Model 68 question

[Geronimo Jim]

I have a model 68 with marking on the left side under
the cylinder of O. H. B. I know these were made
for the California Highway Patrol. Anybody got any
idea what the above means. Did somebody turn
the C to a O and the P to a B? Doesn't look like it
because the markings look clean.

 

[dscampbell]

When sold CHP had them over struck


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Geronimo Jim]

Thanks dscampbell. I just looked at it with a magnifying glass
and you can see they the over stamping.

 

[tombstonegunsmith]

Mine still has CHP because it was purchased by the officer that it was issued to and they had the option to buy them.

 

[colt_saa]

Mine also is CHP and I always wondered why . . . Thanks tombstonegunsmith

Unfortunately there is too much glare to see it in this image

 

[AveragEd]

Even though I have a 6" Model 66 I still would like to have a Model 68. Don't know why...

Ed

 

[Model1567]

I thought a knew a little about S&W revolves, but Model 68?
I know what a Model 67 is and a Model 69 as well, but I'm clueless on a model 68, besides being a stainless gun.
Can someone please help the less informed?
Thanks. =)

 

[Doug M.]

Essentially a variant of the Model 66, but chambered in .38 Special only so that .357 Magnum rounds could not be used in it. IIRC, CHP and LAPD had them. LAPD placed a premium on marksmanship in their training back then, so the 6" barrel was preferred by many to give them as much of an advantage as possible on their regular qualifications. Too long for my taste in a patrol sidearm, but a 5" might have been just the ticket.

 

[hkcavalier]

The Smith & Wesson Model 68 | RevolverGuy.com

 

[Benton Quest]

Very often, the CHP models that got released into the wild were overstamped to read "OHB" instead of "CHP". Often people confuse these revolvers with those specifically ordered by the Office of Hermaphrodite Biologists.

True story.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk

 

[mh51]

In those days, some police agencies were concerned that the .357 was too powerful for urban use....over-penetration of the intended target. So, CHP and LAPD bought the Model 68's in .38 Spl. When the CHP sold their guns as surplus, they over-stamped them with OHB to obscure their former ownership.

 

[Old Corp]

At the time, in the dark ages of print media, but fully staffed with ignorant left-wing 'journalists', the words 'Magnum' and 'hollow points' were quite the buzzwords. Logic was not allowed to enter in, as it would interfere with the outrageous hyperbole.

My agency over time had various Colts and lastly the S&W M66 .357's, but the duty load was always .38 +P. It was just 'nicer', and no one could say we used the horrific Geneva-convention violating dum-dum hollow point bullets.
(True - they covered all that erroneous information and promulgated it long before the term 'fake news' was coined)

 

[ken158]

I thought a knew a little about S&W revolves, but Model 68?
I know what a Model 67 is and a Model 69 as well, but I'm clueless on a model 68, besides being a stainless gun.
Can someone please help the less informed?
Thanks. =)

Model 66 6 inch with a 38 special cylinder made for CHP & LAPD = model 68.

 

[tombstonegunsmith]

The first Winchester .38 Special +P 110 grain ammo that the CHP received for the Model 68s was marked "Hollow Point". Even that upset the powers that be. So, after that the boxes read "Controlled Expansion". Same ammo!

 

[Benton Quest]

My dad was a cop most my life as well as a kitchen table gun dealer. In '75, he started to get his hands on something known as the model 66. Sure, they had been out for years, but were still rare birds on the Midwest, with LE getting first crack.

It was said at the time that the .357 magnum would "shoot through an engine block".

Of course, we all now know this to be absolute fact.

Sent from my moto g(6) using Tapatalk