Musings on the 2" M15...

[Art Doc]

The 2" M15 is a neat gun but I never could figure out a use for it. Obviously if you just want to own one and shoot it that's fine (that's the justification for most of my guns), but the square butt and adjustable sights work against concealed carry while the two inch barrel isn't the best for anything other than daily wear.

The gun seems to be a contradiction in terms. I don't see where it does anything well. The 4" version would be better for belt wear and the fixed-sight M10 is more concealable.

I do recall in California in the 1970s-1980s when I was a truck driver the CHP commercial vehicle inspection officers often wore 2" M15s in holsters over their coveralls when working the truck weigh stations. They had to roll around on the ground and under trucks on "creepers." I guess they wanted a target sighted revolver but the short gun didn't get hung up and bang around like a longer one might.

Mostly it still strikes me as one of those guns with very limited usefulness. Doesn't change the fact that it is very cool looking, just can't think of any specific purpose where it would be my first choice.

That's my thinking, anyway.

 

[ACP230]

I read that they were "The gun to have." for the snubbie stage of
PPC matches" back in the dim past.
This was usually also paired with the statement, "It shoots like a four-inch."

I like having one around. I think practice with it translates pretty well
to the smaller J-frame snubs. Mine goes to the range almost every trip
I make. Shoots good and feels good to shoot too.

 

[Engine49guy]

I had one but fealt the same way, neither fish no fowel,
Stranger yet its actually a Model 14 frame with a heavy barrel thats more like a Model 19 barrel without the underlug.

I cant help but wonder why they didnt offer a 3" or roundbutt
version but I suppose the Model 19 snub was available.

 

[bummer]

I wonder why they never made a 2" model 67

 

[Homie]

SP,
Civilian demand for a Model 56?
Good shooting.

 

[CALREB]

2" 15

I have to agree with Saxon, 2" 15 just doesnt quite fit anywhere. Even when the PPC matches allowed adjustable sights most went with 2.5" 19's or 586 type guns. I will never understand just having a gun to have one of everything , OH WELL thats me.
Hey gotta go wife is calling me for breakfast. Take Care ALL. Bob

 

[Doug M.]

Snubby matches?

 

[CALREB]

Off Duty gun matches, usually only held at the National Championships or sometimes at regionals. Revolver max 2.65" ,I think, barrel, semi auto 3.5" barrel. Bob

 

[pharmer]

S&W conundrums: Why a.....? Model10 with a 6" barrel? Joe

 

[ladder13]

I have no idea why they were made, but as pharmer said, the same could be said for lots of Smith's.

 

[old bear]

I never understood the reason for any 2" 38 special K frame, when there was the option of the M-13, M-19, and the M-66 all chambered in .357 Magnum.

 

[kennethg]

I think they are neat and had been looking for one for some time. They are not real common here in CA. as a PPT. I did finally score one and am very happy with it. I don't care if it has a real use or not.

 

[Bat Guano]

In the late 60s the USAF issued them to missile crews, Security Police NCOs, and perhaps others. The missile crewmen carried them in crossdraw holsters; the SPs in short swivel holsters with hammer strap and a web pistol belt. Never made much sense to me as combat aircrews routinely carried the 4" M15s where you'd expect space to be a problem.

 

[nipster]

The gun seems to be a contradiction in terms. I don't see where it does anything well. The 4" version would be better for belt wear and the fixed-sight M10 is more concealable.

Why exactly do you think a model 10 is more concealable? It's damn near the exact same gun.

 

[Art Doc]

Like I said in the first post, the square butt and adjustable sights work against easy concealment and carry. A round butt M10 with its fixed sights is much easier to carry and draw from concealment IMO.

 

[TAKJR]

Here's my take on the 2" M15.

Today, with prices of mint Smith & Wesson P&R guns going through the roof, a 2" M15 will do the same damage that a 2.5" M19" will (shooting .38s OF COURSE).

I love the 2.5" M19, but I think the 2" M15 looks just as MEAN!

