38 Special Smith & Wesson

[HOUSTON RICK]

What is your favorite 38 Special only S&W revolver and why? Pictures most welcome, stories more welcome. I only have 357's. Thank you, Rick

 

[S&W-Keeper]

I have a pre 15 in mint condition from 1952 that I am really fond of.

 

[Truckman]

I like my Model 15's and Combat Masterpieces...I also really like my .38-44 HD's and Outdoorsmen...Why?...Because they make me happy......Ben

 

[JH1951]

I have a Chiefs Special that shipped in 1951 that I am rather fond of...
Why? Interesting piece and a birth year gun...

 

[CajunBass]

My Model 15-2. It's the handgun I've held onto the longest. I like to buy, sell, trade, etc., but this Model 15 I just really like. I think if I was to order one for myself, it would have been set up like this one. Target hammer, trigger, trigger stop, and Diamond target stocks.

It's also the only 38 Special I've got. Everything else is 357.

 

[Sevens]

I won’t pick a favorite, I love the ones I have for multiple and varied reasons. My Grandfather’s Hand Ejector M&P Fourth Change from 1921 has a huge place in my heart. I’m elated about the 8-3/8” Model 14-3 that I got somewhat recently. I’m continually impressed with every Model 10 that I keep bringing home. And I’ve got a 64-3 that Travis Strahan build for PPC that’s just a beauty.

Forum area be damned, I’m probably closest with my three different Model 52’s.

 

[Old cop]

A Model 10-7 square butt snub that was my issued weapon. It’s now in the nightstand w/a few speedloaders & a flashlight.

 

[Babysitr]

I'll pick my 15-2 snub....feels and shoots great, insane how accurate it really is, my 4" also shoots great but no better

 

[crazyphil]

I believe everyone needs a Model 10. 2" (on the left) or 4" (on the right).
Of course a model 29 2nd from left.
A model 19 3rd from left.
For concealed carry a 642 like the dash 1 4th from left.
And you can't be without a Combat Masterpiece. Either Model 15, or
Model 67, like mine 5th from left.

 

[kmyers]

Definitely this one picked up at a gun show not many years ago. It came with non factory grips and I am fond of Altamont.

 

[haywood]

Well, I can’t pick a favorite anymore . I pick Two of these daily.

 

[SS336]

I only have two .38spl revolvers. My favorite is this 1905, 4th change, M&P. Made in 1915.
Purchased from a forum member not to long ago. Very accurate and fun to shoot.

 

[krsmith58]

it's hard for me to choose a favorite. if i have to. i think my model 14 birthyear (1958) wearing bone grips,which were on the first revolver i ever bought for the grips, but not the last, would have to be the one.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

I have several good ones. My 2" Model 15 impresses me most - both of them. Rogers grips.

P.S. Kind of forgot that you asked why. I think that before that, I had been carrying a Model 19 snubby, but then went back to work, in an office. I wasn't completely comfortable with a .357 in a multi-cubicle environment, so I started carrying a round-butted 4" Model 10 with decent defense loads. This went on for seven years. By the time I eventually stopped working, I had pretty much accepted a .38 Special as an adequate cartridge. At some point, I was loitering in my LGS, and a widow came in with a small ammo box with a welded-on locking hasp, a 2" Model 15 with Barami Hip Grip, and a bit of ammo. Before the day was over, they were mine.

As with J frames, I found the Barami very secure and concealable, but not ideal for shooting. I also found that the adjustable sights were not a problem for carry, but the hammer spur was. I fixed that. I eventually ended up with Rogers grips, and improved (considerably, from a security POV) on the Don Hume JIT slide with an O'Rourke pancake.

The gun has repeatedly shot like a 4" or 6", mostly because of the grips and also because the weight and even mostly the balance remain about the same as other K target guns. The sights, of course, are excellent, and, with the Rogers grips, show up right where they are supposed to, unlike the lower M10 and M12 sights

I eventually found another prettier one at about three times the price and still very reasonable. Any gun that good should have at least one duplicate. It also has Rogers grips. Both are bobbed, and I retain the original hammers.

 

[Tadeus67]

I love them all! If I have to pick a favorite one I say...... my Heavy Duty transitional model....or maybe the Mexican Target (which I think has very elegant lines).......very difficult question to answer with complete honesty

 

[Lobster Picnic]

Model 60-4.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Those who know me won't be surprised: it's a Chiefs Special.

#1 is a 3" Baby Chiefs Special that shipped to Charles Greenblatt, New York City, on July 17, 1953. It's the first serial number for a 3" Baby Chiefs known on the forum. Members of NYPD's 106th Precinct in Queens gave it to Lt. Kowsky for Christmas that year.

