[Justin]

What is a good price for a used (93-95%) .357 Police Positive?
It has some light pitting, and holster wear at the end of the barrel.

Thanks

[Old Fuff]

A problem here. The "Police Positive" was made by Colt, and had a short cylinder that could use the .32 S&W Long or .38 S&W cartridges, but not the .357 Magnum.

If the revolver you are looking at is a Smith & Wesson and a .357 Magnum it could be one of several models with different values.

Open the cylinder and look at the frame under the barrel. You should see a number (such as 19) or a number plus a dash, and then another number (such as 19-2).

That and a partial serial number would help identify what you have or want to get.

[Johnny Guest]

One problem which might arise, if the revolver is an older one--S&W didn't start stamping model numbers on 'em until, I think, the mid-1960s. Could be wrong on this but I've had a few Smith .357s with no model numbers.

If no model number, you'll have to rely on serial number. Be sure to include any letter prefix or suffix. A photo might help, if you're able. (I'm not.)

Any additional descriptors? Barrel length, sights, stocks, grip frame shape, finish? Even once the actual model is identified, these factors have some bearing on the market value.

Best,
Johnny

[Old Fuff]

Johnny;

Smith & Wesson started stamping model numbers in 1957. At the time they were making three 357 models that pre-dated the numbering system. They were:

357 Magnum (became the model 27) N Frame
Highway Patrolman (became the model 28) N Frame
357 Combat Magnum (became the model 19) K Frame

The revolver in question could be one of these, but I doubt it. The description suggests that it's an ordinary, fixed-sights service type. But you may be right. In any case no one can do anything more without more information.

[Justin]

To be completely honest, I have no idea what the gun even looks like. A friend of mine saw the gun for sale today, and didn't know what a good price would be. He wasn't near a computer, so he called me and asked me to toss a thread up here to see if anyone would know the answer.

Apparently y'all needed a bit more info than that.
Oh well.

[Lone Star]

Possibly, your friend might hop, skip, or trot by a major bookseller or library and look in, "Gun Digest" or another common reference and see if he can find the gun there. This would also let him learn what the various S&W's look like. The company also has a catalog, and it's on the Web, too. www.smith-wesson.com (I think.) Some books even list prices of the guns in various conditions.

Next time, ask us a really hard question, like, "What do women want?"

Lone Star ;)

P.S. Personally, I wouldn't buy a gun that has any pitting. It won't usually cost all that much more to get a good one, and it will be a joy forever.

[Kahr carrier]

COLT?????????

[EJ]

We're all assuming that the "Police Positive" is the error when it may well be the S&W and 357 that are the sourceof the mix-up--

[Kframe]

It sounds like he meant the gun is a Colt Police Positive chambered in .357 S&W Magnum. But that doesn't fit either.

-Kframe :)

[Lone Star]

K-frame-

They didn't make that, even at Colt. Not even as a Police Positive Special, with the longer frame.

Nope, what we have here (I bet) is a member of the general public who calls any .38 or .357 a "police special". This guy needs to learn more about guns before he buys ANYTHING. Well, that's my subjective opinion...

Lone Star