Just about the time I left the Army and went on the police department. S&W would ship direct to the department on a letterhead order. LEO prices were 25% off retail, and the 11% federal excise tax did not apply to LE sales. Brand new Model 10 was about $70, Model 36 was about $60, Model 19 was about $95.
About the same time the original "Dirty Harry" movie hit the theaters. Model 29's were just about impossible to get throughout the remainder of the 1970's, and when found you could expect to pay 30% to 50% over retail price (about $190 retail, about $145 LEO price, but only when you could luck onto one). I knew several cops who were "flipping" guns bought on department letterheads, making $25 to $50 each (or $100-plus for the occasional Model 29).
But for a little better perspective, a decent new house in a decent neighborhood was about $30,000, and a new 1/2 ton Ford or Chevy pickup was less than $3,000. I started out as cop making less than $700 per month and owned a home and a new car.
