I saw this at an LGS yesterday,,,I've never owned an N-frame 357 magnum and I've been looking. This one was made in late 1967. It had some old magna grips on it but I switched them to the Pachmayr Presentations, they are just more functional.

I got 50 rounds of Blazer 158 grain through it yesterday, between horseflies and skeeters....very pleasant to shoot.

The piece has been taken care of, no major scratches or dings and it locks up tight...

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Looks nice! Model 28s are great guns I’m still on the hunt for a 4 inch. Here’s my -2

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Nice catch, I'd pick up a 4" in a heartbeat.

I bought my 6" back in 1981 because I couldn't find a 4"-had to settle for a 4" M-27 instead. If you see an M-28 grab it, it is the closest we have to an all around revolver. Herrett's on my M-28, Pachmayrs on my M-27 for shooting comfort.

Great find! Btw, "some old Magnas" for N-frames are worth quite a bit of money, especially those that left the factory before 1968 with a diamond center around the grip screw escutcheon. I would not toss them into the discarded grip pile, even if you prefer to shoot yours with those Pachmayr presentation grips.

I like to shoot mine with target grips, but I also have oversized hands with fat fingers, which helps. In the pic, on top is a 28-2 from the same period as yours with the target grips I use, on the bottom is a 28 with period-correct diamond-center N-frame Magnas. If those are what you have, I would either save them, or sell them to another forum member who may be looking for a set!

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I will keep the magna grips for it. They are fairly ratty though, rubbed fairly smooth with big dings in the bottom of the grips. My reloading task for the weekend will be 100 rounds of either 180 grain Keith style LSWCs or some 200 grain hardball (if I can find them).

I ordered an Azula pancake holster for it.

These revolvers were carried by a ton of police agencies around the country. Too bad the Air Force didn't give us these instead of the Model 15s...

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Here’s my 28-2 I bought new in 1977. I still have all the paperwork including the moisture barrier paper and the receipt. I grew up a shooter but didn’t have a gun other than black powder at the time. There was an attempted breaking at my home at that time and I felt the need to have something I could protect myself and wife with.

I need to pull the receipt and put it in the box too. I think it was around $175 new. I wanted the M27 but didn’t want to go the extra cash for it at that time.

In the 80’s I sold it to my younger brother for a while to raise the money for an fee blue 6” Python. Eventually my brother tired of the M28 and sold it back to me for what he paid.

Other than the turn line there’s not a mark on it. I have to admit I’d still like to have a very nice M27-2 6” to go with my M28.

Congratulations on acquiring a great revolver.

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Can’t go wrong with a 4” HP!

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Pine_Worker
Ex-LEO, NRA Life

That sounds about right. I bought one (a 4") new in 1975 for $135 and change. Get this: bought it at Montgomery Wards. Bought a 2" Model 64 for my wife at the same time in the same store. All the big department stores had a gun section in those days.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

My first 28 was purchased in the mid ‘70’s from a gun shop for $128. Memories!

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Pine_Worker
Ex-LEO, NRA Life

OP...If you move that blurry dark object I could see the guns..

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I’m sure that Critch is loving his new model 28. I love the balance and feel of the 4” and intend to buy one some day. I currently own a 1964 28-2, 6” that I have added target stocks, trigger, and hammer. It has all the goodness of its more expensive brother without the fine details and finish.

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One of the upper end department stores in town had a really good gun department. At that time hardware stores often carried guns too. I bought my Python from a mom and pop hardware store in a little nearby town and my Super Blackhawk in another hardware store in another nearby small town and every hardware store carried ammo.

Lighten up those bullets some, both you and the gun will like it better. 158 grain is the optimum for magnum loads, the 180's would be good as reduced power loads around 950-1000 fps. H110, Win 296, IMR 4227 and AA#9 work well in .357M.

I agree. I have fired hundreds of rounds using 158 gr. LSWC handloads in my Highway Patrolman revolvers over the past 50 years. Performance has always been excellent.

In the 1970s I tried some of Speer's 158 grain half-jacketed SWCs, but I stopped shooting those because the jacket would often separate completely from the lead core. Used in a .38 Special with reduced loads, they were fine.

