S&W Model 15, 4" barrel, blued

zoo said:
I've found that the ejector rod tends to walk out. I've never had that problem with a revolver. Isn't that like a major issue and one of which as described in the classic Armorer's Guidebooks as among the "51 Problems with Revolvers"?
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It fairly common with the older S&W's and not a big deal, unless you dont address it and it backs out enough that it wont allow the gun to unlock.

Back it out, degrease the threads well and put a "tiny" drop of blue LocTite on the threads and snug it up, and you should be fine.

Dont get carried away with the LocTite, or youll create a whole other issue. :)
 
The model 15 is a nice gun. I used to have one and in addition a model 18 and 5 screw pre 18. I sold the pre 18 and kept the newer one. It used to cause me trouble when I would go to the range. Seems I would pick up the model 18 and a box of .38 Spl and head to the range, major disappointment. Side by side I don't think I could tell the difference without looking at the gun from the front.

At $300 it was a bargain, you'll enjoy it.
 
arquebus357

Thank you, Arquebus. You really know how to make a guy feel lucky, lol. I hope you have been enjoying your new acquisition as well as I have been enjoying mine!

I sometimes wonder if the pleasure we get out of shooting revolvers is more related to the day and age we first entered the world of gun use and the experience and training we received with such weapons back in the day or if something more inherent in the revolver shooting experience has more to do with it.

I'm in my sixties, would it be out of line for me to ask you your age and when you first started shooting revolvers?

Ak103K

It fairly common with the older S&W's and not a big deal, unless you dont address it and it backs out enough that it wont allow the gun to unlock.
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Yeah, I have to admit to a degree of bewilderment when the weapon first locked up on me. It actually took me a couple of minutes until I realized what had happened... which in a life or death situation would have in all probability meant my death.

Back it out, degrease the threads well and put a "tiny" drop of blue LocTite on the threads and snug it up, and you should be fine.

Dont get carried away with the LocTite, or youll create a whole other issue.
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Thanks, ak103k. Your advice along with Rod's endorsement make a lot of sense to me and are in fact how I had planned moving forward. Reading various forums though, I'm left wondering if there isn't more to it. I see sometimes various armorers/gunsmiths add a bushing or some such. Doing so appears easy enough to do but I don't see how a bushing will help the situation.
 
zoo said:
Reading various forums though, I'm left wondering if there isn't more to it. I see sometimes various armorers/gunsmiths add a bushing or some such. Doing so appears easy enough to do but I don't see how a bushing will help the situation.
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I havent heard of a bushing being added, at least not with the S&W's.

I have S&W's that were tight when I got them and have never loosened up, and I have others that were loose enough to unscrew them by hand when I first got them, and those got the LocTite.

If I cant get the rod to loosen by hand, and it hasnt loosened from shooting it (its something thats get checked at every cleaning, LocTite or not), I usually dont go looking for trouble either.

The one other thing that often needs a little LocTite, is the forward sideplate screw, which also retains the cylinder/yoke. Early on, I had the cylinder on my first Model 29 fall off doing a reload, and that was eye-opening. What was even more surprising was, I actually found that silly little screw on the ground. :)
 
So I was looking at the dull walnut stock grips on this revolver and came to the opinion they just don't represent this revolver adequately. (They didn't appeal to me from a shooter's perspective either).

I decided to get some grips that were more in keeping with the shooting aesthetics I like and were still somewhat period appropriate. I decided upon coke bottle style grips consistent with mid-fifties to mid-sixties Smith & Wesson revolvers including even the Smith and Wesson logo! Plus I really like the way the bottle grips feel in my hand.

I located what seem to be appropriate grips made by Altamont. They aren't cheap but they seem to be as close to the originals I remember from that era of Smith revolvers. So, click, click... Ordered.

