A Smith Copy I'd Like To Have

ACP230

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My Granddad had two guns. One was a single-barrel 12 gauge, an ACME.
My great uncle got that gun after my granddad died. He gave it to me when I started hunting deer at age 14. I used it for deer and grouse hunting for a few years then just hung onto it. I missed a lot of grouse with it, and killed one squirrel. Never saw any deer when I was carrying it. One pack of Winchester rifled slugs lasted me years!

I gave the old gun to my oldest son. We named him after my grandpa, so I thought he should have the shotgun. He left it here, but I don't shoot it any more. It's beat up and loose but does still work.

The other gun was a Spanish copy of a Smith & Wesson hand ejector. It was a .38, but I'm not sure if it was a .38 S&W or a .38 Special. When granddad died I was living in the South Pacific and was 11 years old. I may not even have found out about the gun till I was older.

Grandma mailed the S&W copy to her son in California. (I don't know if that was legal then (1960) or not. She got away with it anyway.) My uncle had it till his death about 20 years later. His wife, who was a difficult woman, had gotten crosswise with my mother by then. I tried to get grandpa's gun, but my aunt gave it to some shirtail cousins in California.

I am a real Smith & Wesson fan but that copy is one gun that I really would like to have in my collection.
 
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That's a sad story and I'm sorry to hear it ended that way.

Whether it was a registered magnum or a Spanish copy, it was your Grandfather's and had a lot of value to you. At least you still have the shotgun in the family.

As for mailing the revolver circa 1960, that was probably legal back then, but I could not swear to it. I know individuals could buy guns via mail order.
 
Sorry to hear this. The sentimental value alone is priceless.
 
It only bothers me every now and then.

Grandpa has been featured in a couple of articles I'm writing recently, so I guess that's why the old gun came to mind.
 
Since the original post went up I've had two PMs letting me know where Spanish copies of S&Ws are for sale.

I'd like to thank those folks for their helpful impulses. But there's exactly one Spanish copy of a Smith that I'd be interested in--the one my grandpa had.

I never saw the gun, (just a bad photo) and don't have the serial number. That being true, now it would be impossible to tie any copy to my grandfather.

Thanks anyway, guys.
 
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