Short grip J-frames....

by Catoosa, Friday, June 27, 2014, 22:57 (3807 days ago) @ Otony

One of the coolest guns I own is a first-year (1917) production .38 Regulation Police. According to the family history from my Dad, it once belonged to a bootlegger during prohibition, who carried it in the door pocket in his car while making deliveries. He got into a shooting scrape with a rival bootlegger, won the shooting part but lost the trial and went to jail. Dad didn't know if the guy used this gun in the fight.

After the bootlegger went to the pokey, my grandfather bought the pistol and kept store with it until he retired in the late 1940s. On at least two occasions he "discouraged" potential robbers by ostentatiously picking the S&W up from its hiding place under the counter and placing it in his pants pocket. The shifty looking "customers" left quickly.

Unfortunately the old S&W is showing the effects of a long life and the action is badly worn. Timing is so bad it no longer fires reliably in double action, so I have put it in well-deserved retirement. I'd love to have another one in good enough shape to shoot, but the remaining good RPs are muy espensible now.