Random thoughts on various types of guns and shooting, primarily handguns, usually outdoors, in all kinds of weather. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays this shooter from the swift delivery of his pointed rounds (and wadcutters, too)." Other non-gun stuff will be added on occasion, when it suits my fancy.
The perfect recreational centerfire revolver...
Recently, I picked up a new-to-me (lightly used) S&W .38 special Combat Masterpiece. A brief description, for those unfamiliar with this model: Blue steel, 4-inch solid-ribbed barrel, fully adjustable rear sight, plain ramp front sight, 6-shot, square butt, thin trigger, medium-width hammer. It is mechanically tight, slightly worn in the external finish department, and has a crisp SA release combined with a double-action trigger stroke so buttah-smooth that it brings tears to my eyes.
It could also be called a quintessential Police .38, with this particular model or many similar ones (fixed sights, heavier/lighter/shorter/longer barrels, etc.) serving as holster guns for various branches of our police and military for almost a century. I carried one of these (M15) in the US Air Force for much of my career, and thanks to Uncle Sam's ammo allotment for instructors, I got pretty darned good with it. When circumstances conspired to push this one in my direction, I decided I should adopt it and see if it was really as user-friendly and easy-to-shoot as I remembered.
Short answer: yes it was, yes it is. After a few quick shots to get the sight crudely adjusted, the next few groups were quite good, and far better than the effort I put into shooting them would indicate. After a second trip to the range, I've decided that this has quickly become my favorite recreational centerfire revolver.
So, what revolver(s) do you have in this category? What gun makes you look good, no matter how sloppily you shoot it, no matter what crappy ammo you feed it, no matter how cold your &%$# hands are (on the outdoor range in December)?
It could also be called a quintessential Police .38, with this particular model or many similar ones (fixed sights, heavier/lighter/shorter/longer barrels, etc.) serving as holster guns for various branches of our police and military for almost a century. I carried one of these (M15) in the US Air Force for much of my career, and thanks to Uncle Sam's ammo allotment for instructors, I got pretty darned good with it. When circumstances conspired to push this one in my direction, I decided I should adopt it and see if it was really as user-friendly and easy-to-shoot as I remembered.
Short answer: yes it was, yes it is. After a few quick shots to get the sight crudely adjusted, the next few groups were quite good, and far better than the effort I put into shooting them would indicate. After a second trip to the range, I've decided that this has quickly become my favorite recreational centerfire revolver.
So, what revolver(s) do you have in this category? What gun makes you look good, no matter how sloppily you shoot it, no matter what crappy ammo you feed it, no matter how cold your &%$# hands are (on the outdoor range in December)?
Total Comments 8
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I carried an M15, too. There's a guy at our local gun shows that has one for $1,500. Supposed to be one of 2000 special issue for the USAF.
Should have bought the one at my range for $750. It had USAF markings... |
Posted 12-30-2007 at 14:26 by RussP
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The only "USAF markings" I can remember on ours were the dents & scratches where they had been dropped on the concrete by clumsy or cold-numbed trainees!
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Posted 12-30-2007 at 22:57 by DJ Niner
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Mine had Prop of USAF on the frame.
May I ask what you paid for yours? |
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Posted 12-30-2007 at 23:03 by RussP
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Now that you mention it, I think you're right! Was it on the left side, under the cylinder window? I'm a little foggy on the location of the stamp; help me out, here.
Mine was originally marked $320, but there was some dealing going on as the store had screwed-up an order for another used gun I tried to get shipped-in, so they discounted the M15 heavily and threw in some gift cards, etc. I think the total damage was less than $200 after the adjustments. Hold on, I'll check the thread in the Wheelhouse where I posted about this originally. EDIT: Prices corrected, above. Thread about the screwed-up deal: http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=774412 Thread about the new-to-me M15: http://glocktalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=786489 And a photo of the externally-worn/scratched/dinged-but-mechanically-tight M15:  |
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Posted 12-30-2007 at 23:54 by DJ Niner
Updated 12-31-2007 at 01:11 by DJ Niner |
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Those are character markings, not scratches and dings...
Ya know, I think mine was marked on the right side. I only had mine for 18 months when I was flying in SEA. The only time I fired it in combat was when we couldn't get fighters in to hit a convoy because of weather. So, I stuck my .38 out the window and emptied it onto the convoy at an altitude of 1000 ft AGL.  I didn't see anyone toppling over or crumpling from a hit...COurse, expending your ammo while still over hostile area, well, that wasn't bright either. Now, got to look harder for a 15!! Later....  |
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Posted 12-31-2007 at 08:44 by RussP
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The M15's are great gunsThat gun will be around for along time.
I was one of the guys who wanted keep carring it when the AF switched to M9 in the 80's. While I don't hate change per se, I do hate changing guns. But I got to admit, the M9 served me well also. |
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Posted 01-31-2008 at 14:28 by JimBianchi
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I have a good ol' time when I hand my 340Sc with full house loads to someone...
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Posted 01-19-2009 at 19:54 by HAVOC
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I was a 463 Nuclear Weapons Specialist in the early 70s and we had to carry a 38 revolver when we opened igloos or escorted various components around. We could shoot pretty much anytime we wanted back then and I really enjoyed shooting the S&W. Our Chief had been a standby (?) for the 1952 US pistol team and he was fun to shoot with. At 25 yards he would shoot patterns etc in the paper targets, of course, being a Chief, he got to use his personal revolver...it's good to be the Chief...
Honestly, I'm just as happy with say S&W or Ruger 357 Magnum as a hicap 9mm..nothing against semis,,,I just shoot better with a DA revolver. |
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Posted 06-02-2009 at 22:42 by Critch
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Recent Blog Entries by DJ Niner
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- Importance of ammunition inspection before use (04-05-2008)
- Cracked forcing cone photos, for those who have never seen one... (03-19-2008)
- Skygazing, with a high-tech twist (03-02-2008)
- .22 rimfire revolver speedloaders (02-23-2008)
