In the early 90's I was looking for my 1st handgun. At the lgs I found a well used model 15-3 police trade in in a box with many others. Finish was a little rough but the gun locked up tight and the price was right at about $100 so I took it home. This gun was my do all handgun because it was the only one I owned. Home defense, plinking, truck, farm/woods, atv gun. Never felt under gunned with hand loads of 158 gr swc at about 1050 fps in the woods. This gun was used to teach my wife and 3 girls about the joys of shooting, self defense, and gun safety. Oldest daughter is getting ready to move out and wants to take it with her for a house gun. I guess this old police trade in will find yet another use. I guess I will look for a new do everything handgun. Any ideas? Sure will miss my old friend.
James

IMO the only way to replace a model 15 is with another model 15. Or if you want to get a little fancy a model 67. I have one of each and wouldn't part with either one. Best shooting .38s ever made.

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"I gots to know"

Yeah. What he said. No brainer.

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Retired Dep Sheriff & Armorer

Yep, another 15 or a 67. If you want to add another layer of usefulness, you might try a 19 or 66 to have the magnum capability. Those are getting a little hard to find, so I'd also have to consider a 681 or 686.

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Dave Frost

You won't get a replacement for $100. Why not a Smith Model 14? I do prefer the 19 or 66 over a straight .38.

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That's gonna leave a mark.

My suggestion? Keep it and let her buy her own gun. If you're absolutely bent that you have to fund it, buy her a different gun and keep yours.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

Price is the problem i guess. Not only is the 15-3 a great gun the low price and condition kept me from being concerned about loss or damage too much. The wife has a model 64 dao that she now uses as her everything gun, might have to look for something like that. She got hers for under $300. No adj sights, but does have a very nice dao trigger. She loves it.
James

Al the 15 is the gun she has shot the most because it was always with me on farm and range trips. And she asked if she could use it. She feels very comfortable with it and shoots it well. I do have other guns, but want something that if I lose it or it gets damaged I wont be too sad about. Funny thing is I am feeling very sad about loosing the model 15. It was never supposed to be that kind of gun. What do you think of the 64 seems like there are alot of them around at good prices.
James

...as others have said...they didn't call it the Masterpiece for nothing...

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A Country Boy Can Survive

I don't have children yet but if I did I'd tell them what my dad told me right before I turned 21, to work hard, save up, and purchase my very own firearm (and I did). I now own a model 15 but the day it leaves my house will be after I am gone. If you decide to let her have it, I'm sure you know most women don't take care of anything that is considered a tool or machine. It will most likely never be oiled or cleaned ... Maybe she's different. Yes you could replace it but that'll cost you and you'll always be comparing it to the first.

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Ephesians 6 (Armor of God)

I've never owned a 64 but it's a k frame S&W so it's a pretty well known commodity. I prefer the utility of fixed sights and stainless steel, so between the 15 and 64, I'd opt for the 64.

Maybe daughter will like a 64 better and you can keep the 15.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

Replace with another used Police trade in Model 15

What are you going to give the other 2 daughters when they ask for it too?

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

When old friends go, it is time for a new friend.

Jimrn, I gave my daughter a 50th Anniversary of the 357 Mag 27-3 for self defense when she moved out and got married, so I know where you are coming from. Since I have several other 27's, I wasn't hurting to let it go. But I am replacing it with a long tube 27-2 I just bought off GunBroker as it was a barrel length I don't have. The 27-3 was a duplicate barrel length to my first pistol buy, which is a 5" 27-2 I bought back in 1974.

This or a PD trade Model 10 or Model 64. Price around $250-$300

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IMO a 10 or a 64 is a downgrade from a model 15. I think you, as a father who has now raised a daughter to be on her own, deserve to go out and buy yourself a shiny new gun. An upgrade from the 15. Maybe a model 66 or one of the new Ruger Redhawks in .357.

Good luck with your shopping sir.

IMO there will be no replacement for that m15. The closest you can come to is another m15. The k-38 combat masterpiece is the single best .38 special revolver ever. My first handgun was a m15 and its still my go to gun. Buy your daughter a new gun and keep the ol' gal for yourself.

Buy a Llama or some other Spanish-made "clone" and give THAT to your daughter. If she looses that or it breaks, you won't be hurt much!

A good, clean, used Model 15 is one of the best, most useful handguns available. Portable, heavy enough to handle the recoil of anything you want to shoot yet light enough to not be a burden to carry. Easy to see sights that can be dialed in perfectly to fit YOUR eyes and ammunition. K frame actions wear in to be S-M-O-O-T-H, but then you already know that.

