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

[Harkrader]

Nope. Buy 'em.
I have five former LEO 65's, all excellent guns purchased through CDNN Sports, some showing intriguing wear, but that's all. Two have department markings, which I like.
Three 66's, also excellent. The department markings just add to the interest for me.
A 28 that was WELL used and shot a lot. Sent it to S&W for internals rework. Purchase price plus S&W work was STILL less than I'd have paid for a LNIB on Gunbroker.
586 beat to pieces. $380. Sent to S&W for rework and reblue, $125. An EXCELLENT revolver. Worth every penny.

 

[Old cop]

My service revolver went to the range twice a year for qualification and was closely inspected by my supervisor weekly. It was carried openly in all kinds of weather and wiped down at the end of my shift and left in my locker until my next tour of duty. These guns are usually a good deal.

 

[Seven High]

I have bought three ex-police revolvers in the past A 66 no dash, a 15-3, and a 681. All three were very dry internally. I tore down all three and scrubbed them out with carb. cleaner and a toothbrush. Thy were relubed properly. That made a huge difference.

 

[Absalom]

It has been my (non-scientific) observation, that ironically you need to be more careful and more thorough doing your pre-purchase inspection with more recent revolvers than with older ones. In my collection I have police revolvers with decades of confirmed service history from 1915, 1923 and 1951 that are still in very good shape with crisp actions, no corrosion and little wear besides holster wear. In my search for police-marked revolvers, the heavily used and sometimes basically trashed guns I come across tend to be K-frames from the 60s,70s and 80s.
I believe the officer safety movement after Newhall with heavier emphasis on better training, more shooting and in many departments more potent ammo may well have something to do with that.

 

[Frank V]

I would love to have a Dept. marked handgun.
A year ago some PD trade in mod. 10s were in the LGS. I didn't have the extra cash or one would be with me now.
Someday.

 

[fdw]

My only experience with a police trade in was excellent, bought a 5 year old 40 M&P and it has been flawless...

I shoot it a lot

 

[one eye joe]

MOST WERE CARRIED A LOT, SHOT LITTLE, AND MAINTAINED EVEN LESS. TEST IT FOR FUNCTION, AND ATTEMPT TO RETURN IT IF THERE IS SOMETHING MAJOR AMISS. OTHERWISE, A THOROUGH MAJOR CLEANING AND LUBE WILL PROBABLY PRODUCE A VERY SERVICEABLE WEAPON………...

 

[John R]

Most police gun have not been shot very much, my biggest worry about them are a lot of the guy's that carry them do little to no maintance.
I've seen them with green ammo in them.

 

[remusn]

I've two police turn ins. One is my own service revolver that I was issued in Nov. of 71 and carried it for eighteen and a half years when they went to Glocks. We were offered the opportunity to buy our issue guns for $65.00. Mine is a Colt official police with a lot of holster wear and the grip panels are almost smooth. Probably made sometime in the fifties.

The other is a mod 59 smith that I bought off an old guy that likes to trade and deal with all kinds of stuff. This one is a Fresno Ca. turn in. Came with two mags and bought a five pack of mags from CDNN when they had them. Has a lot of holster wear too but has the original grips.

Both shoot well and I shoot them both frequently. I really like my old revolver, we been through a lot together. I didn't like the Glock they gave me. Still don't like Glocks.

 

[Lt.cap'nadmiral jeeves]

Ex police guns are usually a good deal. I've never bought a police revolver but I've bought a couple trade-in semi autos. They had significant carry wear but looked like they had been shot very rarely. As far as the collectibility and that APD stamp, I would venture a guess that it will probably hurt the value with collectors. I recently saw a colt python on a local forum that was in very good condition but had a big ol Wyoming game dept. stamp. His asking price started north of $1800 and last I saw he had dropped the price down to $1200. I think he pulled it due to lack of interest. Deptartment markings usually shrink the pool of potential buyers. Unless it's something that has significant historical value. Anyway that's just my $.02.