I rescued it from rusty hulk status and along that path it really grew on me. It out-shoots me, too. I had a friend make a cowhide vest with a left breast pocket holster for it.

 

[Gunaholic]

I came home on leave from Italy in 1978. While visiting my folks in Portland I bought a 14-4 at a Montgomery Wards. IIRC it was a three day wait. A while later we went out in the country and I put a box or two of Federal 158 LRN through it. It’s still in my safe. Still a great shooter. I think it taught me to shoot, in that I couldn’t blame bad groups on the gun.

 

[xfarfuldog]

DS, SFVI or 64 2 inch.

 

[prescobd]

I presently have 31 .38 Special Smith & Wesson revolvers:
14-8
15-2 2 inch
15-8
15-10 Classic
36-10 3 inch Classic
40-1 Classic (2)
60-12
60-15 Pro Series
64-6 2 inch (2)
64-6 3 inch (2)
64-6 re-barreled with 4 inch "pencil barrel"
64-8 3 inch
64-8 4 inch
67-5 3 inch, blackened Performance Center
67-5
242 (2)
315 Night Guard (2)
337PD
342PD
442-1 two-tone Performance Center
637-2 2 1/8 inch blackened Power Port (2)
637-2
642-2 2 1/2 inch (2)
642-2 2 1/8 inch blackened Power Port

If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be the 64-6 with the tapered barrel. With the round butt and tapered barrel, to me it is the ideal .38 revolver.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

I presently have 31 .38 Special Smith & Wesson revolvers: . . .

Not bad. More than I. How many of other brands?

 

[Club Gun Fan]

Club Gun 048 shipped to U S Olympic Team member Charles Axtell along with 2 other .38 M&P's in 1902.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Before my 2018 fire I had quite a few S&W .38 Specials. I still had them after the fire but water and firefighter foam stained so many that I couldn't look at them so I sold them.

I did retain a couple and this one is my favorite, and has been forever, because it was the second S&W I ever bought many decades ago, it locks up like a bank vault, and I carried it (mostly in vehicles) for many years.

I changed its stocks several times but it was wearing faux ivory/bonded ivory (see group photo above) and those discolored from heat during the fire so I put normal S&W stocks back onto it.

2" M 10

This one is a customized M64 - it started life off with a 4" HB and the worst trigger ever imaginable. Now it sports a 2" barrel that originally resided on a M12 snub that someone blew up, some various tweaks on the trigger and trigger guard, some engraving (SCPO symbol), and Cerakote. It's my other favorite.

Custom M64

The only other straight up S&W .38 Special that I still have is this J frame and it's my most often carried gun.

M649

 

[Bill In Texas]

This may seem odd, what with the nice revolvers that have been mentioned, but my favorite is probably my 637-2. The reason is because it was passed on to me by a close friend who passed away.

Before he left it to me I was a semi auto guy. I wondered why he left me that particular gun as he knew I didn't like to shoot it. However, I decided that to honor his memory I would learn to shoot it. That 637 started my love affair with wheelguns.

I practiced and practiced with that little jframe until I got pretty good with it. Learning to shoot the 637 helped me become a better marksman with every other gun I own.

The little revolver has been retired now as S&W has told me that it's unrepairable when I sent it in to get an issue with the cylinder not advancing fixed. They said the gun looks like it had been shot alot and it had been, but it taught me so much. The 637 has been replaced with a 642 that I recently purchased.

 

[ruger 22]

I carry a 649-2 daily with Crimson Trace grips. Love it! But---my all time favorite is the plain old Model 10 with a 4"BBL. Reason is that it feels right in my hand and shoots where I point it. It is also a beautiful piece of machinery.

 

[Retired W4]

A favorite is hard to chose, but after some heavy thought it came down to this.

15-3 shipped to Simon Atlas Co., Washington DC, with factory RR/WO. The sharp shouldered diamond magnas were put on by me after the fact to add a little more class.

 

[prescobd]

Not bad. More than I. How many of other brands?

Yes, just a few, 6 Colts, 1 Ruger and 1 Taurus.

 

[bananaman]

I am sticking to 1 in .38 Special only. 14-3. Looks good, shoots well, and I got it at a very reasonable price. Bob

 

[bigmoose]

This Model 67-1 that was originally owned by my mom’s first cousin. He was a decorated WWII airman and had great taste in revolvers. I carry this every deer season and the Herrett Shooting Star stocks fit my hand perfectly. A deadly, reliable, carefree piece of amazing hardware.

 

[Toyman]

It is hard to pick one , just like old potato commercial you can't eat just one !.
March 1949 birth year gun M+P

Model 68 L.A.P.D. gun