If I had a daughter and she wanted the Model 15, she would get the model 15. Especially if she was used to it already and could shoot it well. Would rather she had something she was familiar and good with than one she would have to learn, just in case.

If I had a Model 15 that my daughter wanted, and learned about handguns on, as yours did, it would be hers.

As I much prefer fixed sight handguns, I would buy a Model 10 or 64 (either as pre-locks).

Now, having said this, I do own a Model 10 and 3 Model 64's, and no Model 15's, did I mention that I much prefer fixed sights to adjustable?

My daughter moved to Chicago, five years ago, to pursue her masters degree at Depaul. She really didn't know what she wanted for home protection but, I found a very nice Mod. 60 that filed the bill.

She is now getting ready to graduate from Purdue with her Phd, still has the Mod. 60 and somehow ended up with my Colt Huntsman that I got for Christmas when I was 16. She is comfortable with both handguns and it gives me great comfort that she is proficient with them as well.

On one of our last shooting sessions, she asked to try my Colt 1911, a "C" prefix that had been turned into a hardball gun by its former owner. This pistol is a tack driver. I have always maintained that everyone eventually finds "their gun", the one that they can shoot with great accuracy and ease.
She had tried several other semi automatics before but, was not able to shoot them very well. The Colt 1911 is "her gun" and she shoots it almost as well as I do and she has absolute confidence in that pistol.

She hasn't asked for it yet but, I am sure that she will eventually and I will hand it over to her with a smile on my face. Her new husband will be insanely jealous and appreciative as well.

My daughters favorite gun happens to be my favorite gun, too. Someday it will be hers. I will miss it but am happy about where it's going. She's never been shooting with anyone but me so I'm sure I'll get a turn with it whenever I want. When I'm sure she's ready to own it, rather than just "use it" when we go shooting together, it will be hers.

People are different. Families are different. Relationships are different. Seems to me it's our place to recommend a suitable replacement, not comment on whether or not to give it to her.

You've had a great experience with that gun. Have some fun shopping for another just like it. They are out there. Pristine examples are getting pricey because they're such a great item and no longer made but you can still find a near-perfect or well-loved example with some shopping. I've bought/sold/traded a few model 10's and 15's. I don't own a lot of guns so I've kept the k-magnums for versatility and let the .38's go when moves needed to be made.

Well, that notion of something I wouldn't feel too badly about if something happened to it has never worked for me, and I have bought a couple of handguns with that in mind.

In your position, I would give daughter the old gun without a second's hesitation. Then, I would have a little fun shopping around for whatever caught my eye in the price range I had in mind. As Jimmy says, another police trade-in Model 15 would certainly be a possibility, as would a trade-in S&W .357 of some sort. Heiya safari!

Passing on a "family heirloom firearm" to a son or daughter is a great thing IMHO.......that said; it seems a little early to do so..........







My wife's general purpose/home defense handgun is a Model 15..... you did say it was your "1st handgun"......if we can assume it wasn't your last ......I would pass it on......... sounds like it will have a great home!!!!!

Now is the time to create "heirlooms" for your other two girls.......

and if you haven't already; it's time to get yourself; what I consider the best all around/general purpose/ utility/home defense revolver S&W ever created.......If I could have only one it would be a 4" L-frame 686!!! Shotshells to full bore .357s and every .38 in between.

You were happy with it, and found it to be an ideal "only one" handgun - and you were right.

Your daughter wanted that specific gun - give it to her! It will make you both feel good.

As for a replacement, you can probably afford a Model 15 in better shape now. Stick with what you know, and get one! You deserve it.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

In all this time you have never bought another gun?

James

Your passing your old friend to your oldest, gotta feel good !! You sound like a good ole fella and I know you'll find another friend out there. Lots of them to be found. A nice Model 19 .. Model 66 .. the list goes on and on. If you are close to me, I'd take you out and try a few of them. I'm sure you'll find that next friend !


Brian

If it were me, I would give her the 15-3. Then I would find another model 15 to replace it. They're not rare or scarce. There's plenty of them still available. I would then offer the newer gun to her as a replacement for the older gun. Whatever she decided from that point would be final. Either way I would still have a model 15 to again later pass on. And, as others have said, there's probably no finer mid size .38 Spl revolver ever designed. I wouldn't pass up a nice nickeled one either!

P.S. You may want to be on the lookout for a couple of them, while you're at it!

Gladly give your daughter the gun; it is replaceable, she isn't. My Ruger Mark I went with her when she bought a condo. I lost her at age 42 to cancer; my son-in-law offered it back to me. I declined the offer due to the emotions that hit each time I looked at the firearm.

Again, the firearm is replaceable, she is not.

