[GBeZeFromNAPeZe]

Hello fellow gun enthusiasts. My boss let me borrow a revolver of his to see if I might want to buy it. After playing with it, I don't think I can let it go. It's just too sweet! 2 questions:

1. What is it and when was it born? .38 Special, Serial # K7739XX

2. What would be a fair price to offer?

Thank you,
Gary

http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy205/GBeZeFromNAPeZe/IMG_0104.jpg
http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy205/GBeZeFromNAPeZe/IMG_0102.jpg
http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy205/GBeZeFromNAPeZe/IMG_0100.jpg

[MarkDozier]

Smith & Wesson 38 special with about a 3 1/2" barrel from the lloks of it. Nice gun.
You can take it to a gunshop and ask them to evaluate the gun and tell youu the price. They will look iin the blue book for guns and tell the vaule. The book should also tell the time frame of mfg.
You could call S&W and ask them for the date it was made according to the S/N.
My boss gave my wife a 38 snuubie and i loove it. Sometimes I even get to dhoot it.

I wll give your oss 50 bucks for it.

[nicholst55]

That's a 4" Model 15 S&W 'Combat Masterpiece.' I am not a S&W collector and don't have the reference books available to date it from the serial number. The barrel is pinned, so that makes it a pre-1981-or-so model, unless I'm mistaken. A similar gun on GunBroker has a starting bid of $400 - http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=151690991, although that doesn't necessarily mean much.

Check the Blue Book, but realize that those prices are not written in stone.

[Steven Mace]

Gary, per the Standard Cataog of Smith & Wesson your Model 15 was made in 1967. It would probably be a 15-3 variant. Search the popular gun auction sites to get an idea of the real world value. Hope this helps!

Steve Mace

[sheepdog]

...I would expect that you value the relationship with the boss...I see the M15 4" selling for $400-450 in 75% shape...to be fair and still get a good deal, I'd offer him $300 for it...others may offer him more...but it sounds like he wants you to have it....if he goes for it, you've gotten for yourself one of the finest shooting Smiths ever made and at a great price...and a clear conscience....he's not selling it as a collection piece, but as a shooter...shouldn't expect collector's prices...and don't educate him about the age...features, etc...just tell him you like it and offer $300...and brag to us when you buy it!!!

[rcmodel]

I think the gun is worth around $450 retail in the apparent great condition it appears to be in.
It would be worth more if it had the box & papers.

If you value your bosses friendship, tell him that.

If he values yours, and wants you to have it, he will name a lower price. If he says $475, make a lower counter offer you can live with.

That way, he won't find out later you screwed him when you only offered $300 for it when you knew it was worth more.

If he names the price after knowing what it is worth at full retail, then he has no reason to feel you tried to rip him.

If he says $300, so much the better.
But even if he says $400 you both are getting a good deal, and can go about your way with no hard feeling later.

FYI: I did just that with a friends dad who sold me a pre-war Colt Woodsman.

I told him it was worth $750 at retail if he could find the right buyer.
He sold it to me for half that because he wanted me to have it.

rc

[idoono]

I think the gun is worth around $450 retail in the apparent great condition it appears to be in.
It would be worth more if it had the box & papers.

If you value your bosses friendship, tell him that.

If he values yours, and wants you to have it, he will name a lower price. If he says $475, make a lower counter offer you can live with.

That way, he won't find out later you screwed him when you only offered $300 for it when you knew it was worth more.

If he names the price after knowing what it is worth at full retail, then he has no reason to feel you tried to rip him.

If he says $300, so much the better.
But even if he says $400 you both are getting a good deal, and can go about your way with no hard feeling later.

FYI: I did just that with a friends dad who sold me a pre-war Colt Woodsman.

I told him it was worth $750 at retail if he could find the right buyer.
He sold it to me for half that because he wanted me to have it.

rc
RC offers wise words. Your job is probably worth more than 100-150 dollars......and your boss will think more highly of you.

idoono

[Jim K]

That is the .38 Special version of the highly desireable Model 19 Combat Magnum.

It is also the holster gun version of one of the best target revolvers ever made, the famous K-38.

I can see why you like it.

Jim

[GBeZeFromNAPeZe]

First off, let me thank everyone for the model information and for the pricing advice. You guys are right, sometimes getting the best deal isn't always the most important thing.

Second, I took her to the range today, fired about 78 rounds. I posted my best targets. Wasn't my best day, but my trusty Beretta didn't fair much better so it must have just been me.

Third, upon cleaning I made the discovery pictured below: Mod 15-2 stamped on the frame under the crane. What is the difference between the 15-2 and the 15-3. I'm mainly interested in dating this gun.

http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy205/GBeZeFromNAPeZe/IMG_01641.jpg
http://i792.photobucket.com/albums/yy205/GBeZeFromNAPeZe/IMG_0168.jpg

[Jim K]

That gun was made in 1967.

Jim

[Shear_stress]

Couple of things. The hammer appears to be polished. Should be color case hardened. May indicate an action job at some point in that gun's life. Also, those are probably not the original grips. Neither of these set off alarm bells, but I would not pay a collectors price for that revolver. Probably three bills ought to cover it.

That said, the Model 15 (and its stainless cousin, the M67) is a nearly perfectly balanced, excellent shooting revolver and one of my favorites.

[Radagast]

I don't think the hammer has been polished, the center pic shows color case hardening, it looks like the lighting has caused it to not show in the first and third pics. The grips probably aren't original as they lack the uncheckered diamond around the grip screws that was standard at that time. The grips with checkering all the way through the grips were introduced in 1968. Of course, the frame may have been made in 1967 and shipped in 1968. The pics don't even show a real rag line on the cylinder, so it hasn't been used much. To me it would be worth paying more to have the extra condition over a police trade in gun. I'd definitely follow rcmodel's advice.

[Jonah71]

A very nice looking gun. I can't see any differences between it and the one I just bought. Except for the stamped MOD-14 K3387xx and your front site slants at a little steeper angle. I was kind of suspicious of the grips on mine. Just too nice for such an old gun and it doesn't have the diamond around the screw holes either. I think no matter what you end up paying for it, you'll be glad you got it in the long run.