In February, 1985, I had to shoot a charging cow moose in the face to keep her from running over my friend and me with our snow machines. My HP was loaded with heavy handloads using 158 gr Hornady jacketed hollow points. The bullet traveled through the side of her face and lodged in her left shoulder. It turned her away from us, but didn't put her down. A couple hours later, I followed the blood trail (lots of snow on the ground) and found her up and eating in the willows.

The story has a sequel. A few days later, we got notified of a moose hit by a train in the same area. We took the snow machines up to salvage the meat and it turned out to be the same cow. I found my bullet in her left shoulder. We ate her.

Note: for you flatlanders, "snow machine" is the Alaska term for what you all call a "snowmobile."

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

I bought a Ruger Super Blackhawk and a Ruger .22 caliber automatic at Monkey Wards in Cheyenne, WY in 1973 when I was stationed there. Still have the Ruger 22.

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Thanks Jack. I really miss my "snow machine", I just didn't have a need for it after moving to Oklahoma.

Great find and a great revolver. Got mine in '73 as a rookie PO and carried it in uniform and as a plainclothes officer for most of my 30+ year career. Never let me down.

I understand the joy you have found... now your search for a 6 inch begins.. lol careful.. they are addictive

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It was my first duty gun in 1975.

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Is that one a 4"? It looks more like a 3-1/2" to me, but my eyes may be deceiving me. Have you put a tape measure on it?

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Found my 6” M28 in a local pawn shop and made a deal. Went back a week later and found a 4” M28. Probably from the same owner. Now I have both. The 6” has the original Target stocks and the 4” has the original Magnas. No rubber grips for my Smiths. Great guns.

Highway Patrolmen should always ride in pairs. 4” & 6”

I have a 4 inch and a 5 inch. The 5 inch was modified from a 6 inch by Dave Chicoine, who also installed the front sight to make it look factory. He did a beautiful job on the gun.

Looks good! My 1st s&w was a 6" model 28 and I sold it as I was broke, but later got one of each bbl lengths...this is the gun that made me such a Smith enthusiast-congratulations and enjoy!

Maybe a bit off the thread, but I have huge hands and love N frames. Last revolver I carried as a PO was a 4" M25 .45 LC. Lately I have been enjoying fixed sight 4"N frames- .45 acp and .357 (the NYPD 520) . Acquired NIB for my collection and my wife wisely said who was I saving them for? Now they are some of my favorites to take to the range and enjoy

I have a pair of model 28-2s both 4 inch. I bought a Colt Trooper MkIII first, but didn't like it so I traded it back to the shop and got a model 28. Loved it from the start. It shot everything I put in it from .38s to HOT loaded .357 magnums. This was also the pistol that I carried when I first went into law enforcement. I had a trigger job done on it and both DA and SA are FANTASTIC. I bought a second 28-2 as a back-up (in case I had to put my primary in the shop). Not 6 months later my agency transitioned to semiautos (S&W 4006). I still have my model 28s and don't EVER intend to sell them...they just don't make them like that anymore.

I had a 5 screw pre 28 HP that I picked up in a pawn shop for $200.00 many years ago. I traded it for a tractor disc worth about a grand. I still miss it. (the pre 28) A couple of years later I found a guy walking around with a dash 2 ANIB at a gun show for $300. I told him I would give him $250 and he wouldn't have to walk around with it anymore. He agreed to the deal. At sometime I traded it for something else, don't remember what, and then realized I didn't own a 28. Keep in mind these things were cheap back then and not many people wanted them. About three years ago I saw one in a shop sitting on a back shelf. It was a four screw and had a front sight insert, a .400 smooth trigger, and an apparent trigger job. The shop owner told me it was not for sale and if I wanted it I could bid on GB. My son was looking at his phone and said "I just bid on it". The shop owner had screwed up the listing and that's what I paid for it. I was the only bidder. It's one of the best shooting "N" frames I've ever had. I've got a friend who had the same work done on his dash 2 and I'm pretty sure the work was done in the same place. I still wonder who tricked it out. Anyway. I'm very satisfied with the four inch and one day I'll get the six inch back for a decent price. I'm not in a hurry.

