I alluded to this gun in previous posts, so some of this may look familiar...For the past five years I've included a blued 2" Model 15-2 with somewhat later target grips in my regular EDC rotation...I found it at an out-of-town gun show and as the saying goes, the gun spoke to me...It begged to be carried although I've always been concerned about banging it into something and nicking the finish or the pristine grips...So far though, it has managed to avoid damage other than some loss of bluing from going in and out of my leather holsters...
In the meantime I have continued my habit of buying and trading to enhance my accumulation...Last year I bought a large box of S&W grips from the estate of an old friend, and after sorting through them and bagging them, I had them on display at a gun show last month...A fellow came by my table wanting to sell a S&W model 30-1 in rather rough shape, but I was not interested at his price...He started browsing through my grip boxes and picked out a few which I wound up swapping for his gun...
After a trip through Dunkin Gunwash the 30-1 was presentable enough to walk through another gun show in search of a trade of any kind...Walking through the Pasadena show I was passing a dealer who usually keeps a large variety of mostly uninteresting and generally neglected revolvers of all manufacturers...In my casual passing glance, I noticed one of the guns stood up as if to catch my attention...When I stopped, it spoke to me in a voice which apparently only I could hear...
It said:
The gun then spoke again noticing my curiosity at its previous surgeries:
After removing the stocks, I could see that the right panel was numbered to a later gun...They are too small for my hands, and an extra pair of target grips from my stash felt better, but still looked odd on the old timer...In my usual scan of our For Sale forums, a pair of SB stags popped up, and following a successful discussion with our fellow member, LLOYD17, they showed up in my mailbox...They are not marked in any way, but I suspect they may be approximately close to the guns age, and they fit very well...In addition they have a fatter profile, enabling a better fit for my hand...Plus they look right!...
The old timer is now happy, and fully employed as part of my EDC rotation, getting a regular outing plus periodic care and housing...And my 15-2 has been re-waxed by Dunkin Gunwash, and joins the other display S&W's in my safe...I'll enclose as many pictures as I can here, and comments, criticisms and other critiques are welcome as always...
...Ben
In the meantime I have continued my habit of buying and trading to enhance my accumulation...Last year I bought a large box of S&W grips from the estate of an old friend, and after sorting through them and bagging them, I had them on display at a gun show last month...A fellow came by my table wanting to sell a S&W model 30-1 in rather rough shape, but I was not interested at his price...He started browsing through my grip boxes and picked out a few which I wound up swapping for his gun...
After a trip through Dunkin Gunwash the 30-1 was presentable enough to walk through another gun show in search of a trade of any kind...Walking through the Pasadena show I was passing a dealer who usually keeps a large variety of mostly uninteresting and generally neglected revolvers of all manufacturers...In my casual passing glance, I noticed one of the guns stood up as if to catch my attention...When I stopped, it spoke to me in a voice which apparently only I could hear...
It said:
After asking the dealer's permission, I picked up the old timer to give it the once over...The unusual aspects of the old M&P Target were it's single rear screw adjustable rear sight, indicating its birth prior to about 1932 and its period correct service stocks with small silver medallions...However, its most glaring feature was a 2" barrel in place of what I thought might have originally been a 6" to accompany the target rear sight...However odd the barrel length looked, it conformed nicely with the shape of the frame...And I noticed the barrel flat had no number and the extractor star and cylinder were both numbered to the frame, although the yoke numbers cannot be read even with a strong light and good eyes...It did not escape my notice that the short ejector rod had no machined area behind the knurled knob indicating that it was chosen for its right hand threads to match the extractor...
The gun then spoke again noticing my curiosity at its previous surgeries:
I could see for myself that the unknown surgeon was a skilled one, and the old timer's confidence in itself appealed to me...In the meantime, the dealer had noticed the 30-1 I was carrying, and was examining it since he is a fan of .32 calibers...After the usual back and forth concerning comparative values, a deal was struck in which I added $75...I dutifully filled out the 4473, presented my CHL and the agreed upon amount of cash, then left with the old timer...One of my first moves after getting home was to order the requisite SWHF letter from Mike Helms...Pictured below, Don's research tells me the gun was shipped from the factory on March 1, 1927 with not only the suspected 6" barrel but also a Call gold bead front sight...
After removing the stocks, I could see that the right panel was numbered to a later gun...They are too small for my hands, and an extra pair of target grips from my stash felt better, but still looked odd on the old timer...In my usual scan of our For Sale forums, a pair of SB stags popped up, and following a successful discussion with our fellow member, LLOYD17, they showed up in my mailbox...They are not marked in any way, but I suspect they may be approximately close to the guns age, and they fit very well...In addition they have a fatter profile, enabling a better fit for my hand...Plus they look right!...
The old timer is now happy, and fully employed as part of my EDC rotation, getting a regular outing plus periodic care and housing...And my 15-2 has been re-waxed by Dunkin Gunwash, and joins the other display S&W's in my safe...I'll enclose as many pictures as I can here, and comments, criticisms and other critiques are welcome as always...
...Ben
...Ben
...Ben
