Should I have any reservations in buying an ex-police weapon?

[Green Frog]

I'll chime in here with my opinion (which is worth every penny you are paying for it!) Sometime in the mid- to late '80s I bought a police trade-in Model 66 (no dash) that has been with me ever since and would be one of the last of my guns I would sell. My situation was a little different from what you describe as I was able to take my pick from a table full of them, then go to a friend's parts bin and completely "blueprint" it with hand selected parts. Actually, it's about due for another such rebuild now, but is shot so infrequently that it is no longer an issue.

The point I would make here is that as long as the frame is not significantly damaged, all the other parts are readily available and easily replaced, so even if something is wrong with a police trade-in K-frame, you are not out of business. If the price is fair and you have an inspection with return option, just get the gun in hand and inspect it (or have it inspected) for severe damage or wear, and then enjoy it. The only specific check I would urge would be for throat erosion and/or barrel cracks caused by excessive use of the old high speed 110 and 125 grain bulleted loads, and even this, unless the frame has sustained damage, would not eliminate the gun from a potential rebuild. If you want it, then by all means buy it and enjoy!

Froggie

 

[Shooter6br]

I love my Mod 10-6 Hb.It has a great trigger and right on point with 146 cast WC's.Cost $199

 

[GerSan69]

My police trade-in 64-5 RB arrived this week from Robertson's in TN, and it's a beauty. $289 + $10 shipping. I'm seriously considering getting a 3" barrel and converting it.
They also have some 67s, 6906s, and a few others on GunsAmerica.

 

[Rugskipper]

I'd rather buy a Smith & Wesson used on duty than a Crown Vic used on duty.

 

[BUFF]

Two of the three firearms issued to me by my department over the past 30 years were worn-out, badly refinished pieces of junk. One was a Remington 870 that had been allowed to rust (patrol cars are a harsh environment, both trunks and passenger compartments) and pit before it was crudely taken apart, wire-brushed and then reblued. It had then gotten all beat up again. Besides the pitting, the shell latch bars were not fixed in their grooves and I needed to restake them. The other was a Model 15 Combat Masterpiece that had been similarly refinished after neglect and abuse. The screw holes were dished out, the sharp edges were rounded, the roll markings were nearly unreadable, the springs had been cut quite a bit. I would never have bought either of them if found in a shop or garage sale.

Luckily, my department is far better funded now and issue guns are not allowed to deteriorate like that.

I don't think that being a "police gun" should have any bearing on a purchasing decision at all, they are subject to the same damage, neglect and poor maintainance as anybody else's guns. You need to decide on potential puchases on a gun-by-gun basis.

An exception for this might be somebody collecting police-marked guns just as artifacts, not intending to use them as guns.

 

[GaryS]

My 6906 was a police trade in. It was used by a college police department captain and he only shot at qualification time. It came with box, papers, and three magazines. It's still like new.

I have a Remington 870 and Savage 69RXL that were police guns. The Remington needed to be cleaned and I refinished the wood. Other than that, they needed nothing.

 

[blujax01]

Hopefully you can see it in person and examine it. If you're $50 curious you can have it "lettered" and find out who S&W originally sold the gun to. Maybe that will solve the APD question.

I have a 4" M64 that is ex DOC and it was a good deal for the money. And a 3" M65 that may be, not sure.

Not so good was the 1968 Ford Custom Police Interceptor I bought in '73 that was Ohio Highway Patrol then the Village of New Boston before it was mine. Ragged out and stinky it was. But for $400 it got me around.

 

[Landpimp]

I LOVE ex PD guns, I have picked up allot of agency guns over the years, be it S&W wheelguns or others(Sig, HK ect) and have always been more than happy, some have history too me that is important, too other they wouldn't care

if i guessed I would guess at 40-ish ex PD guns in my stable, not counting the evidence guns(such as NIB 1947 2" RB M&P)

now I got to handle most before hand so thats different then just hoping you get a good one

 

[OldBlood]

All police trade-ins, with a little work, and new grips, they move up from shooter grade. Wonder if any of mine went through a sewer? They didn;t have enough scatches to be run over. Cops lead interesting lives, God Bless Them.

