Model 13-2 FBI and LE questions

Benjamin9 said:

Benjamin here. I recently added a Model 13-2 round butt to my collection of Smith and Wesson revolvers and believe it was used in law enforcement at one point in time. There are very little turn marks on the cylinder. Maybe it stayed in a holster as a backup and was forgotten? It came with a 1980-90s black leather S&W holster. It has Pachmeyer compact grips that look to be about as old as the gun.

Anyway, just looking for anyone with info on what this revolver would have looked like new. Were rubber grips something FBI or LE would have used or should I look for some K frame stocks? What kind of hoster was used when the model 13s were in service? Also why is the cylinder recessed but the barren is not pinned? What kind of loads were used in this gun? I’d like to find some of these.

Any info is appreciated, the wealth of knowledge on this forum coming from retired and active law enforcement and military is amazing to me. Thank you for your service!

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kbm6893 said:

The recessed cylinder but no pinned barrel means the gun was made around 1981-1982 as S&W was transitioning away from pinned and recessed. It means they still had a recessed cylinder lying around and weren’t about to waste it. It’s not a bad thing, by any means. Just a timing thing. The logo on the sideplate is another giveaway. Those went away in late 1981, but again, if they had a frame laying around in 1983 with the logo on the sideplate they would have used it.

A friend of mine is a retired FBI agent who started out with the Model 13. He said he had the standard wood stocks on his with a Tyler grip adapter. He also said he carried 4 .38 special and 2 .357 rounds. He figured if the first 4 weren’t enough he better make his last two count. I’m not sure there was any rule on types of stocks you could have. Some departments were real sticklers when it came to anything not kept uniform with the rest of the agency. Others didn’t care.

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murphydog said:

Welcome! The only way to be certain about the history ("provenance") of a gun is a letter of authenticity from the SWHF, the first link on this page:

Letter Process - Smith & Wesson Historical Foundation

This will give you its ship or sales date and destination. It may letter as going to an LE agency, but sometimes a gun that eventually went to one was shipped to a regular distributor.

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Benjamin9 said:

Benjamin here. I recently added a Model 13-2 round butt to my collection of Smith and Wesson revolvers and believe it was used in law enforcement at one point in time. There are very little turn marks on the cylinder. Maybe it stayed in a holster as a backup and was forgotten? It came with a 1980-90s black leather S&W holster. It has Pachmeyer compact grips that look to be about as old as the gun.

Anyway, just looking for anyone with info on what this revolver would have looked like new. Were rubber grips something FBI or LE would have used or should I look for some K frame stocks? What kind of hoster was used when the model 13s were in service? Also why is the cylinder recessed but the barren is not pinned? What kind of loads were used in this gun? I’d like to find some of these.

Any info is appreciated, the wealth of knowledge on this forum coming from retired and active law enforcement and military is amazing to me. Thank you for your service!

Click to expand...

roycohutta said:

Hi Benjamin,

This is the first time I've been on this forum. I came upon your post while looking for some other information about the Model 13.

I carried the Model 13 as an FBI Agent from 1987 to about 1991. After that I transitioned to a semi-auto pistol.

I was issued a concealment-type thumb-break leather holster with the Model 13. I do not recall which brand, but it worked well.

I originally had wood grips with the pachmayr grip insert on the front of the handle. I think I eventually replaced that setup with pachmayr rubber grips.

The Model 13 shot great. We shot them from 3-50 yards. I think we did most of our training with .38 wadcutters.

On the street, I carried .38 Special +P in mine most of the time. I also carried reloads in speed loaders.

I hope that helps.
Best,
Roy

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.455_Hunter said:

For me, Agent Starling's Model 13 was the star of the show in Silence of the Lambs.

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sigp220.45 said:

I went through the FBI Academy not long after Jodie Foster was there filming Silence of the Lambs. The guy who “kills” her when she doesn’t check behind the door in a scenario was one of my primary instructors. Nobody had a bad thing to say about her. They said she really paid attention during the firearms stuff and worked on her reloads since she knew she would have to do one on camera.

Spoiler alert for a 33 year old movie:

I hate “plot armor” in movies, particularly when a character doesn’t pick up a gun or reload their own because the script says they don’t have to. When Starling wins the “Smith vs Colt” shootout with Buffalo Bill she immediately reloads her Model 13, and does a pretty fair job of it. No plot armor there

FBI SA 1991-2016.

Edited to add: Even in 1991 there were still a lot of guys in the Bureau carrying revolvers, mostly Model 13s but some Model 10 2 1/2”. There were quite a few RB Pachmayr Compacs to be seen, but the most common set up was factory magnas and a Pachmayr grip adapter. They sold the Pachmayr adapters at the little BX at the Academy and the gun vault guys had no problem with them so most Agents opted for the 7.99 solution and used ‘em til the revolvers were recalled.

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