4" pinned barrel, adjustable sights, .38 special, trigger breaks like glass. Looks like a 15-2 but there is no model number. Finish is rough to non-existent, but action and lockup seems okay. The only thing is the cylinder swings out way too easily but that could be normal. Cylinder locks up tight with cocked trigger though.

The trigger feels like someone shot it...a lot. Very smooth and light.

Pawn shop will take $250 OTD for it.

Should I buy? Would you?

If barrel OK and no pitting you can shoot as is and carry in fishing tackle box or glove compartment as is,and if it shoots good it could be plated or re-blued fairly inexpensively.I would buy it if you can try it out.

Barrel rifling is sharp and there is no pitting or rust. Looks like someone tried to paint it though.

It's probably a pre-model 15 Combat Masterpiece. Sounds a little rough, but if you can stand the looks, it might make a good shooter. With that much wear, though, beware other issues internally - hammer push-off, sluggish trigger return, out of time, etc. For a $100-$150 more you can find a decent model 15.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

Trigger is fine, I checked that carefully. Mechanically it seems sound.

Offer them $150. I deal with pawn shops weekly buying tools. The poor sap they bought it from is happy with his $75. They then think they have a prize. One of the ones I frequent has had a 15-3 on the shelf for 4 months. Asking price $999.00. It does have pearl grips.

If they go down to $200 plus tax would that be a "buy" for anyone here?

Personally I would find a better place to put my $200 unless you're looking for your first 38spl. If it's your first its a decent deal if it's in the shape you say. Everyone should haveone
have one.

Fie on you naysayers.............Buy it for $200 and shoot the heck out of it. The bad finish is easily removed. Find someone local that can CeraKote, Blue or parkerize it. If you are handy the better cold blues can be made to look fairly decent. What a great gun to get acquainted with S&Ws, their tuning and maintenance. .................

Unless it's really a beater, I'm surprised it's still there at $250. But you can always try for a better price.

Parkerized would look cool on a S&W k-frame. Offer them $150-175 and see what they say.

If I weren't in VA, I would ask where in TX it is, and buy it as is where is, now. No questions asked and no haggling if it is as you describe. I need a donor gun for a project, and that one sounds like it would be IDEAL!! Getting back to the idea of buying it as a shooter... if not, why not? If I saw that same gun as described here in Central VA, I would expect the asking price at any pawn shop or lgs to be at least $100-150 more and then I wouldn't buy it. You TX guys must have more of them available or less of a demand!

Froggie

If you put two one hundred dollar bills on the counter, my guess is you'd own it. Now, you really want it or you wouldn't have asked US to enable you..........

Post pics when you get it home.

Charles

I will head back to the pawn shop tomorrow morning and slap two $100 bills on the counter. If they bite, then I'll take it, if not, then it's $200 for something else.

If it is a pre-model 15 Combat Masterpiece and in good mechanical condition, I would say it’s worth the $250, unless, of course, you can get the price down. I just paid $400 for a 1950 vintage that was reblued. It shoots like a dream.

Good grief. I'd be on a Pre-15 for $250.00 so fast it would make your head spin. IF I had the presence of mind, I'd try to talk down of course, but I'd probably be so busy reaching for my wallet I wouldn't think of it.

That would be a "Star Wars" price around here. A long time ago, and far, far away.

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John 3:16 .

If you do or don't get it, please let me know which pawn shop this is.
Heck. I might know the place.
And pics if you do get it!

Even old and ugly Smith & Wessons need a good home.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Yes mine!

Just bought it for 230.00 plus tax. The action is so sweet. Will post pics when I get home. Are the pre model 15 more desirable?

Don't buy this ugly thing. Save your money. Uh, where did you say it was?????

Congrats!!!

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No gold. Only lead. Bobby

More desirable? I'm no expert, but unless it's in collector condition, not really. Now, I happen to like the older guns and will always pick the older if I have a choice, but not because I think they're "better." Just older.

Sort of like me.

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John 3:16 .

I confirmed that this is a 5 screw gun. How old is that?

Somewhere between '49 and '56.

I can't wait to see it! Wish I had one like it near me!
So,............where's the pictures? :-)

My recent 10-5 tapered barrel from 1977 looks rough but I have a few smiths even PC that don't have a sweeter trigger. $275 otd and I'm considering brownells Oxpho blue to spruce it up

Pics:

So this is a 4-screw not a 5-screw right?

Also, the rear sight sticks up and I can't get it to go down by turning the screw head. There is nothing for the screw to grab. Is this normal or is there something missing?

Looks like five to me. There is another screw under the grips. I'd be tickled to get that for $230.00 did you say?

That is a prime candidate for cleaning with Flitz and giving a good wax job. It will look like a different gun. You got nothing to lose.

Congratulations.

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John 3:16 .

Congrats!! Now the real fun begins turning it into 'your' pistol.

There is a post that the elevation screw mates. It is part number 16 in the following view: http://www.stevespages.com/ipb-sandw-general.html

Took the gun to the shooting range this evening. Put a 100+ rounds through it. it shot great. Accurate and no light primer strikes.

I took the ugly grips off to check for moisture, but it was dry as a bone underneath - here it is in its all-steel glory.

Okay, finally I have pics from the range time with this gun.








