local gander has a couple of turn-ins for $399 each. not bad looking but usual carry wear. i am looking for a bedside gun to give my nice snubby 19 a break.

sounds high to me...

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be safe,enjoylife,journey well

Gun Broker is listing some L.E. Model 15's for $349.00, as a
starting bid price, as I write this.

Considering condition of the model 15's you mentioned from
Cabellas, their price of $399.00 seems to be in the ball park.

The great majority of former law enforcement revolvers have not been shot much. They may have been carried for many years and
show some holster wear, but their bones are usually excellent.

Would you rather pay Cabellas' price on a revolver you can see and examine, or would you rather save a few dollars and take a chance on a
mail ordered revolver?

I don't think that's too out of line. I was thinking about $350. Depends on condition. When you shoot it, you'll forget how much you paid for it.

I am not sure on a M-15 but an old turn in LE is worth about $2.50 an hour after taxes, bills and the what the heck am I doing here nerve pills.

The young bright eyed and bushy tailed gung ho ones, you know, LNIB, are worth another $1.oo until you remove them from the wrapper.

By the time you add shipping and FFL transfer fees to the $350 you will be right at $400 and you will take more risk and have longer to wait.

Usually you can depend on LE turn-ins to be mechanically excellent since they were maintained by factory-trained armorers. No bubbas with K-Mart screwdrivers and files!

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You're shy a few manners.

The local gun stores around me put out quite a variety of used 4" K frame .38s including 15s for $400 plus tax. Some patches of pitting that are there forever can drive a perfectly functioning 4" 15 down into the low $200s but you could be a long time hunting for one. $400 plus tax is typical for NRA good to very good condition 4" 15s. One could do a lot worse in used S&W revolvers.

If you are looking for a bedside gun maybe look at a model 10. A lot more used model 10's at a lower price, Buds has them regularly. Don't get me wrong I love my 15 but the 10 is mainly the same gun less adjustable sites which aren't needed for a night stand gun IMO.

i paid almost that after shipping n fees.
check the barrel. i think the prison guard that had mine used steel tools to clean the barrel.

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susie

Wnen a new Gander store opened not long ago that is just
about 12 miles from my house I was eager to check it out.
I've been there several times since it opened but it's been a
while since my last visit. Their sale ads show up in my news
paper. I have yet to see a price on any handgun from them
that wasn't higher than the prices elsewhere in this area. As
much as I like S&W revolvers I have to say that there are
much better deals around in brand new guns than an ex LEO
38 spl revolver for $399. Size isn't an issue for a bedside
gun and with new ATI 45 autos and S&W SDVE 9mms on
sale for $299 the $100 higher used mod 15 doesn't look
like a good buy to me. I've also seen brand new S&W 642s
for around $360 and new Glock 43 9mms for $430.

I hear you on value. Ove the years I did not buy the 15's when they were cheap because every jackleg, including me, wanted a 19 or 66 or anything with 357 mag etched on the bbl.

There is one between me and Topeka in an LGS. It's around 400. Dont have any history, very clean.

I think it falls under the collector/shooter category. Sort of like owning a 57 Chevy 2 Door hardtop with the little 283 in it, not a magnum 327 add on but original and a fun car as opposed to a new car which is cheaper more powerful and sitting on every lot in town.

There is some powerful lure folks have for the old S&W's in 38 Special. Non Magnum mojo maybe or just plain old fashioned cool.

Most departments transitioned to the bottom feeders around 30 years ago. The old revolvers that are just now coming out for sale have been in storage since then. Some were stored better than others and the majority of them are still good functional guns. I like old LEO guns, probably because I'm an old LEO.

I think I just read the consequence of this thread being posted in the lounge rather than in a revolver sub-forum.

Yeah I know and agree with you and have several old K
frame 38 spls and I like the mild 38 spl with my handloads.
I have three 2", one 3" and several 4" guns going all the
way back to my oldest which dates to around 1910. I have
a 64 and an old Colt OP also. But a fact of life these days
is that not everyone can afford to have fifteen old 38 spls
laying around just in case they want to pick one up once in
a while. The OP is looking at buying a second handgun
that he expects to be a working HD gun and that's why I
focused on value and reliability in my response.

Cheapskate that I am, I would print out the GB listings for the Model 15 at the entry bid price of $349.00 and take it to Gander's and see if they will "price match".

Good luck,

Dave

I'm not the original poster but thanks for the info guys. I'm looking at taking in a 15-4 in trade and wasn't sure about the price but it looks like i may still come out on top for the trade.