Picked this one up yesterday at my favorite pawnshop. Excellent condition, wearing what I believe is N frame target stocks. Also found the correct PC Magnas on popular auction site and I should receive within the week. Pretty happy with this one!

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You should be able to recoup some of your purchase price selling the stocks here if you don’t need them. They look like a nice set.

Looks great! Have you dated it yet? I concur, if you don't have an N frame in need of new shoes, you ought to do well selling them. Congratulations!

If I was in your shoes that gun would be wearing Pachmyers or something similar. It would be sighted in for a stout wadcutter load off my Dillon. I would be shooting and carrying that puppy. The guys at the club would be jealous.
I can dream, can't I?

Very nice acquisition! You didn't mention the Model number (dash number) or s/n, and that would identify the correct magna stocks (diamond center or no diamond center). Model 15s are outstanding revolvers, enjoy!

Very nice revolver, after putting the correct handle on it, upload photos.
It would be great if you took it to the range and saw how well it shoots.
Thank you very much for sharing.

The 2" variation became a cataloged item in 1964, so there would be relatively few -2 units with diamond Magnas. But the vast majority would be without the diamond, including all the -3s and above.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Yeah I forgot to mention it’s a 15-4 shipped in 1980. It’d be no diamond Magnas.

This 15-3 was shipped in June 74, and grips number to the gun. They are terrific shooters.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

The 2" Combat Masterpiece is a subject near and dear to my heart. My favorite (pretty much any way) 38 special. I always take the opportunity to show this one off. Shipped Sep. 3, 1974. Stocks obviously not original but real classy.

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Very nice...I let my one and only nickel 2" 15 slip through my fingers at a gun show...I haven't found an affordable replacement since......Ben

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Cogito, ergo BOOM!...

And it came with the RR/WO, which is a little unusual. It was shipped direct to Simon Atlas Co in Washington, DC. I always wondered who in that organization wanted a snub nose 38.

Very Very nice little gun you have there. As a young boy, I grew up in Maryland, but I have never heard of Simon Atlas....Off to Google I go,but it turns out they are now a non-profit Jewish Fraternity?... I was thinking, how could a non-profit get a handgun shipped directly to them. It was after 1968 Gun Control Act, so that made me curious....Off to my newspapers.com subscription.

In the time from of your delivery, (1974), they had a Sporting Goods store, therefore an FFL.... I have attached an article from Hagerstown and Maryland newspapers that mention someone checking a large mouth bass out at...."Simon Atlas Sporting Good Store."...Another Wheaton MD 1970 article about them placing a bid of bidding on a contract for DC Police uniforms, but the company wasn't well known enough by the Chief, so he went with another company.

My gut tells me, it may have been a DC Police or close by that may have ordered it as an off-duty?

Wheaton MD is on the very north tip edge of DC proper.

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A late 15-3 from 1977.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

I did not know about the Sporting Goods store. I assumed it went to the Jewish organization in DC. The fact that it was an order for a single gun with somewhat unusual features (RR/WO) makes me wonder.

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I’d order some grips from big mountain man,add a t grip and call it good

^^^ I’m with him. While mine doesn’t wear stags, yet, it’s had a T grip on it the whole time I’ve owned it. They’re great little guns and the target sights make them much more shootable than people would assume being a snub. I carry mine often, both in town and out on the ranch and shoot it at least monthly if not weekly.

Fantastic pawn shop find.

I snatched this one from local forum classified listing. It is a very nice condition Model 15-3. It left the factory the same year as me, 1975. Hard to believe that we both look this good after all of these years

She’s a beauty. Thanks for sharing. I wish mine had the original stocks but I’m happy nonetheless.

Ugh. Now I have to find a nickel one! I’m not normally a fan of nickel but I’ve seen some beautiful nickel Smiths and it’s really grown on me.

Doesn’t he do stag grips? I hadn’t thought of that but I bet it’d look great with the beautiful bluing!

Very nice, great catch. Have one as well and love it. Traded a basic Springfield 1911 even for it at a gun show a few years back. Already have a Colt and a Sig 1911 so letting the Springfield get away was easy. Know you will enjoy it.

Interesting, I did not realize the 2" was introduced with the -2 engineering change. That makes this one (shipped July 1964) kinda on the early side.

Thanks for the info (again) JP!

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

Neither did I...A recheck of the shorty neighborhood in my safe is now on the agenda, I know of at least one -2 there......Ben

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Cogito, ergo BOOM!...

I enjoy the heck out of mine…

Received the proper Magna stocks today. They fit almost as if they were fitted for the gun!!!

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Here's the 15-2 that we inherited from my wife's grandfather, a Calif. LEO from the 1940s - 1970s. This was his EDC while he was Chief of Detectives. Interesting 15-2 because the frame dates to 1962 (right in the middle of the very rare Model 56s), but the 2" bbl. wasn't introduced to the public until 1964. Her grandfather had big mitts and always had a Pachmayr grip enhancer installed with his diamond center magna stocks.

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2” of serious business!

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213th FBINA

Here is a 15-4 dressed up with a set of Grashorn's finest. Plus, the same gun in street clothes and it's 34-1 little brother.

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Just won these stags on the popular auction site...I should have them in hand tomorrow and will post pics of them installed. Anyone have any insight as to the maker?

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Grashorns is my guess.

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This 15-3 found its way to me a few weeks ago. I shot an action pistol match with it last weekend, and it made me look much better than I actually am. I generally prefer my snubs to be fixed-sighted and round-butted, but I am happy to make an exception for this one. It’s definitely a keeper.

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Mark Lathem

OP...
Your snub has some great case colors on
the hammer and trigger.

What's the history on Grashorn? I've seen mention of him, but don't know anything about his work or era of production. Still producing?

Thank you! I hadn't really paid any attention to that until just now. I've been busy scouring the web for some PC Magnas and, since a couple fine folks here suggested I should consider them, I began a search and found the ones I posted above. Ended up costing quite the pretty penny though...someone else wanted them really badly, kept bidding me up.

He is so backed up he's not taking orders

Grashorns Gunworks LLC - Patrick is dedicated to making the very finest Elk, Bone, and Horn grips available today, regardless of the price. These are grips that are handmade by shooters for shooters.

Used to go by Executioner Grips. I have several, as well as several made by bigmtnman, both are well crafted stag.

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Even older, even crankier....

Had one in blue and one in nickel,
Always considered the snub 15 a bit of a conundrum,

Introduced with a 2" wide rib barrel that is closer to the model 14 barrel, comes out around the same time as the 2.5" Model 19 but as a square butt gripframe only (odd for a CCW) where the 19 snub was a round butt.
The other interesting thing about the snub 15 is that it does not share the frame or rear site leaf of the model 14 or 15 ,
Also like the snub 19/66 the frame does not step down to the barrel rib and it's long rear leaf mates right to the front site ramp.

Here’s another early -2 with a Lawrence holster made for a 2” Model 15. From the Gary Garbrecht collection.


Regards,

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turnerriver

Thanks for that excellent detailed analysis! I've had my two out side by side and only really noticed the round-vs-square butts. Thanks for pointing out more differences.

Mine wears a nice set of Spegel Boot Grips

I picked up my second 2" 15-4 a couple of Saturdays ago. I wanted a nickel one and finally found it. It was wearing these modified square butt targets. My first thought was they had to go. But after a range trip, I'm keeping them on. The grips are comfortable and point the sights correctly for my hand. These snubbies are shockingly accurate.

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