 

[nipster]

I bought it. Pictures will follow in the next couple of days.

 

[guardjim]

My bad. It is a model 10. Sorry about that.

Pokeyman, No bad here. Back then we were all issued model 10's. And with good reason since they were one of the best reliable guns made. Go to "thesnubnosefiles.com" and check out the Smiths Workhorse site on the 10.
Of course we still went out and bought 19's and Pythons!
Man, what a great decade that was.

 

[Alk8944]

Exam carefully!
They are not always "CARRIED A LOT, SHOT LITTLE".
So many never were maintained/cleaned regularly.

Ain't that the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[vipermd]

Of all the PD guns I have bought in the past 10 yrs, one was broken,( replaced by distributor ) and one's finish was not quite as described, considering the # I have bought that is not a problem. Price is generally right, it is very dependent on if it is for collecting, or shooting. Check it well and enjoy

 

[nipster]

Ok, here you go!

A 66-1 with Hogue grips.

 

[vipermd]

Check History of Ashville NC police firearms. Good Luck.

 

[Mr Pokeyman]

Pokeyman, No bad here. Back then we were all issued model 10's. And with good reason since they were one of the best reliable guns made. Go to "thesnubnosefiles.com" and check out the Smiths Workhorse site on the 10.
Of course we still went out and bought 19's and Pythons!
Man, what a great decade that was.

I absolutely love my model 10's, especially my old duty gun. When my dept bought new guns, they discovered that they couldn't trade the old ones in, nobody wanted them I guess. They were in rough condition. They offered to let us buy our guns for $100. I don't know how many officers bought them but I heard it wasn't too many. I wouldn't sell mine for anything. All I have tried to say is don't assume all police trade in's are going to be in good condition. On the other hand, probably anything on a model 10 can be fixed. They really are great guns.

 

[Jim NNN]

I have two surplus revolvers (presumably police) - one is a model 10 from overseas (South America maybe?) and the other is a post lock model 64.

The model 10 is scratched a lot and original grips were trashed enough to be replaced with second pair (which were also trashed, so I replaced with new diamondwoods). But cylinder lock up is as good as any revolver I've owned. Excellent bore, though cylinder gap is a bit excessive. Great shooter. Shoots tight groups, though not point of aim/impact. All this implies "carried a lot, shot little". Very solid gun.

I haven't shot the post lock 64 (just bought it last week), but it's in great shape and bore looks darn near new. Looks "carried some, shot once or twice". Another 64 I have is older, and may be a surplus gun as well (since so many were). Also a good shooter.

The old 5 screw Highway Patrolman I have was undoubtedly a police gun way back when, too.It's lock up isn't what it used to be, and it was refinished somewhere along the line, but it's still solid and shoots straight. I'll get it tightened up at some point, but considering that it's close to 60 years old, it's doing pretty good.

So I guess I'd give a thumbs up to police surplus.

 

[rfd]

i just bought a 1967 k38 14-2 that came from the los angeles county sheriff's dept. the ad pix and text for the gun was very detailed, complete, and on the money. just a great s&w and i'm a very pleased new owner.

 

[Old Corp]

I just put this on another thread, and I'm pretty sure this M15-3 that I acquired last week is a prior LE gun, since it came in a well-worn Border Patrol rig. Roy has dated it as a 1970 ship date gun.
This is it after clean up.

 

[jcf]

I know this is an old thread, however, in the event anyone is still interested:

The OP's 66-1 is a former Abilene (Texas) Police Dept weapon. Officers were given the option to purchase them when the department completed their transition to Glocks in 2006. The remaining guns were sold off to a broker. I was employed there at the time, and purchased APD-96, a 66-3.