That’s a nice set up ya got there
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These are "Ropers" they fill the hand pretty fully for me at lease and I have about average hands. I had Herretts make these. That style is very popular according to them.
You can hold tighter groups with a 6", but it isn't as handy as a 4". Your choice. Both are splendid, practical revolvers.
Could be, my recollections are those of a 9 or 10 year old boy, ogling "A real, live Mountie- just like Sgt Preston" in Ontario. Later, in High School I went to Toronto with the French club, and it appeared to me that the holsters were much longer than that of my Police Officer, Uncle Don's, 38 Colt. His was a 4 inch. (That much I am sure of-it's still in the family in the possession of his eldest son.)
Perusing the internet showed me that the RCMP had their "non-standard" S&W's re-barreled to 5" in the 1950's, so I was most certainly in error.
When I worked at Ruger in the 1980s the company produced 5-inch Service Six and Security Six revolvers in .38 Special for the RCMP and also for Toronto municipal police.
My advice is get a 4" S&W Model 15, or better yet a 4" S&W Model 67. In my opinion the Model 67 is the best out there. About 3 years ago I traded a parts AR with an Omni plastic lower and $600 boot for a 67 in near new condition. I have not regretted it at all.
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I have the Roper grips on order for it. It sure is a great shooter. The only thing I've done to it was replace the cylinder stop spring. Someone tuned that trigger, and the one thing I didn't like was the cylinder stop spring they installed was too weak, didn't reliably snap into the cylinder with any kind of authority. I wonder if it's common to use such a weak spring here, when tuning a revolver?
I stopped in again at the shop where I got it, to take another look at the other one he has there. It's an old M&P .38 Special, 6" barrel, serial number in the low 400k range, which near as I can tell puts it somewhere in the late 1920s or early 1930s? It's in excellent condition, very clean and feels absolutely solid mechanically. It doesn't have the reblued appearance that the one I bought has. It also has some aftermarket stag grips. I'd much rather have original grips.
I really shouldn't. I don't need it. I have the money though, and it's probably a fair investment....
My new grips arrived today. I like it.
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I like 6" Ks in 38 Special. My choice would be a Model 14 because of the heavy barrel, rib and adjustable sights. I have owned about a dozen of them over the years, but am now down to one (14-4) and it is a hum-dinger.
I was flabbergasted at the prices being asked for decent K Frame revolvers at the last couple of gun shows I went to. 450.00 for a beater M&P? 700 bucks for a decent Model 15? A year and a half ago I passed on a nice 10-8 for 400--should have bought all I could find.
I also like the 5" M & Ps, this one from the early 1930s. I bought this one in 92 for $225.00 which was high for that time, but it was in high condition, so I paid the tariff. Yes, I have the original grips.
Wow, I sure miss those old police trade ins. Some of them looked a bit "used" but most had not been shot a lot and you could actually afford one.
I just can't help myself, bought another one. Not a Model 10, but a Model 28-2. I couldn't pass it up for 450. :)
On a related note, does anyone know how to remove poorly applied Cerakote/Duracoat/whateveritis? I think that had something to do with the price...
If you find out how to remove it please let us know. I have seen a youtube video where Acetone worked but they didn't try it on a gun. I have a Ruger that I would like to remove it from.
Well, that was interesting. I just spent the whole afternoon watching Aquabats on youtube with my 9yo daughter, while carefully and patiently scraping Duracoat from every square millimeter of this old gun. I was hoping that the bluing underneath could be saved, so I didn't want to use harsh chemicals if I didn't have to.
What I used instead was several pieces of scrap brass in various shapes, just junk cases from my scrap bucket. I sharpened it with a file and scraped, and scraped. It came off fairly easy, but took a long time to scrape from every nook and cranny. I then polished it with oil and 000 steel wool.
What I found underneath was quite a surprise. This was a beautiful 28-2 from the early 1970s, in maybe 95% condition? Why in the world would someone coat it? Crazy. I'm amazed (and pleased) that the original bluing survived and looks so nice. I'm pretty happy with my $450 gun. :)
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Beautiful revolver and well worth the work.