Model and Age?

[kg5ie]

Trying to find the model and age of my dad's old duty revolver he carried during his years on the police force. No model number in the normal location. Any ideas?

The stamping in the ejector relief of the frame is "7s151".

[Mike Irwin]

How about a picture of the whole gun, as well as the cartridge for which it's chambered?


With the checkered topstrap, though, I'm wondering if it's a nickeled .357 Magnum

[kg5ie]

Sorry, new here. It is a .357 Mag.

[Mike Irwin]

Looks like it could be a satin nickel finish. Question is whether it's factory or post. Not sure if the factory did satin nickle on these or not, but given that the hammer and trigger are also plated, I'd have to say post factory.

Looks to be a 3.5" barrel.

How about a picture of the flip side, too.

And, if you take the grips off, there should be a number stamped on the butt, the serial number. Give us the first few numbers, substituting X for the last two or three.

[kg5ie]

It is an armoloy coating.

[Mike Irwin]

OK, that tells all.

That's a .357 Magnum, which later became the Model 27.

The screw in the top of the side plate means that it was made prior to.... (guides are at home, this is out of my potential faulty memory banks), 1954?

Model number stamping started in 1957.

Given the condition of the logo on the right side, it's definitely an aftermarket satin nickel or similar finish.

OK, I see where you say it's Armaloy.

Pity, because if it were in the original blue, it would probably command something of a premium.

[kg5ie]

Serial number:

761XX

[Mike Irwin]

Hopefully someone else will chime in with that information, or I can when I finally get home tonight.

[laytonj1]

See pic for location of serial number. You'll have to remove the grips too see it. There will be a letter prefix such as "S". If the SN is S761xx then it dates to 1950 and would be a model 357 as that was the only model in that caliber that S&W made back then. It would later become the model 27 when S&W began assigning model numbers ~1957.
The gun has been refinished. It's original finish would have been blued or nickel.

Jim

[kg5ie]

OK, thanks so much for your info. Yes, there is an "S" preceding the serial number, and the dates you are providing make sense to. He began his job on the police force in 1951. I did not know that this was the only gun he ever carried, but now I suspect it was. I know he was still carrying it 32 years later when he retired. I remember the story that he had money deducted by the city from his paycheck until he finally paid the gun off.

[Mike Irwin]

" I remember the story that he had money deducted by the city from his paycheck until he finally paid the gun off."

That was a fairly common arrangement in a lot of areas of the country if the officer wanted to 'upgrade' past anything other than the issue .38.

The Marion, Iowa, police are currently talking about doing the same thing, only with AR-15s.

[357 Python]

The round of ammo setting beside is also interesting. Many years ago a cousin of mine gave me some of the same type. I did some reasearch on them and what I found was that they are French Arcane rounds. They are considered to be armor piercing rounds. My cousin got them when he worked for a local area police department in the early 1970s. Apparently the department gave some to officers to handle barricaded suspects.

[James K]

U.S. makers also made .357 rounds with that type metal penetrating bullet. It was often carried by highway patrol officers because it would penetrate a car body.

Jim

[jrothWA]

they are a current OTC item.

Also similiar to the original KTW round form the late 60's.

[kg5ie]

Yes. Those are Texas DPS (Highway Patrol) rounds. He worked freeway radar on a motorcycle. He carried those to penetrate a car door or engine block.

[Sevens]

I'm curious as to when he would have had the revolver Armaloy'd.

Note that a refinish almost any time (almost!) and especially when it's done by anyone other than the gun's manufacturer will reduce any "collectible" value, but don't let that discourage you in the slightest. If it were a duty gun and subjected to the rigors of daily carry and heavy use, I think it's a great idea and most any handgun that's placed in to a duty role is going to get a heavy share of dirt & wear anyway that will otherwise "lower" the "value."

There's certainly something to be said for collectible "value" in firearms, but it needn't be the top priority. Often is the case that it's personal & emotional value is it's true draw, likely in this case.

I'm just curious when it was done, as the way it looks now will be a testament to how durable that finish is.

Cool revolver you've got.

[moach57]

Very cool gun. I actually like the finish. After 32 years I bet that gun can tell some stories!

[Chesster]

I can see why a motorcycle officer would want to upgrade from the blue finish. Humidity and rain are rough on bluing. I also found a blue gun can disapprear if dropped at night.

[kg5ie]

The gun was Armaloy'd here in Fort Worth in 1970. He carried it another 12 years before retiring in 1982.

He also carried a 14" double barrel 12ga. in the saddle bag, but I likely shouldn't talk about that. I don't think that was politically correct even back in the day. I do know he got called into the Chief's office for pulling it (the 12 ga.) on a citizen during a traffic stop. He was getting a ticket book out of the bag and the 12 ga. was handy when the citizen did something dumb.