Georgia Highway Patrol shipped 4” Model 25-5

L

linde

US Veteran
Gold Supporter
Joined
Feb 24, 2009
Messages
3,003
Reaction score
2,815
Location
Ozarks of Missouri
Just received the factory letter on my 4” model 25-5 s/n N716536. It letters to the Georgia Highway Patrol and was delivered 12/18/80 to the Georgia Public Safety Division, Atlanta, GA.

Question: Did GHP use &/or issue the Model 25-5 or would 1980 to 1986 have been a period when troopers were free to carry whatever they could qualify with?

I was told this gun was owned by a Dekalb County Police Department Captain until 1986. It could have been he was with the GHP before he joined the department. I’m still trying to gather more information on the previous owner.

I suppose it’s also possible that the GHP ordered the gun as a courtesy to a fellow LEO.

Here is a link to my original post . . . so I don’t get in trouble for not having pictures :) :D
http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-re...45-model-25-5-undersize-cylinder-throats.html

Thanks, Russ
 
Register to hide this ad
I doubt there was ever a period in recent memory that GSP would allow troopers to carry a primary sidearm of their own choosing. I retired from GA Department of Natural Resources and our policies on this were very strict and explicit: deviation was grounds for disciplinary action up to, and including, termination; I can't imagine GSP's being less stringent.

As you know, DeKalb Co. PD actually carried Model 25-5's in .45 Colt for a brief period to replace Colt .357's that were considered to be politically incorrect. I think that the mid-80's was when DKPD then went to 9mm, so the 25-5's would have to be turned in. Just speculating, but in line with the PC trend I would not expect individual officers to be able to purchase their sidearm so possibly the CPT had a connection at GSP that was able to hook him up with the gun.

(We transitioned from 686's to Glock .40's in 1995 and were given the opportunity of buying our revolvers at the trade-in allowance price if we wished....$195, and I don't remember how high I jumped but my hand was reaching for my wallet before I hit the ground.:D)

I grew up in DeKalb County in the 60's and 70's when it was in a "transitional" period. The 25-5's were just one aspect of that.

Google "dekalb county police .45 colt" for some interesting blogs and other info. Good luck with the gun; there should be some pleasant hours at the range in store for you with it.
 
25-5

i have one that came from dekalb co pd. it belonged to the chief bobby burgesss.
number on mine is N7357xx
 
Last edited:
"I doubt there was ever a period in recent memory that GSP would allow troopers to carry a primary sidearm of their own choosing."

Just to the west, Alabama State Troopers were able to carry their choice of sidearms, at least back in the 1970s. One trooper that worked in Lee County, Alabama carried a 6 1/2" M29.

The issue weapon of another trooper that I knew was the Colt MK III .357. His was the "Border Patrol" stamped version.

I bought my 4" M25-5 in 1980 and carried as a city police officer. I sold it to one of my LTs, who carried for a number of years. I bought it back in 2007, not long before he died.
 
I could be wrong in this (If you don't believe I could be wrong, ask my wife) but I think I would ask that it be rechecked for the destination. I remember when DeKalb County went to the 45 Colt cartridge. Quite a stir in the gun world at the time. My first wife had an uncle at the time that was a Cpt. in the Ga. Hwy Patrol stationed in Atlanta and I never heard him talk about them carrying that gun. I remember going home in the afternoon on the just then completed I-85 and I would be headed down I-85 south of 285 and I would have my factory Chev. hotrod wound up and then her uncle Harry (old 88) would be beside me in those old boxy gunboat Hemi's and he would wave and then he would motor on home at 100+ Ah the good ole days.
Thanks for jogging my memory banks.
Bob

I also knew a trooper that was an armorer for them and I never heard him mention that gun in use. He did a tune up on my 50 Target 45 and it is bank vault tight to this day 28 yrs ago
 
