#model15

Many, many years ago my father had picked up an old Smith & Wesson revolver chambered in .38 Special. At the time he nor I knew too much about it, but he ended up giving it to me. It has some engraving on the revolver itself from some sort of department. It’s electro penciled with some initials and a number. It would be really cool to find out exactly where this revolver spent time serving. This particular revolver was my very first. I took it into a shop and unlike newer revolvers by Smith & Wesson, it doesn’t have a model on the revolver behind the cylinder yoke, like 10-1 or 66-1 etc… The serial number is on the bottom of the grip and starts with a K, so it is a K frame similar in size to a Model 10. It has a blade front sight and an adjustable rear sight leaf. Case hardened hammer and trigger assembly with a very bright and deep bluing.

After a bit of research I discovered that it’s actually a Model 15 4”, but before they marked them as such. It’s a Pre-Model 15 from around 1957 based on some research of the serial number itself. Very early on I changed out the wooden grips(which don’t appear to be the original anyways) for a set of Hogue rubber grips I picked up from Brownells. Hogue grips make the shooting experience of any revolver so much better. The help to get a better purchase on the grip, but also help to soak up any recoil by the revolver. Of course .38 Special is a soft shooter anyways. After some more years go by I decided to re-install the wood grips that were on the revolver when my Dad picked it up. They just look right on an old classic revolver such as this. I also spent some time taking the side plate off to inspect and lubricate the working internals. Who knows how long it had been since it had been removed for an inspection. Using my magna bit set from Brownells, which I highly recommend since it has all the different fine flat blades needed for classic firearms, I gently removed the screws and side plate. The internals were fairly dirty, but didn’t see anything that looked worn enough warrantying a replacement. I lubricated and put it back together.

Shooting this old revolver is actually quite an experience. It’s very accurate. I use 158gr semi wadcutters and Hodgdon Tite Group powder for my hand loads. I load them very soft so that anyone can shoot it and have fun doing so and not have to worry about recoil scare. It’s truly an awesome firearm to hand to a new shooter that maybe has never fired a firearm or doesn’t have much experience. Hopefully I can eventually find some information regarding the department this revolver was issued to. I believe Smith & Wesson does keep some records, but I have yet to reach out to them. This is one of those firearms that surely will be passed down to one of my daughters someday and hopefully onto one of their children just as my father passed it down to me.