Then it occurred to me that back in the mid-fifties and the first half of the sixties folks weren't as adamant about speedloaders. Frankly, I won't tolerate a revolver that can't handle speedloaders. I expect all of my firearms to work in a pinch. I googled around and found comments from a poster or two at one site claiming coke bottles weren't comparable with speedloaders even with what they claimed to be the "thumb cut" on the left side which these particular grips from Altamont have. Hmm.

Emailed Altamont and very promptly received a reply stating "All of our S&W grips should accommodate the appropriate HKS speedloaders."

Guess I'll see. I know Altamont makes great grips! They sure as heck look good!

Anyone have experience with Altamont bottle grips and speedloaders?

I guess if they don't work, they'll go back and I'll get something that does work with speedloaders.
 
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I got the new grips last Saturday if I recall correctly. Quick service from Altamont. Great looks, feel, fit and finish. Not glossy but frankly that is ok by me on this handgun now that I'm looking at them attached to the model 15. The palm swells are perfect for me (coke bottle; not over-done, not under-done).

And I assure you, having tested them myself HKS speedloaders for the S&W models 10-15 work just fine with these grips! If they didn't, they (the grips) would be going right back.

I'll have to learn how to post pictures for this site!
 
Mr. Zoo

Sorry it took so long to reply to your post. To answer your question...I'm 83. I started shooting revolvers when I was 14. I'm really not a "shooter" though. I might hit the range a few times a year and mostly for testing. BTW here is a pic of that rusty model 15 today. (couldn't get rid of ALL pitting)

(I'm glad you found a pair of Altimonts to your liking. They annoy me because the vast majority of their K frame offerings are unavailable.)

 
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I developed a hankering for an M-15/Combat Masterpiece from reading my 1966 edition of Small Arms of the World. I have one, a 5 screw made in 1953.
 
I think the Combat Masterpiece is the classic S&W. Got these 18 years ago. Paid $135 for the 38 and $265 (a bit high) for the 22.


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Oh, and a 15-3 sent to the campus police at a university in Louisiana.

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Great thread. Needs more photos.:D This is my Model 15 wearing Ahrends Retro Combat Stocks in Cocobolo wood. Gun was made in 1971.

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I found a Model 15-10 for sale not too long ago. Interesting gun because it looked like a Model 19. It had the shrouded ejector rod and everything, but was marked as a 15-10. I thought that it was a mis-stamp when I first looked at it, but a little research turned up that there was such an animal. Who knew?

It was fairly recent production obviously, with the internal lock, and Uncle Mikes grips. I thought it was pretty interesting and was thinking seriously about getting it, when I thought, "I wonder if it has the flat spot on the forcing cone like the Model 19 does?" Sure enough it did. It also had a cracked forcing cone in the very spot you'd expect to see it. The very first cracked FC I've ever seen, live and in person, and it was on a 38.

I pointed out the crack to the clerk, he showed it to a manager, and it was wisked off the floor right then. I don't know what they did with it, but I never saw it again.
 
I couldn't resist and went over to the S&W site. No model 15 classic addition or otherwise. They do have a "Classic" model 19. It weighs in at 37.2 ounces and of course can handle .357. The original model 15 was around 34 ounces (original also had a 4" barrel, new "classic" 19 on their website has a 4.25 inch barrel).

Close I guess, but not a model 15 ;).
 
Plus that Hillary hole is just so damn stupid on the new Smiths. Next we're going to see compliance to such requirements on all of the semi-auto pistols.
 
They are really nice sweet little revolvers. Gave my son-in-law this one for Christmas a few years ago.

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The kid absolutely loves shooting it so now every Christmas a a stocking stuffer I give him a few hundred rounds of .38 Special. :)

Ron
 
The kid absolutely loves shooting it so now every Christmas a a stocking stuffer I give him a few hundred rounds of .38 Special.
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Reloadron, why couldn't you have been my father-in-law?
 
40 years ago I walked into a Circle Pawn shop in Houston, TX and bought this new. Yes, I saved the box. It's been my nightstand gun ever since. I guess I should polish it up, put the original grips back on it and retire it from duty.


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