50 target said:
I could be wrong in this (If you don't believe I could be wrong, ask my wife) but I think I would ask that it be rechecked for the destination. I remember when DeKalb County went to the 45 Colt cartridge. Quite a stir in the gun world at the time. My first wife had an uncle at the time that was a Cpt. in the Ga. Hwy Patrol stationed in Atlanta and I never heard him talk about them carrying that gun. I remember going home in the afternoon on the just then completed I-85 and I would be headed down I-85 south of 285 and I would have my factory Chev. hotrod wound up and then her uncle Harry (old 88) would be beside me in those old boxy gunboat Hemi's and he would wave and then he would motor on home at 100+ Ah the good ole days.
Thanks for jogging my memory banks.
Bob

I also knew a trooper that was an armorer for them and I never heard him mention that gun in use. He did a tune up on my 50 Target 45 and it is bank vault tight to this day 28 yrs ago
Click to expand...

I have also never heard GSP was issued the 25-5; not saying it didn't happened but I've never heard of it. If anyone knows for sure I wish they would jump in.

I did see something online where someone mentioned delivery to GSP of 25-5's for "testing and evaluation" purposes; if true, perhaps the OP's gun was from this batch.

So then, if some of this speculation is more or less on track you have to wonder if it was related to S&W's turning out the Model 26-1/GSP Commemorative in 1988 and '89?

Truth is always stranger than fiction.
 
ship destination - what the factory letter says

I'm posting the actual last paragraph of the factory letter to see if there's an explanation.

"We have researched your Smith & Wesson Model 25-5 .45 Target Model of 1955, caliber .45 Colt revolver in company records which indicates that your handgun, with serial number N716536, was shipped from our factory on December 18, 1980, and delivered to Georgia Public Safety Division, Atlanta, GA (Georgia Highway Patrol). The records indicate that this revolver was shipped with a 4-inch barrel, blue finish, and checkered Goncalo Alves target grips."

I can't help but wonder if the Georgia Public Safety Division was the procurement agency for the Dekalb County PD as well as the Georgia State Patrol. The fact that "Georgia Highway Patrol" was a parenthetic insert makes me wonder.

Is that possible . . . and a possible explanation that the gun was actually delivered to the Dekalb County PD? :confused:

Thanks again for everyone's input,

Russ
 
Here is my M25-5, wearing some grips made by Forum member Kurac. I roundbutted this revolver soon after I bought it.

P10100396.jpg


P10100383.jpg
 
linde said:
I'm posting the actual last paragraph of the factory letter to see if there's an explanation.

"We have researched your Smith & Wesson Model 25-5 .45 Target Model of 1955, caliber .45 Colt revolver in company records which indicates that your handgun, with serial number N716536, was shipped from our factory on December 18, 1980, and delivered to Georgia Public Safety Division, Atlanta, GA (Georgia Highway Patrol). The records indicate that this revolver was shipped with a 4-inch barrel, blue finish, and checkered Goncalo Alves target grips."

I can't help but wonder if the Georgia Public Safety Division was the procurement agency for the Dekalb County PD as well as the Georgia State Patrol. The fact that "Georgia Highway Patrol" was a parenthetic insert makes me wonder.

Is that possible . . . and a possible explanation that the gun was actually delivered to the Dekalb County PD? :confused:

Thanks again for everyone's input,

Russ
Click to expand...

I wasn't working with contracts in the early 80's so can't definitely say how they were written, but as of the early '90s I know for sure. (Considering the glacial pace of change in state government, I don't imagine it was done differently just a few years previously.)

The Georgia Department of Administrative Services negotiates contracts for various commodities used in State government, including firearms. The firearms contract is designated as mandatory, which means that those firearms listed must be purchased by a State agency in accordance with the terms of the contract. Local governments may also purchase from the contract and accept delivery of same although it is not mandatory for them.

There would be no reason, or even any procedure, to ship an item purchased by a local government to a State agency who would in turn send it along to the purchaser. As you have suggested, the officer that had it may have brought it with him from GSP. You may never know for sure.

S&W has had items on the firearms contract of one sort or another for many years. I've been retired for 3 years so have not seen a contract since then, but they still listed Model 64's at that time...Department of Corrections bought the bulk of those over the years; also Model 60's.
 
