Highway Patrolman

S

shuvelrider

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This is my no dash HP I alluded to in someone else's recent post, rather than hijacking I.ll post a new thread. The topic was about engraving and the value it may or may not bring to a gun. I had this "lettered", it left the factory sometime in 1955 with four others. Ordered by a hardware store in Portland OR, somehow it made it's way to Illinois where I bought it from a deceased relatives estate. Along the way it was engraved, I gave $300 for it in 2003. A real pleasure to shoot.https://scontent.fdet1-2.fna.fbcdn....=8b8e0801522fefa7667c4a64392ae4b1&oe=5AF9D9D1
 
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A question: The "Highway Patrolman" was a Model 28, which had a less polished finish. The Model 27 had a high polish finish and was considered fancier than its plain-jane sister. Why would they engrave a Model 28 rather than a 27? Does it say, "Model 28" inside the frame or "Model 27"? Either way, that is one darned good looking gun.
 
Model 28, actually pre-model 28. It has "Highway Patrolman" stamped on the right side of the barrel. The "why" will never be known, but it probably made sense to the owner at that time. You need to remember that firearms were not looked at, back then like they are now. I just consider it a nice piece from a different era of "firearm enthusiasm" .
 
Whoever did it, probably had the gun already. A lot of people back then didn't have but one gun, so if they wanted it engraved, they got it engraved. They never considered "collectors value" anymore than we'd think about the future collectors value of a Glock.

Another picture hosting site that seems to work pretty well is TinyPic. Not as easy to use as Photobucket, and there are adds, but it works in a pinch for this forum.

My 1954 Highway Patrolman. Rode hard and put up wet.

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That actually looks like a pretty decent engraving job.

Whomever did it also didn't make the cardinal sin of engraving the area between the stop notches on the cylinder. Given that the cylinder bolt drags in that area (the drag line), engraving will eventually be damaged, as can the cylinder bolt.

That's always a dead give away when someone says that they have a "factory engraved" S&W.

If the drag line area is engraved, it's not by S&W.
 
Beautiful gun, The M-28 is my all time favorite revolver. I like mine better then my Model 27.

That might have something to do with carrying the Highway Patrolman for 20 year in law enforcement and it having been gifted to me when I retire. It was issued to me in March '74, new so I'm thinking it was made in 73 or there abouts.

Put down a lot of moose with these sucker.

Model%2028.JPG
 
Cajun Bass, I'll trade you grips :rolleyes::D It might have been someones prized possession, hopefully the owner enjoyed using it back then. I'll never know how many people owned since it, from when it was shipped to Oregon originally.
 
Thar is a very good engraving job. The only thing I see that says it is not factory is the reddish finish on the cylinder, the result of the hardened cylinder not taking the normal commercial blue. The factory would have used the same process it used in the original bluing (S&W keeps that close to the vest) to give a uniform finish.

That style and type of engraving should add around $2000 to the value of the gun, IMHO.

Jim
 
In 1974 when I first got into law enforcement I picked up a commercial Browning Hi Power. Accuracy was terrible, and it would not feed anything that did not look like ball ammo. I owned it less than a month and traded it for a new 4" model 28. It was one of the most accurate handguns I have ever owned. A friend of mine still owns it.

That is some very impressive engraving.

Bob R
 
kraigwy said:
Beautiful gun, The M-28 is my all time favorite revolver. I like mine better then my Model 27.

That might have something to do with carrying the Highway Patrolman for 20 year in law enforcement and it having been gifted to me when I retire. It was issued to me in March '74, new so I'm thinking it was made in 73 or there abouts.

Put down a lot of moose with these sucker.

Model%2028.JPG
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That picture never gets old. BEAUT!!!
 
Those HPs - M28 - are among the finest revolvers ever built that the average guy can afford. There's no difference between the 28 & 27 except the M27 is prettier. I shoot my M28 more than I shoot the M27. I've owned a few 27s and an untold number of 28s. I do love that M28.

Top is my 5" M27. Bottom is my 6" M28.


 
Wow, that is a fine looking revolver you have there, I am jealous. I saw 4' HP for sale once and did not get it and regret passing on the deal, they are solid guns and are quality made.
 
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