As you can see, I am falling in love with this gun. No work is needed mechanically.

The only thing, is that when I cock the hammer very quickly, it would cause the cylinder to skip a chamber, thus resulting in a click instead of a boom when I pull the trigger. When I cock the hammer slowly, or at least deliberately, it would work just fine. Cocking the hammer for SA shooting, I would hear the click midway then pull the hammer completely down. Then it shoots fine. Double-action shooting is also flawless.

Is this a normal thing with these S&W revolvers, or at least the older ones? Do you think the cylinder has worn down so that it glides by the cylinder stop?

BTW the serial number is K113XXX. Can someone help me with the date? NVM, it was made in 1951.

https://www.facebook.com/SmithWesson...71257209590018

So now that I have the mechanical soundness of the gun confirmed, I'm looking at grips and refinishing.

If this was your gun, what would you do cosmetically?

Leave it alone? Get it re-blued? Get it cerakoted? Hard-chromed?

What grips would you get?

I am looking at these two options:

Product: K/L Square Dymondwood Checkered Service

Altamont Company - Smith & Wesson

Either one is a good choice.
Or from:
Handgun Grips | Home

Pull the sideplate and give the innards a good, thorough cleaning, then lubricate sparingly. The cleaning alone may solve your over-rotation problem. Please keep us posted.

Larry

Years ago police agencies started to turn in Combat Masterpieces for autos. The suggestion to clean the revolver is a good one. Many of those guns had finish wear but were mechanically very sound but had not been cleaned since leaving the factory. I picked up a 1953 vintage five screw Combat Masterpiece. There was some finish wear. That revolver shot very well even prior to some minor mechanical repairs. This revolver is a keeper.

The previously given advise to disassemble and clean up the innards should have included the warning to not pry up the side plate. Remove the screws then rap on the gripframe with a screw driver handle until it pops up. It is possible that there is nothing wrong with the rear sight except that it was elevated so far the bolt separated from the piece it screws into. You have to press down fairly hard against the leaf spring to get the threads back in contact.

Before spending money on grips or cosmetics get the rear sight repaired or replaced and verify that the mechanism does not need repair. Start by reading through 500 Magnum Nut’s FAQ sticky thread in the Smith & Wesson smithing sub-forum: FAQ's

A Temporary Fix for lack of lube inside would be to cock an empty gun, put several drops of suitable lubricant down along side the hammer, trigger and cylinder stop. Then blast with compressed air thru those openings until very little excess oil is coming out. Wipe off the excess and call it good until you are ready to do a total disassembly/cleaning. At that time I would replace all the coiled springs with a standard Wolfe Spring Kit. Enjoy that handgun, it looks like a good one. ............

Great buy and you have every reason to be happy.

Talked to Smith & Wesson this morning. Described the over-rotation of cylinder. They said this is definately a problem, but they don't work on guns older than 1959.

They gave me the name of a gunsmith in Phoenix, AZ who does work on older Smiths. His name is Nelson Ford. Anyone know of him?

I just talked to Mr. Nelson Ford in AZ. He oozes love for the old Smith & Wesson revolvers. He will make the gun mechanically sound for $175 shipped. I will have my FFL dealer mail it to him this week.

So, with the cost of the repair and the price of the gun, I will be out a total of $450, which is not too bad. Add the cost of grips I will buy later that will make it an even $500. I will probably not refinish it.

Fords is a nationally known (read expensive) gunsmithing and refinishing firm. I see lots of favorable comments about them on this forum. That said, if you are mechanically inclined, I’d be surprised if you can’t make your Combat Masterpiece mechanically sound for the $45 it will cost to ship it to Fords. If you won’t do it yourself I’m sure a local gunsmith can get the repairs done for under $100. A local general gunsmith who has been in business for many years will have worked on lots of S&W revolvers.

Let’s back track to the problem: the cylinder stop is not popping up fast enough. As previously posted cleaning out coagulated lubricants might cure it. Alternatively the paint might be restricting the slot through the frame. If a clean up doesn’t do it then replace the $2 coil spring. I’m not a gunsmith but that’s where I’d start.

There is lots of information in the FAQ thread that I linked above and members who are gunsmiths will be eager to offer help if you run a thread in the S&Wsmithing sub-forum.

Spray the heck out of it with Gunscrubber before you send it off to a gunsmith. It might just be full of "crud." You can take the sideplate off if you want to, (see above for proper method) but I don't usually. I just spray the stuff in every hole I can find in the frame. Spay it in liberally (do it outside). Let it drip out. Work the action a few times and spray it again. Let it dry, then put a few drops of oil in those same places. Work the action a few times and see what that does.

Always try the simple stuff first.

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John 3:16 .

I think I'll still send it to Nelson Ford. It's a good old revolver and it deserves to be fixed right.

I know you said you weren't going to re-blue it but the advice of Brownells Oxpho-Blue. If you just clean and degrease it, you will get a nice matte blue. If you take oil and some 000 steel wool you can get a nice shine to it. Not professional but still nice and inexpensive.

I've got a couple I'm going to work on it will be brownells I will learn with. I've more time than money plus it's something I want to gain experience in

The rear sight looks like it is off it's elevation stud. There is a good chance that the elevation stud is missing. That's the part that the elevation screw mates with.