I lived in DeKalb County during that period. As I heard the story, there was an ex-Borderpatrolman working at the Police or Sheriffs Dept and was instrumental in the county adopting the 25-5 guns. They were kept only a short period of time. Several of the local stores ended up with them and as I recall, were sold for about $200. at retail. Every one of the ex county 25s I saw had the standard trigger, not target. Dean
 
cjw3 said:
As you know, DeKalb Co. PD actually carried Model 25-5's in .45 Colt for a brief period to replace Colt .357's that were considered to be politically incorrect. I think that the mid-80's was when DKPD then went to 9mm, so the 25-5's would have to be turned in. Just speculating, but in line with the PC trend I would not expect individual officers to be able to purchase their sidearm so possibly the CPT had a connection at GSP that was able to hook him up with the gun.
Click to expand...

The DKPD folks were able to purchase the Beretta 92 pistols that they just retired.
 
nawilson said:
Strange that it letters to the "Georgia Highway Patrol" instead of the Georgia State Patrol.
Click to expand...

That doesn't surprise me. We purchased items from all sorts of vendors with our agency/division name butchered on the invoices in various ways.

"State Police" seems to be the most common nomenclature across the country, followed by "Highway Patrol". I think there are 6 designated as "State Patrol", so S&W can be forgiven for not having the name quite right since I am sure they have dealt with all of them over the years.
 
"I can't help but wonder if the Georgia Public Safety Division was the procurement agency for the Dekalb County PD as well as the Georgia State Patrol. The fact that "Georgia Highway Patrol" was a parenthetic insert makes me wonder."

This didn't happen.....DeKalb PD 25-5's letter to the Board of Commissioners of DeKalb County, as they should be as the invoice was paid for by the DK Co Government, and is consistent with Georgia Law.
The State doesn't act as a purchasing agent for any local government in Georgia...and never has.
I don't doubt that GSP (Georgia State Patrol) may have evaluated some 25-5's, and the State authorized some commemorative 25-5's that crop up from time to time, one is on display at GBI headquarters in Decatur. They were never issued or carried to my knowledge....
Another possible explanation for the letter is that a Trooper got the quartermaster to order one for "personal" use from Smith and later reimburse the State, or several were bought as retirement gifts...
If I had a gun to my head and was forced to make an educated guess, I would bet that a Trooper got one ordered at State price for his own use....I doubt you will get anyone to admit that.
 
sheriffoconee;135881723 . . . If I had a gun to my head and was forced to make an educated guess said:
I won't hold that proverbial gun to your head but . . . based on everything that's been said . . . I'm going to run with that educated guess until I know differently. If I'm successful in locating the original owner I will get back with "the rest of the story".

Thanks again for everyone's contributions . . . I knew I could count on this Forum for the best insights available.

Russ
Click to expand...
 
1980 was an interesting year in Georgia. Wrightsville had race riots in middle Georgia...4 death row inmates escaped from Reidsville State Prison, Atlanta had the highest murder rate of any other city per capita in 1980 and Gov George Busbee sent Troopers to patrol the streets of Atlanta.

Col. Hugh Hardison was the Commander of GSP at the time.
I know a few guys who were around headquarters back then, but unless one of them was the actual buyer of the 25-5, I doubt anyone would remember it...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

WCCPHD
NC Highway Patrol Commemorative: Model 29-2: BETTER PHOTOS NOW POSTED
Replies
17
Views
6K
ladder13
ladder13
L
Model 25-5 with ?undersize? cylinder throats
Replies
7
Views
4K
linde
L
G
My Babies...how about yours?
Replies
15
Views
3K
mervyn_b
M
handejector
  • Sticky
Notable Thread Index
Replies
2
Views
89K
diecidecimi
diecidecimi
Allen-frame
Smiths in 45 Colt Ctg The Ultimate 25 and 625 discussion.Edited June 2014
11 12 13
Replies
252
Views
134K
steelslaver
steelslaver

Latest posts

Back
Top