Has anyone ever come across any Model 15 police trade-ins?
I'm thinking it would be a good way to get a "shooter" model 15, but I've never seen any..just M-10's.

Has anyone ever come across any Model 15 police trade-ins?
I'm thinking it would be a good way to get a "shooter" model 15, but I've never seen any..just M-10's.

Just sold one and I have another, a keeper, that apparently was a Los Angeles Sheriff's Department
issue, or rather a non-issue as it was nearly brand new in appearance. Excellent double action on it. The one I sold also was quite good but
had seen a lot of holster time.

If in indexing the cylinder each chamber locks up
tight just before hammer drop, you've got a winner as long as bore looks sharp.

I suspect, however, that many many more Mod. 10s were the issue than Mod. 15s in police circles.
The L.A. PD had them, modified to double action only. I think some state police had Mod. 15s in the '70s.

Danski

I bought a police trade-in M-15 off some place in Kansas. They looked pretty good in the pictures and were cheap but when I got mine, it looked like it had been refinished with some kind of do-it-yourself kit. I could have sent it back but I got it cheap and traded it on a Keltec .380 pistol.

Here's a Sacramento County District Attorney turn-in. I bought a 2" and a 4" both marked SACO D.A. back in 1995. Paid $150 apiece. Traded the 2" off a few years later. Both were pristine with good triggers.

My Model 15 was at one time carried by a Fresno City officer. I paid $225.00 for it last June.It's in excellent condition.

Can't speak for other areas, but here in my neck of the woods used Model 15s have become pretty scarce.

__________________
I type. Therefore I am.

I have a heavy barrel Model 15 stamped "OCSD". It's in nice shape, if it was issued it wasn't used much. It's one of my favorites.

John

Cool! Good to hear that the 15's are available at least.

BTW, where are you guys finding all these police trade-ins?

In North Georgia, they seem to come in spurts.
Won't see any for months, then suddenly one shop might have a couple or several show up spread through two or three shops. Can never tell.

Not sure all are police trade-ins and some are in
pretty sad looking shape but still with $400 price tags if on consignment (people tend to think their stuff is always more valuable than your stuff--especially since most shops want 15% or 20% consignment fees).

I've seen some in area gun stores, but not lately.

Robertson Trading Post and Summit Gun Brokers seem like the best bet for finding some these days.

I picked up a Model 15 at a decent price from my local gun club a few months ago. We meet twice a month and have a trade table. Several Smith's were on the table. I ended up with the Model 15. It was 95-98%. Perfect mechanically with just a touch of holster wear.

I gave it to my youngest son for a house gun. This past weekend he and his wife were down so we adjourned to the gun club (we have an indoor range) and tried it out. I had loaded up a quantity of target wadcutters and some standard loads with the Lee 358-158-RF (a really nice bullet for .38 Special and .357 Magnum). They shot the revolver really well.

My example was an Orange County, California ex-Leo gun. It had just a slight ring so had not been shot very much.

The Model 15 has always been an extremely high quality revolver for general use. In my view, the .38 Special has been underrated since the introduction of the "wonder nines" but in a platform like the Model 15 it serves the shooter/owner with one of the most desirable revolvers, EVER.

Dale53

I haven't seen a lot of trade-ins for several years. When I bought mine, Arizona was a hot bed for ex-California LE revolvers.....seemed to be a steady stream of 15's, 66's and 67's coming through. That was 10 years ago though. Only ones I see nowadays are the ones listed by CDNN, SOG, or J&G Sales in Phoenix.

Owned one in the mid 90's from the Wooster Ohio Pd

I don't know if this counts but I just got a 15-3 that seems to have been a security guard issue for PANTEX in Texas. A lot of holster wear but shot only a little, from the trade-in case in a metro Atlanta gunshop. It came in in the last few days because I'm there once a week. 249.50 OTD

I believe that a good, sound, Model 15 (arguably one of the most practical revolvers of all time) for $249.50 is a WONDERFUL value!

Dale53

cheslerfive,
I travel to Atlanta quite often for both business and to visit family that lives there. Would you care to share what gunshop you found it at....and any other good shops in the area?

I got this former LAPD-issue M67 (top) for $81.49, but there was a 24-year waiting period (I purchased it upon retirement). It went back to Smith for a refinish and a tune-up. Everything you'd want in a .38, including a history.
Bob

I have an older model 15 that was carried by a cop, I just don't know which department. I paid 150.00 for it about 3 years ago. It is a great shooter and the action is smooth as glass. The gun is flawless other than some surface rust on the side plate which would be easily fixed with a replacement side plate but it hasn't hurt anything and I see no reason to change it.

I think this is a police gun (it was represented as such) but I don't have any departmental details.




Buck

My department issued the Combat Masterpiece, both 2 and 4 inch, from about 1950 to 1991. I took one when offered, even though I had no intention of ever carrying it.

It was serial number K522975, marked "SLCoSO 72" on the left side below the thumb latch/cylinder release. It had been refinished at least once, by someone who really loved using the buffing wheel. It had the sharp edges rounded off, dished out screw holes, and the roll markings really thinned out. It was shiny, though. The stock Magna grips had been sprayed with some sort of varnish or laquer without even so much as tooth-brushing the **** and crud out of the checkering.

I turned it back in to the department in 1992. I now wish I had found out which shop we traded it to and gone in and bought it. As I age, I am waxing very nostalgic.

My wife was in an art show in Scottsdale, AZ in about 1993 or so. I ran around visiting some gun shops while there. One was a huge gun and sporting goods business in a fairly large white building. They had a big gun department and in one glass counter, they had at least 50, maybe 100 used Combat Masterpiece revolvers for sale. Just about all blue and just about all 4 inchers. I had never seen so many of the same handgun in one place at the same time.

If the .38 Special is enough cartridge for your shooting chore, the Combat Masterpiece is one of the finest handguns ever made to chamber the round.