sell it or shoot it?

N

nmsteve

Inactive
Hi, new guy here seeking opinions. I was a LEO in the 70's and carried a S&W model 15 sidearm. It went away many decades ago but I always missed it. Recently I heard of a guy with a model 15-2 for sale so I picked it up, wanting to do some shooting with it. Turns out it is a 15-2 made in 1966, still in the blue box with warranty card and unopened accessory packet, nearly flawless except for a light cylinder line. It's so pretty I'm thinking twice about using it. After all it's lasted in nearly mint condition for over 50 years and I know myself well enough to know if I use it, it will get used. So what do you think? Go ahead and enjoy it, or pass it on to someone who will preserve it? can't upload pic, too computer illiterate.:confused:
 
SHOOT IT! It's already been fired, it sounds like, anyway.

The true beauty of a firearm isn't from setting in some collection, it's from allowing it to do what it was designed to do.
 
I would shoot it. Not much fun to have a gun you only look at.
If it devalues it oh well, when I'm dead and gone I won't care about value. Enjoy things now
 
If I happened into something like that, I might go to the local shop that has a bunch of collector S&Ws and see what they say. At worst, I keep it and start shooting it. At best, I get some cash and a more used M15 which I then start shooting.
 
unfortunately closest place likely to have any Model 15's to sell is at least a 5 hour drive each way, I want to shoot it, but the historian in me finds it hard to use something that has lasted so long nearly untouched. moving out of internet access until tomorrow, I'll see what the opinions are, right now leaning toward going shooting tomorrow.
 
It is a tool, an old tool but a tool. If you found a unused hammer manufactured in 1966 would save it or pound nails? Welcome to the forum and it sounds like you picked up a great gun, enjoy.
 
I think MarkCO is on the right track. If you can sell it for a significant profit, that might be advisable. Then buy a shooter and use the profit to buy ammo or some other accessory. But if there's no real profit in selling it, shoot it and have fun.
As for the historical aspect, I definitely get that, but this isn't a true antique in pristine condition.
 
A Model 15-2 won't be a collector's piece for at least another 50 years. If ever. Very much doubt you'd get much for it, even in it's current condition, anyway. The barrel length matters, but there are several on Gunbroker running around $500. Mind you, one sold on a private auction site(Harry Viezens Fine Guns. Who doesn't know that an Ordinance is a law.) for $1350. No date given.
The line on the cylinder is likely from somebody dry firing it. Vs it being fired. Means it's less than mint.
 
Another vote for shoot it. Not sure what your profit would be , but I would bet you would get a couple of hundred worth of enjoyment by shooting it.
 
I’ve never understood why someone would spend money on something that was built to be used (a car, a watch, a gun, etc), and then put it away and ignore it. My dad did that with a car (a 1972 Dodge Polara, of all things). When he finally decided to sell it (sometime around 2002), he got what he paid for it in dollars, but that didn’t account for inflation. And he didn’t enjoy it more than a few days a year.

Shoot it. Enjoy it.
 
Shoot it and treat it gently at the range. Clean it after each trip. It'll stay good looking and retain it's value pretty well.
 
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