RM Vivas
US Veteran
My fields of collecting are:
US Military Small Arms – This is what I started out with and still dabble in. Anything US military from 1873 onward with an emphasis on the Army stuff as well as the accoutrements (cartridge belts, cleaning kits, ammo, holsters, etc.)
NYPD small arms – I came to this later and, as most of you know, this is where I made my bones collecting-wise.
N-frame .357 Magnums – Always admired these but wasn’t until the past year or so that I was infected and am now on the eternal hunt for ‘sleeper’ N-frames.
By the way, I use the term ‘sleeper’ a lot in my writing, and I think I should explain what it means to me. A sleeper is a gun that is valuable or rare but that flies under the radar and no one knows what it is. It just sleeps on the LGS gun case shelf, getting marked down occasionally, until someone who understands the weaponized value of knowledge comes along and scoops it up.
When you walk into a gunshop and see a gun labelled as Target M&P $249.00 and your eye says that there is something more to it, so you grab it and are now the proud owner of a 1946 Mexican Target Model. Or, you see a shelf full of M&P’s of various vintage and styles and note the one HB 3” for $500; no one else recognizes it as a special contract run for the Minnesota (or Michigan, I cant recall) Highway Patrol or State Police. Or, my favorite, the “pre-Model 27” that is a little worn but has a frame marked “Made in USA”; hellooooooo non-registered Magnum! That’s a sleeper.
I digress……..
In my NYPD collection I have a Model 36-1 3” HB. These guns were purchased for New York City’s Policewomen but quite a few went to cops who were not “birthing people”. The first one I ever acquired turned out to have gone not to a Policewoman but to the Department’s surgeon!
That’s fine, it still counts as an NYPD M36-1, but I really wanted one that went to a Policewoman.
Fast forward a couple decades and I run into a uniform who has a side gig steering business to a local gun shop. He has a M36-1 that he says came in off ‘da Job and the price isn’t outrageous. I grab it and it turns out to be from a male Transit cop ( Mole Patrol - S&W M36-1 3" HB SB to NYPD/Transit ).
Ok, ---still--- counts as an NYPD M36-1 but dang it, I want one that went to a Policewoman!
Most folks know I work nights and as a result there is a bit of downtime when I’m basically shopping Amazon and watching movies on company time. That’s also how I got my BA in History; I did all my classwork and assignments at work between patients. This was an homage to my great buddy SuperTrooper who made the very valid point “—Never—do something off-duty that you could have done on-duty!”.
Since I have copies of all the surviving NYPD serial numbers, I cruise the auction sites looking for guns that might be NYPD. When I find a likely suspect, I see if they posted the serial number and if so, I run it against my records. Usually it’s not a match but every once in a while it is and then I have to decide if it’s worth purchasing.
I’m at the point now where I have a representative example of almost everything so now I’m looking for condition, box & docs or having gone to a noted figure.
While cruising the Rock Island Auction website, I saw this:
OK, a trio of J’s, one of which is an M36-1 with a serial number in the range.
I looked up the serial number and sure enough, it’s a sale to Policewoman Elaine J. BERSHAW. OK, gotta throw a bid on it.
Well, I was the high bidder. With the auction fees and shipping it’s going to be a little pricey, but at least I will finally have my Policewomans M36-1. Also, I need to sell off the Model 49 and that flat latch Chiefs Special (#25xxx).
I’ve started the research on BERSHAW and actually found an image of her from page 1 of the Brandenton Herald from 13JAN66 when she was directing traffic during a transit strike.
Hard to see in the image but right above her reflective belt is the strap for her purse holster, inside of which was M36-1 #559337. Policewoman BERSHAW looks like a short fierce creature in the image and I find it highly amusing that those boots can’t be anywhere near regulation. NYC is cold in January!
So, finally scored my M36-1 that actually went to one of the Fairest of The Finest!
Best,
RM Vivas
US Military Small Arms – This is what I started out with and still dabble in. Anything US military from 1873 onward with an emphasis on the Army stuff as well as the accoutrements (cartridge belts, cleaning kits, ammo, holsters, etc.)
NYPD small arms – I came to this later and, as most of you know, this is where I made my bones collecting-wise.
N-frame .357 Magnums – Always admired these but wasn’t until the past year or so that I was infected and am now on the eternal hunt for ‘sleeper’ N-frames.
By the way, I use the term ‘sleeper’ a lot in my writing, and I think I should explain what it means to me. A sleeper is a gun that is valuable or rare but that flies under the radar and no one knows what it is. It just sleeps on the LGS gun case shelf, getting marked down occasionally, until someone who understands the weaponized value of knowledge comes along and scoops it up.
When you walk into a gunshop and see a gun labelled as Target M&P $249.00 and your eye says that there is something more to it, so you grab it and are now the proud owner of a 1946 Mexican Target Model. Or, you see a shelf full of M&P’s of various vintage and styles and note the one HB 3” for $500; no one else recognizes it as a special contract run for the Minnesota (or Michigan, I cant recall) Highway Patrol or State Police. Or, my favorite, the “pre-Model 27” that is a little worn but has a frame marked “Made in USA”; hellooooooo non-registered Magnum! That’s a sleeper.
I digress……..
In my NYPD collection I have a Model 36-1 3” HB. These guns were purchased for New York City’s Policewomen but quite a few went to cops who were not “birthing people”. The first one I ever acquired turned out to have gone not to a Policewoman but to the Department’s surgeon!
That’s fine, it still counts as an NYPD M36-1, but I really wanted one that went to a Policewoman.
Fast forward a couple decades and I run into a uniform who has a side gig steering business to a local gun shop. He has a M36-1 that he says came in off ‘da Job and the price isn’t outrageous. I grab it and it turns out to be from a male Transit cop ( Mole Patrol - S&W M36-1 3" HB SB to NYPD/Transit ).
Ok, ---still--- counts as an NYPD M36-1 but dang it, I want one that went to a Policewoman!
Most folks know I work nights and as a result there is a bit of downtime when I’m basically shopping Amazon and watching movies on company time. That’s also how I got my BA in History; I did all my classwork and assignments at work between patients. This was an homage to my great buddy SuperTrooper who made the very valid point “—Never—do something off-duty that you could have done on-duty!”.
Since I have copies of all the surviving NYPD serial numbers, I cruise the auction sites looking for guns that might be NYPD. When I find a likely suspect, I see if they posted the serial number and if so, I run it against my records. Usually it’s not a match but every once in a while it is and then I have to decide if it’s worth purchasing.
I’m at the point now where I have a representative example of almost everything so now I’m looking for condition, box & docs or having gone to a noted figure.
While cruising the Rock Island Auction website, I saw this:
OK, a trio of J’s, one of which is an M36-1 with a serial number in the range.
I looked up the serial number and sure enough, it’s a sale to Policewoman Elaine J. BERSHAW. OK, gotta throw a bid on it.
Well, I was the high bidder. With the auction fees and shipping it’s going to be a little pricey, but at least I will finally have my Policewomans M36-1. Also, I need to sell off the Model 49 and that flat latch Chiefs Special (#25xxx).
I’ve started the research on BERSHAW and actually found an image of her from page 1 of the Brandenton Herald from 13JAN66 when she was directing traffic during a transit strike.
Hard to see in the image but right above her reflective belt is the strap for her purse holster, inside of which was M36-1 #559337. Policewoman BERSHAW looks like a short fierce creature in the image and I find it highly amusing that those boots can’t be anywhere near regulation. NYC is cold in January!
So, finally scored my M36-1 that actually went to one of the Fairest of The Finest!
Best,
RM Vivas
Last edited:
...Ben
