I own three of the Heritage revolvers (two of the blued M17's and one of the case-colored M15's), and I like them. The M15 is one of the Ed McGivern revolvers and resides in a shadow box on a wall in my family room.
The Heritage Series revolvers had a few unique features:
1) They were reminscent of older revolvers; however, they were not copies or reproductions of originals. The most glaring differences between the originals and the Heritage revolvers was due to the use of round-butt frames.
2) The Heritage revolvers used four-screw frames. The additional screw was in the top of the sideplate. There were no internal locks in these revolvers.
3) The Heritage revolvers were available in high polish blue, polished nickel, and case-colored finishes. The latter finish was done by Doug Turnbull and is absolutely gorgeous.
4) The grips were highly figured walnut checkered in a manner reminscent of the "diamond" grips.
5) Many of the revolvers lacked barrel ribs like the pre-WWII revolvers.
6) These revolvers shipped in cardboard boxes with metal-reinforced corners somewhat reminscent of the gold boxes used after WWII.
7) All of these revolvers were ordered by one distributor, Lew Horton, and each was made in a relatively small run. Most of the runs were from 100 to 300 pieces. Many of these (and all three of mine) were liquidated by CDNN Investments. It is believed that the Heritage revolvers were not profitable for Lew Horton.
8) Some of S&W's most famous revolvers were used as the inspiration for the Heritage revolvers. The M1917 was the basis for a few models, the .44 Magnum (M29) was the basis of others, and the Triple-Lock was the inspiration for a few. Calibers ranged from .22 Long Rifle to .38 Special to .44 Special to .44 Magnum to .45 ACP to .45 Colt.
