!



Former North Dakota Highway Patrol 4506-1.



Model 28-2 that I use for a hiking gun.



My first S&W. Model 28 no dash. This gun has a very interesting past before I got it.

There is a lot of history here, some very well used revolvers
that are still soldering away. Rather trust my life to a S&W
revolver than ANY auto pistol. Here is my 4" 19-3 to add to
the litter.

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This is my working gun. I bought this model 58 in Anchorage in 1978. I carried it in the bush as bear protection while doing field work for USGS. While working on a point overlooking the Hubbard Glacier I snagged it on an Alder tree and it fell out of the holster and landed on a rock knocking out the front sight. It left a nice ding on the front of the barrel also. I wasn’t too concerned about the loss of the front sight as if I ever had to deploy it in self defense it would most certainly be at point blank range any way. I later did replace the sight though. After returning to California It became my tool box/truck gun thus all of the ware and dings on it. It also often rested on the night stand beside me in many a motel over the years. I used it to finish off a couple of bull elk over the years also. I believe I will keep this one for a few more years.

Sir, if you think it would be Appropriate I for one would love to hear your/its' history.

Thanks

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Always Stay Strong!

this is my working gun.she has a little holster wear here and there.Its a prewar heavy duty with service grips.

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It was in the evidence vault at the Sheriff's Department for many years. My late Father was the Department Armorer and bought it from the Department. He gave it to me for my 18th Birthday. I do not recall all the details but it was used in a homicide. Still has the two investigating Deputies evidence marks on the underside of the trigger guard. One of the Deputies would later be my Captain at the same Sheriff's Department many years later. Dad wanted to bead blast it and re-blue it for me after he gave it to me. I said I would rather just leave it as is.

I wonder if you could find copies of the reports from back then based off the serial number. That would definitely be some interesting reading.