Rather Unusual Model 15-3, 6" Nickel (pic heavy)

45Wheelgun · #1 10-11-2009, 10:38 PM

Found this yesterday at a local gun shop.

Rather interesting.

Not only a 6" Nickel, but one with a White outline rear sight and a Red Post front sight.

Ever see one like this?

VM · #2 10-11-2009, 10:40 PM

Nice score - you need to letter that one!
Does it have the "N" stamps?

CONGRATS

45Wheelgun · #3 10-11-2009, 10:44 PM

Yes, N stamps where they belong.

Also stamped on both the cylinder (under the star) and on the inside of the extractor star is a rather large "38". I couldn't get a picture of either "38".

Here are some closeups:

VM · #4 10-11-2009, 10:53 PM

I'll bet you ten bucks that was made for an Employee of S&W.
PURDY!

Nice pics too

handejector · #5 10-11-2009, 11:06 PM

Yep- looks righteous. Good lick.

Nothing I see bothers me. I really want to see it next month.
That one does need to be lettered, but I wonder if it is that time period of records Roy can't get to.

yugolovr · #6 10-12-2009, 05:30 AM

Wow that is a great looking model 15. I'm glad you found it. Some guns just need to go to collectors. If I had bought it I couldn't resist shooting it.

HAWKEYE10 · #7 10-12-2009, 11:10 AM

In my humble opinion thats a no shooter. Please let us
know what the letter has to offer. Don

Doc44 · #8 10-12-2009, 11:31 AM

Great gun!!! The nickel is nice, but I have always liked the red post front sight.

Bill

45Wheelgun · #9 10-12-2009, 12:11 PM

Thanks guys, I am pretty excited about it myself.

I got a better picture of the "38" on the cylinder. Anyone seen this type of marking before?

handejector · #10 10-12-2009, 12:15 PM

No, I have not seen that 38 mark.
Just for laughs, try a 357 in it.

Nightowl · #11 10-12-2009, 12:24 PM

Great looking Smith and a great find. I will have to admit that I never knew that a six inch barrel could be had on a model 15. I thought they were all 4 inch and the model 14 was the six inch gun. Learn something new here every day!

mkk41 · #12 10-12-2009, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nightowl

Great looking Smith and a great find. I will have to admit that I never knew that a six inch barrel could be had on a model 15. I thought they were all 4 inch and the model 14 was the six inch gun. Learn something new here every day!

I'm wondering the same thing. Just what is the diff between that 6in Mod. 15 and a 6in Mod.14?

The 15 almost always has a ramp front sight and a 14 almost always has a front as shown.

Or is this just another case of a pre-marked K-frame with the 'wrong' barrel?

Nframe_is_no1 · #13 10-12-2009, 06:42 PM

That gun looks righteous to me as well. I would love to see the results of a letter. I would say that it's a mis-marked 14, but the model 14 was never offered in nickel. The red-post front sight is factory. I have an 8 3/8" model 17-3 that has one. My guess is that this gun is a special order of some type. I think that was easier to do back then. Nice snag!

45Wheelgun · #14 10-13-2009, 06:34 PM

Well, Roy dates it to March of 1975. I guess that means no letter for me, as I am pretty sure 1975 is in the middle of the date range he doesn't have access to.

I am still interested in what the "38" was for. I suppose it could be denoting the caliber, but I would have thought that was obvious.