So....to each his own. I would not pass one up, if I had the cash, and the square butt doesn't bother me either. I agree with some of the concealment issues brought up, but when push comes to shove, it is a fine .38 special revolver for target/self defense. Whatever gun you buy, you can tailor it to your specific needs in many ways, by changing the stocks and obtaining a premium holster.

IMHO, it is one of the finest Smith & Wesson snub nose revolvers that was ever made (and are made no more!)

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

TAKJR

 

[DCWilson]

According to military historians who know the AF contracts better than I do, it all goes back to Curtis LeMay. He was a revolver guy who ordered up a bunch of adjustable sight two-inch K-frame .38s for the Air Force in 1962. What the General wanted the General got, and the resulting gun was called the Model 56. When it became known that the configuration existed, civilians wanted it too. (See the post by Homie above.) So the next year the snubnose M15 was introduced, very similar to the M56 but not identical (some differences in surface grooving, for example, and the width of the hammer spur.)

But beyond the clout of Curtis LeMay, the fact is that S&W rarely declined to produce a model for which there seemed to be reasonable demand. If a model could be sold, the company would usually tool up and produce it. S&W didn't leave money on the table if it could avoid it.

I did luck into a kind of worn M56 earlier this year but don't yet have a snubnose M15. I want one, though, and I have my eye out. They are indeed cool guns, and my M56 is quite accurate out to the limits of my vision (maybe 50-60 feet on a dimly lit indoor range, probably somewhat further in bright sunlight if I could find some.)

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

Like I said in the first post, the square butt and adjustable sights work against easy concealment and carry. A round butt M10 with its fixed sights is much easier to carry and draw from concealment IMO.

The Model 15 2" or, as I prefer calling it, the improved Model 56, is a great carry gun, which is, after all, what handguns are really for. Saxon Pig's comments on SB and sights seem to make sense, but they don't necessarily work out that way in practice.

While I strongly prefer a RB in K (and N!) because of my hand size, with the 2" M15 I use Rogers/Safariland grips. They conceal well, and I doubt that RB would be an improvement.

As far as sights, I carry a 2" M15 about daily, usually under a vest, sometimes under a blazer or a suit jacket. I have not had a problem with sights wearing on the jacket or vest, or hanging up, unlike the fixed sights on my Government Model. This might change with a different holster or different jacket, but so far, the sights simply aren't a concealment, garment wear or weapon-drawing issue. Furthermore, I find the sights of the 15 quicker to see than the sights on my 10 or my 12.

Those who don't own a 2" Model 15 might consider Saxon Pig's advice, since it might apply to them, but the best thing to do is to borrow one and try it out. There might be a surprise waiting for you.

 

[Model19man]

To answer the question of "why" a Model 15 was made, many police departments required that only .38 Special caliber ammo be used. A Model 15 is the best possible snubby made in that caliber. Unless you are a small woman the square butt and the great sights would not be a drawback as far as concealability.

 

[NFrameFred]

These days the original rationale for a lot of things produced in the past has been lost. Many times it could have been a designer's whim, one person's obscure opinion, a 'design by committee' (we all know how well that works out), or as I see in many of the requested specs for a job bid, written/designed from a list of requirements by someone who knew just enough about the subject to be dangerous.

Or, could have been one of those 'let's make it and see what happens" ideas that sounded good in the time and period in which it was suggested.

In any event, I like mine even though it is neither 'fish, nor fowl, nor good red meat'. Another of those 'Smiths that a use was found for after it was produced, instead of being used for a specific design purpose or target audience (they were great PPC match 'hideout' snubs). I suspect that part of the rationale as has been suggested is the requirement of many police agencies at the time for a .38 special, and the fact that in that day, we tended to gravitate more toward large, physically imposing folks as police officers than not, and a square butt was a more 'hand-filling' feature nod to them. Whatever the reasons, it would be hard to deny that it is certainly a S&W 'classic'.