Given Model 41 held in police evidence two decades!

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kreativecid

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I am very excited! My mother-in-law gave me her late father's S&W Model 41 which he used to win a State Championship decades ago. But the real "cool" part is the 22 was held in police evidence for over 20 years.

The firearm was stolen from the father and used in a murder. A hand-written note from the father is in the case referring to how the mag must be installed for the firearm to fire, how the grip bottom was damaged by the thief. Real blast from the past.

I have no idea how to detail strip the piece, yet, and the manual of arms is new to me. But that will be half the fun.
 
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Wow, I'm glad you got it back.

What prompted its return? Was it forgotten about, then discovered? Or was it being held pending some kind of appeal?
 
Thanks for the link!

From what I gather the small town police kept it, forgot about it, closed the case, forgot to give it back, case reopened, firearm still in possession, case closed, firearm forgotten, then returned. One of those deals.

The pistol was locked up along with a very old Ruger 10/22.
 
I guess if you need a gun to commit a murder, and want to make sure you hit what you aim at, you would steal one that won a state championship....
 
Very interesting story.
Document all that as much as possible. Any news reports to copy? How about getting MIL to write an affadavit, and maybe get a letter from the chief or the DA. This might be easiest if you first gather the facts from them, then type it yourself, and have them put a notarized signature on it.
I am not suggesting this to make it worth a fortune, but merely to preserve the facts for future owners in the family.
 
Congrats on getting the model 41 back. This story sounds like a follow up to the officer looking to identify a gun in lock-up in this thread posted 03/08/11.
S&W Identification
 
Congrats on the new gun, but have you laid eyes or hands on this piece? It may not be in the best of condition. I own several firearms that were LE stolen, recovered, evidence, confiscation types. Many had case numbers written or engraved on them, surface rust, rusty chambers, rusty barrels, missing parts. I hope your #41 is in VGC, but do be aware.
 
Yes, a very interesting story. Could we see some pics?
 
I'll try to get some soon!

Gets better: this morning thought "hmmm, wonder if anything is under...." and lifted the foam case cover and found two typed letters from the late grandfather/41 owner to his relatives. Details of the stolen S&W 22lr, the murder and the 20 year police evidence hold. Turns out he had a pocket revolver stolen, too.

Purchased the 41 for $99.95 brand new. He was the 1964 State Indoor Champion and achieved Master during the late 60s. He moved 4 times yet the local police put in the effort to track him down just to return the piece.

Watched that vid in the link provided and stripped the 41. I also taught the great grandson of the original owner how to field strip the firearm (he's 13 and a firearm enthusiast); we're shooting it for the first time this weekend.
 
Shot the 41 this weekend with the original owner's grandson. This firearm likes Remingtons a little better than Federals. Accuracy was laser-like. My first time shooting a 22LR pistol and it was rather addicting! The grandson spent the afternoon working on his stance/grip/sight acquisition and trigger pull.

Did not clean it before the session and by about 200 rounds it was getting quite dirty. Now it's super clean and ready for the next outing.

CIMG6389.jpg


CIMG6390.jpg
 
I don't know where you live but I'd say you're extremely lucky to get the pistol back after such a long time. I say this because of what happened to my dad:

He lived in Brooklyn NY. When he returned home after the war in late 1945 he came home with a pistol. He was still young and unmarried and lived with his parents (my grandparents). As the story goes, grandma didn't want the gun in the house. At that time because of the influx of guns brought home by GI's, the NYPD was encouraging veterans to turn-in weapons to the local police station for 'safekeeping'. To abide by his mothers wishes, dad took the pistol to the neighborhood police station and was told by the police he could retrieve it anytime he wanted. Back then in NYC there were no laws restricting him from possessing the gun. A little while later when he went back to get his pistol, they couldn't find it! Imagine that!! I have no doubt as soon as turned it in it went into some cops pocket.

Knowing what we know now, I say "why dad, did you turn the gun in?" I wasn't born till many years later and all I know about the pistol is he referred to it as a "little Belgian automatic" It sure would have been a great souvenir for this gun collector but it wasn't meant to be.

Dan
 
Hello,
Nice looking 41. I just acquired one but I am in need of a clip. Do you know where one can find one, Mine also has the longer barrel.
Thank you in advance
Rich K
 
Great story. No doubt in many places, that pistol would have went to the smelter or torch.
Nice they seemed to go the extra effort to track down the owner/family.

msgdan,,sorry about your dads bring-back from WW2.
I'm afraid the Sullivan Law in NYS (including the City) wouldn't have allowed him to possess the pistol w/o a NYS/NYCity Pistol Permit.
Been that way since 1911.


It wasn't till 1983 that the NYS law was changed to allow unregistered handguns to be turned in to L/E,,cleared and then registered on a NYS permit or sold to a licensed dealer.
Even then, there is only a one year window. If nothing is done, the pistol is deemed a 'nuisance weapon' under state law and destroyed.
 
Interesting that the pistol has the "field" model barrel. I rarely see those and would be surprised to see one on a state-championship winning gun. Maybe your MIL's father owned more than one barrel for that gun? You might ask her to look around. Could be another barrel lying around in a drawer somewhere.
 
Thanks for sharing such a story. Any firearm with a history should be documented for future generations and/or others who may come into possession of the gun. Especially when the gun is such a shooter!

Blessings,
Hog
 
Last edited:
kreativecid said:
Shot the 41 this weekend with the original owner's grandson. This firearm likes Remingtons a little better than Federals. Accuracy was laser-like. My first time shooting a 22LR pistol and it was rather addicting! The grandson spent the afternoon working on his stance/grip/sight acquisition and trigger pull.

Did not clean it before the session and by about 200 rounds it was getting quite dirty. Now it's super clean and ready for the next outing.

CIMG6389.jpg


CIMG6390.jpg
Click to expand...
Let me understand this correctly. You acquired a gun new to you. It was stored 20 years under conditions unknown to you and you simply went out and shot it and let a 13 year old shoot it? Call me crazy, but what were you thinking?
 
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