 

[raylan007]

I have purchased 5 64-5 S&W revolvers, happy with all of them. I bought these online, seller had pictures posted, but one has minor throat erosion and one cylinder sticks slightly. Other 3 are fine. All shoot very well. If you can examine the gun, I would not hesitate because it was a cop gun. ( Idid polish them a little, after almost 20 years on the force, I thought they would enjoy a little TLC). Another thought, because you are looking at a magnun, i would examine closely for the extent of the flame cut in the top strap and the forcing cone for damage. S&W did create the L frame for a reason. Find the Revolver Checkout, by jim March, very good info for evaluating a used gun.

Yea right I can see you polished them a LITTLE. Those are beautiful but how do they function on a intensely sunny day? If you wouldn't mind sharing I am interested in how you attained the level of gloss on a SS. I just purchased a police trade in, although it has no stamp but I can live without that. Anyway it is a nice 66 no dash that I was going to work on and bring back to life and am always interested in other folks refurbishing methods. I would especially interested in your initial steps for eliminating any scratches and dings. I have looked at many options but yours really are quite impressive. Thanks

 

[robertrwalsh]

I have two model 64 3" RB that were department surplus, from the CA DMV. Maybe used to shoot a junk yard dog or two but basically carried a lot, shot very little. Unless you get a real clunker through some fluke it should be a fine gun as long as it passes a good basic inspection.

 

[DWalt]

There are cop gun collectors, but I notice that generally a PD property stamping does nothing to help value. I've seen numerous PD guns on gun show tables which are priced to sell, but return month after month after month. There was a reasonably un-abused and good condition (only a little holster wear) Model 15 (I think no dash, not sure) with a Corpus Christi PD stamping that took up nearly permanent residence on one vendor's table for many months, and as I remember he was asking $350 for it. I guess it finally sold, no idea for how much. Probably less than $350.

 

[Absalom]

....... As far as the collectibility and that APD stamp, I would venture a guess that it will probably hurt the value with collectors. I recently saw a colt python on a local forum that was in very good condition but had a big ol Wyoming game dept. stamp. His asking price started north of $1800 and last I saw he had dropped the price down to $1200. I think he pulled it due to lack of interest. Deptartment markings usually shrink the pool of potential buyers. Unless it's something that has significant historical value. Anyway that's just my $.02.

Department markings definitely shrink the pool of buyers, but at the same time can increase the price if you find the right buyer. I buy marked police guns if I find the markings interesting. Some Podunk city dept. usually wouldn't qualify, but for that Wyoming game dept. stamp I'd easily pay $100 above the going rate for the gun's condition if it were a Model 15 or other "normal" gun, preferably an older vintage. Your Python guy was unlucky in that he was expecting a Python price for a gun where "normal" doesn't apply to the market, Python people want an unblemished gun, and police collectors won't pay those prices no matter what.
There are also wide variations in marked guns; on the one hand there are lettered guns ordered engraved or specially numbered from the factory, which definitely enhances value. Most famous is the Roosevelt order of the Colt New Police from 1896 for New York's police, but the practice continued for some time; I have a Colt with factory-engraved department number from 1951, and the "Sacramento Sheriff" Model 15 is also AFAIK an official factory variation. On the other hand you have guns with markings crudely struck with single-letter dies or even scratched in with an electric pencil that look like the armorer applied them after attending the Christmas party; those obviously serve more as a deterrent.
Basically, you can't generalize. But if you're ever selling one, put it on Gunbroker or another national platform; you're unlikely to catch the right collector's eye at a local gun show.

 

[Frank V]

A dept. marked Mod. 10 or 15 is interesting to me.

 

[billwill]

No problem in buying a police trade in. After you get the donut glaze cleaned off they are usually great values. 4" 66 is a really nice piece.

 

[Mark6005]

My m64 from a training academy seems to have had little use since it's a 97 model and they went to semi autos. All around condition great, I d number in the Crain not visible. $350 gun store had twelve they went fast. Same store now has 7 para 14-45 in on trade. $400 I'm going to look tomorrow