Well Critch, you can probably tell by now that there are lots of Highway Patrolman fans in the Forum. You've got a nice one there...get it out and shoot it! I've got a few HPs and Model 28s, and the 4" bbl. is my favorite. I have one first year/birth year 1954 5-screw that is the pick of the litter. Enjoy!

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The magna grips are rough looking, but everyone's right, it doesn't look right with the Pachmayrs. I'm going to order a Tyler T-grip and keep looking for some better looking vintage magna grips.

My youngest son the cop thinks it looks "retro" as he calls it. He still thinks it's funny that in the old days the cops would roll up with a shotgun and maybe a rifle and their revolvers and everyone knew they meant business...he told they wear all this gear and armor now and he doesn't feel that the criminals are that worried about them. He says the "shock and awe" days are over with.

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I like Pachs for shooting. Also, they look good to me, in a serious business type way. This 4" came with some finish issues and homemade looking stocks so I consider the Pachs an upgrade.

Earlier posters mentioned department stores and hardware stores all used to sell handguns. Let's not forget that so did all the sporting goods stores. A different world.

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You will like that gun, congratulations! My no dash is from 1960. It has a S serial #. Have had nany stock sets on it over the years. I still casually look for a 4". Bob

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Back in the 1960s a M28 cost nearly twice as much as a M15.

I wanted a four inch but the LGS did not have one in stock but they had a M27 plus they would knock a little off plus the Police Discount. First thing I did was put Pacyamyr Presentations on it.

Most female cops had problems qualifying with 357 Magnum ammunition and the Model 19. But they switch to the Model 28 and they would qualify.

I am an old time cop and Pachmayrs are so 1970. The T-grip is a 1950/1960 thing.

The difference between cops in the past and the cops today is we did not bluff in my day. Today's cops are ...

Here's a little eye candy for the HP lovers. A very early example shipped to Evaluators Limited.

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You got a do it all gun right there

PICTURES! We need PICTURES of Mr. Chicone's work on this revolver.
We LIKE pictures!

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Just my opinion, but FWIW, the Pachmayr Presentation grips always looked/felt/seemed like a rubber version of the S&W football-relieved target grips that were so popular on "working man's" revolvers way back when.

IMO, the Pachmayr rubber version provides some advantages over the original factory wood target grips. The Pachs absorb more recoil, AND they give you a better grip on the gun - all of which makes them better for actually shooting your revolver.

They're not nearly as pretty as the factory wood grips, but they seem more practical. For a cop in the 1970's that would make them a more logical choice. Function trumps form when your life may be on the line.

Just my perspective, and as always, YMMV.

FWIW, I like Pachmayr Presentation grips, and have them on several of my guns. Just an aside, but they were offered in S/M/L sizes - unlike the factory wood grips which were only offered in "one size fits all".

The Pachmayr Presentation grips allowed the beat cop to tailor the gun to fit him - rather than requiring him to make adjustments to the gun his department required him to carry.

That was a pretty revolutionary concept back in the day.

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Yeah, you've gotta' love a 3-1/2" N-frame.
I'm still looking for one in my price range.

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Nice score...
My woods/deer lease rig the last couple seasons....
1969 Model 28-2 and Nolen Blade.

That is BEAUTIFUL! Bob

My no dash (below) is also from 1960, and its serial number is S202312. How close is your serial number?

I, too, think the T-grip is the way to go. It just looks RIGHT to me.
Larry

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Back in the late 70's when I first became a LEO, I carried a 6" Highway Patrolman. I later switched to 4". I foolishly sold off the 6", but when we transitioned to semiautos, I had the 4" prettied up a bit and gave it to my dad (He still has it).

A few years back, I found another 6" at a local shop and scooped it up. I still had the target grips from my first Highway Patrolman, so I threw those on. It is a great shooter!

If I could find some good quality wood grips that were identical in cut to the Pachmayr I would be a happy little camper. The Pachmayrs cover the backstrap of the grip and push my hand back slightly...keeps down on knuckle rap from the trigger guard, it also positions my trigger finger just right.

Not pretty, but very functional. If I get the money I will see what Herretts would charge to imitate the Pachs with some walnut grips. If I remember correctly, wasn't it Jordan's Roper grips that covered the back strap?

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I will try and get pictures today.


Here are pictures:

I ran up on Chicone's site the other day...great looking grips.

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