A scarce S&W .22 revolver. Model 45

[J-Bar]

Thanks for the education, I did not know the Model 45 existed. I am very interested to see where it’s point of impact is.

When I shoot my Model 17 one-handed, right handed, the shots group nicely around point of aim. When I shoot it one-handed, left handed, the POI shifts to low and right. Mostly because I am not ambidextrous and trigger control is worse with my off-side hand, so it’s expected.

Which leads me to think I might find a fixed sighted .22 frustrating. If it groups away from point of aim when I shoot it right handed, that would be aggravating. I shot 4-position .22 in ROTC competition so I want my .22s to hit POI at POA.

So I will eagerly await pix of your range tests.

With all that said, if I ever get a chance to buy a Model 45, I probably will!!

Nice score.

 

[Jonesy814]

According to The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, the model 45 was made from 1948 until 1978. It was a training gun for the Coast Guard, Post Office and other government agencies as well as law enforcement. It was never cataloged. 7 were known to be made in nickel, and 20 were sold to the Boston PD with a 6 inch barrel. S&W made 135 of them in 1978 with no model marking on them

 

[bannockburn]

The Post Office also had the Railway Post Office where clerks would sort mail in specially built railroad cars. They were also armed with various .38 Special revolvers to protect the mail and to fend off potential robbers.

 

[wanderinwalker]

I've been searching for one of these for years and finally found one at a LGS for a reasonable price. It's a S&W Model 45-2. Most of these were US Post Office contract guns and a few went to police agencies but they were never cataloged. Very little is written about these revolvers that is basically a Model 10 chambered in 22 LR.View attachment 955032View attachment 955034 View attachment 955036View attachment 955037

Sir, I had to long in merely to drool over those pictures and say "WOW!" Congratulations and what a find! It looks fantastic. Planning to shoot it a little?

Edited: A little clarification, I did in fact know about these revolvers before your pictures, as a S&W K-frame .22LR is one of my favorite leisure shooting irons. But I always assumed Model 45s were a bit like the legends of leprechauns and unicorns. Very cool to see pictures of one in the wild, as it were.

 

[EmGeeGeorge]

I imagine there might have been ranges in the basements of some larger metropolitan postal facilities where the inspectors would qualify- like when I was a Guardsman we had a range in the armory basement but used .22 adapters on the M16s we were issued. They had a course of fire that was sufficient for one of the biannual quals a year.