I have been offered to buy this revolver at about $200 but is the finish original?
I have my doubts, (grips is trash) and this is the only picture of it
sn is K865079

Gun laws here in Sweden makes me wounder if it is worth it?
Thanks for input.

Attached Images

S&W USAF.jpg (95.0 KB, 355 views)

Hey Qball, that finish does not look original. My 15-3 has a beautiful shiney deep blue finish. That finish looks too dull and the cylinder looks to have a purple tint. I believe it has been re-blued. Why do you say "grips is trash"? They look pretty good in the pic and could be worth a good part of the price of the gun. For $200 I'd think hard about just buying it anyway.

I enlarged your picture and where the grips are cut off on top left panel, there is evidence of blued over serious PITTING! That gun is not worth more then $200 as a shooter provided it is sound mechanically. I agree, grips are trash.

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Dick

The seller states that the grips are unaltered original and won't back down on the price.
Yea, right. Moron!

Not for me then :-)
Thank you.

I did not even notice the top of the grips. I think I need my coffee.

Here in the USA we would call that revolver a "trunk gun", a gun that is in good operational condition, but has problems like bad finish so if you throw in the trunk of your car as an emergnecy weapon you don't really care if it gets a little rusty or banged up. That gun would only be worth $200 at maximum effort. If at a gunshow maybe it could sell for $175.

I had heard that some military revolvers were parkerized but that finish looks abit on the rough side. Those grips have been altered. Based on my experience with military revolvers those are not the original grips. When I became a Dept. of Defense Police Officer I was issued a S&W 64. It had the Magna grips. All the guns on the force started with the Magna grips and those that didn't have them, the officer had the grips replaced. We had to put the Magna grips back on when we turned them in for Berettas. That gun for $200, I would pass.

If he insists the grips are original,take him a picture of what they should look like. Gun barely worth $200.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

The finish is not original, and the grips are not original.

Here is a picture of an unaltered Model 15-2 which shipped to the USAF. This is how they were shipped, shiny blue finish and Magna grips:

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John

Wow, what a different. Thank's for all advice.
Unfortunatly there is no such thing as a "trunk gun" here in Sweden.
Only the police can carry guns, others only when competing or hunting, no selfdefence.

I was issued a Model 15 like that in the photo with the badge and the ribbons,. I can confirm that it is the original condition. The target hammer and trigger were normal on tha gun in USAF issue. The only way to tell that it isn't a commercial gun is the USAF lettering stamped above the trigger.

However, military armorers may have refinished some with a Parkerized finish.

The gun in Sweden has seen better days. Don't buy it.

T-Star

Qball,
The AF Mod 15's are extremely valuable revolvers, selling for $1500 to $2500, depending on condition.

However, as others have stated, that gun has pitting and is refinished and has butchered grips.

It still has to be worth $200, IF you want a representative piece. You will probably never see another one for sale in Europe.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

I'd be all over that gun for $200. I was issued several different Model 15s during my eight years in the USAF - some were bright blue, and others were refinished. If its an authentic Air Force issued Model 15 I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

To remove those pits, you would have to remove so much metal that the loss would be obvious in a finished gun. Might be a decent shooter, as it.

For $200, I would buy it and shoot the heck out of it.

I would probably pay $200 for the gun mainly because I like "project guns." Of course that means I would end up with a lot of money invested in a gun that will never be valuable, but that is what project guns are all about!

Qball,

Even in that kind of condition, that gun is easily still worth $200.00 on this side of the pond.

I only have a couple of questions, because the picture isn't the best quality and I cannot see the details very well.

It looks as though the only place there are pits on the gun are where the grips would be. If this is the case, a new set of grips would probably cover over the pitting if the gun was refinished the correct way.

The other problem you would have, is having a competent gunsmith/service refinish (refinishing it correctly is the most important part, with the correct process and not buffing too much) as I have no idea what the price would be in Sweden and if there are any special paperwork involved to take it somewhere to be refinished correctly. The other problem with this is, even if it was refinished professionally, you may have more money in it that it would be worth.

It will never be like a $1500-2000 example that has seen very little use, but it would be worth more than $200. Where between those two figures it would be, is anyone's guess.

All in the eye of the beholder.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

Hi:
I would buy it in a HEARTBEAT!
Jimmy

Like I said before, for that price (assuming it works correctly) buy, shoot, and enjoy! It is not a collector.

Unfortunatly it is not that simple, gunlaws here make's it hard to buy to many guns.
I'll wait and see what happens, i'm also serching for a rifle.
Can't afford both :-(