Model 56

[Gene L]

Saw a true crime show today where the suspect (and later convict) had a S&W Model 56. He claimed to have lost the gun, and it wasn't recovered, but the box was. Anyway, I had never heard of a 56, looked it up. Apparently a 2" K frame marked US on the backstrap. Very rare. The victim was supposedly shot with a .357, so it said, although how to know this as opposed to a .38 Special wasn't revealed since the gun wasn't recovered; could have been a .38. The show maintained the 56 was a .357, although from what I was able to find out, the gun was actually a .38.

The guy was convicted of killing his wife and was in prison when the video was released.

 

[CH4]

It’s essentially a 2” M15 .38 spl that was made for Air Force pilots. Very rare and pricey (I’ve heard only 27 survived destruction). I fondled one a few years ago at the Big Reno Show. IIRC it had a $5500 price tag.

I carried a 4” M15 during the 80s when I was USAF Security Police(LE).

 

[kwill1911]

The Model 56 is pretty rare but I've logged over 70 of them still in existence, out of the original 15,000+. Unfortunately, they were declared obsolete at a time when small arms were crushed or torched rather than selling them through the DCM/CMP. They pre-dated the Model 15 and have several differences with them but they are a K frame .38 Special (not .357).

 

[Peak53]

Kwill1911
Thanks for showing (off) Might you describe the differences you mention between the 56 and 15?

 

[kwill1911]

Minor differences between the 56 and the 15-2 include barrel weight (56: heavy) and whether the rear sight foot is smooth (56) or grooved (15-2). There is also a smooth/grooved distinction for the ramp of the front sight.

 

[mh51]

Interesting....I'd never seen a 56 before. I presume they were marked as mod 56 in the yoke frame? That'll give me something else to chase that I'll likely never find.

 

[kwill1911]

Yes, they are marked "MOD 56" in the usual place. Here's a photo of a Model 15 (shipped to the Navy) next to a Model 56.

 

[JP@AK]

The victim was supposedly shot with a .357, so it said, although how to know this as opposed to a .38 Special wasn't revealed since the gun wasn't recovered; could have been a .38.

This turns up on cop shows all the time. The ME recovers a bullet from a victim, looks at it, and pronounces that it is from a .357 Magnum. How in the world they think they can tell that is beyond me. Both the .38 Special and the .357 Magnum shoot bullets of .357-.358 diameter. It is not possible to say the bullet came from either one by just looking at the fired bullet. Script writers!

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

I believe that most or all of any spotted discrepancies are fully explained by your first words "Saw a true crime show today." "Saw" and "show" imply a second- or fourth- or tenth-hand recounting done with all the technical competence for which TV and movie producers are infamous.

That's all, folks.

 

[GaryHK]

I saw one for sale locally (relative term, about 110 miles away) and never heard of this so stumbled upon this thread.

It's lettered and the shop wants $12K. I'm guessing they would probably be happy with a lot less.

Marked US on the backstrap and Mod. / 56 on the frame.

 

[Wyatt Burp]

A local consignment only gun shop has a Model 56 which I never heard of before. Then I found this older thread. The guys there are very sharp so I knew it wasn’t a misprint model number on the price tag. The price was somewhere north of five grand.

 

[kwill1911]

Is there any chance you got the serial number?

 

[Hawg Rider]

Wow, they discovered a unicorn! And $5K may be a realistic asking price considering the scarcity of Model 56s. Here is a Model 15-2 that we inherited from my wife's grandfather (a Calif. LEO and Chief of Detectives in the 1950s-70s). The frame's s/n (K509199) dates it to 1962 and is the middle of the s/n range for Model 56s (K500001-K515205). This 15-2 may be one of the first 15-2 snubbies that was assembled and introduced in 1964 (it has the lined backstrap and is not marked "U.S.") after S&W quit manufacturing Model 56s and the USAF destroyed most of the production. Forum experts tell me that there is probably no way to ever know if our Model 15-2 was originally destined to be a Model 56.

 

[kwill1911]

You should letter that gun. It might clear up the mystery as to when it was produced.

 

[sceva]

This turns up on cop shows all the time. The ME recovers a bullet from a victim, looks at it, and pronounces that it is from a .357 Magnum. How in the world they think they can tell that is beyond me. Both the .38 Special and the .357 Magnum shoot bullets of .357-.358 diameter. It is not possible to say the bullet came from either one by just looking at the fired bullet. Script writers!

They went even further in the second Dirty Harry movie, "Magnum Force"; a perp dead in the car, the ME ( or ?) looks in at him and says "Looks like they used a magnum"