Jim, unless your daughter had a need for a S.D. revolver NOW, why not keep your old friend and help her locate her new best friend?

P.s. you are a great dad.

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Always Stay Strong!

Those who suggest he "upgrade" from the Model 15: there is no upgrade for a Model 15. It is the best of its kind.

Those who callously suggest he tell her to buy her own gun, or get her a Llama (really?), obviously you don't have a daughter.

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Georgia On My Mind

I'm a lifelong bachelor, so you'll tell me I know nothing about daughters, but I have two nieces who grew up shooting with my brother (their dad) and me. The eldest got married to another gun guy and has my brother downstairs in the in-law suite (with a safe full of guns) and doesn't need any help from me on that score, but the littlest one asked me to buy one for her, even before she was legal to do so herself. I made a deal that day with her that if she would take her safety course, I would give her the gun she had requested for her 21st. I actually cheated a little and gave her the personal gun (same model, a Model 30) that I had bought from the estate of a recently deceased gunsmith buddy of mine, complete with Roy Fishpaw grips. The gun fits her perfectly and she can shoot a bad guy's eyes out with it, so when her husband the Marine can't be home, we all feel a lot safer. If she had asked for one of my other guns instead, it is quite likely she would have gotten it, and when I go, she and her sister and their cousin will likely get all of them, but this was the one she wanted and that was right for her.

I tell this long tale to bring out the point that your kids (even my nieces and nephews in this case) are what's important and should be your first consideration, with all your guns and other possessions just ethereal and passing through. I agree that the OP's #1 daughter should get the gun she grew up with NOW so he and she can BOTH enjoy it while he's still around. I'd also look for another well worn Model 15 for myself and maybe in his case, 2 more to provide each of the younger ones with a good sendoff when the time comes. JMHO, of course, and I'm getting to be a sentimental old fart!

Froggie

LOL....... I've mentioned this before...... but I've justified (to myself) that I'm buying guns for my two boys..... currently age 19 and 16.......

Including K-.22 Masterpieces, K-frame .357s and a couple of 915s and 3913s!

Nobody mentioned a snub K. A 10, 15, or 64 might trigger your interest. I was looking for a 15 snub. No luck. Ended up buying a 10-5 R.B. While it is no beauty queen, it is fun to shoot! Good luck on your hunt! Bob

I too have a model 15, I love it and would understand missing it. But I also have a daughter (not quite old enough to own a handgun yet) and when/if she wants it, it will be hers.

Having said that, they are replaceable, and at a decent price if you don't mind some "finish issues". The one I have, I picked up last year for around $300. Not the $100 you paid, of course, but not a bad price for a great revolver. They're out there, if you look around.

As others have said, I'd also look at a model 19 to replace the 15, but I might be biased as the 19 is my all time favorite handgun, lol.

TRE

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Fine guns and fine smokes.

I smiled at her when I told her she could have the 15-3. It was after that I thought about it that made me sad. Will start looking for a new friend until then the wife's model 64 dao will fill in. I have other guns now that will be at the bedside that the wife is comfortable with enough to use. One of the great things about that gun was price. Very quality gun for $100. I miss those days. Will keep my eye for a good trade in to replace the 15-3. Again not looking for a cheap throw away gun. Something that wont break the bank or my heart if it gets banged up or comes up missing. May be a trade in 64. For those that have kids, you know I was ok with giving the 15-3 to her. Thanks for all the replies.
James

This deserving of at least two likes, but I can only give one. Well said, sir. My thoughts exactly.

I consider a Model 19 to be a upgrade from a 15 but that is just me.

You shouldn't have any trouble finding another model 15
The 19 is also hard to beat. A six inch nickel 19 was my
first handgun and i shot the snot out of that revolver.


Chuck

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They hold no Quarter

Jimrn, I was just looking on GunBroker and you won't have any trouble finding a very nice 15-3 as a replacement. Unfortunately you won't be able to buy it for $100 like the one you are giving your daughter, but they are still quite a bit cheaper than the model 27s I collect.

Update to my last; aforementioned niece had left her Model 30-1 with me for service and some reloading activity while living with her (well armed) in-laws. I got a call this morning that there seemed to be something weird going on outside their home where she was alone with her 2 year old daughter. I was there in less than 10 minutes with a Model 60-4 that she kept for the day (fortunately it was a false alarm) and I met her this evening with her father-in-law and brought her back her own gun and ammo... you could see the extra confidence in her demeanor when she had "her own" gun back... she was perfectly competent with the 60, but the Model 30 was HERS! How much is that worth? THAT'S how I answer the OP's question.

Froggie