Your Best .38 Revolver

S

Sharpsdressed Man

Moderator
My only, and best, .38 Special revolver is a Smith & Wesson Model 10 from about 1964, that happened to be sitting in a case at a gunshop that I have used to receive shipments of guns, but had yet to BUY anything from. They are a modern shop, with lots of new, black guns, and lots of new, black rifles, most of which are out of my economic reach. One day, though, they had a clean, but used Model 10 snubnose sitting there, and it was the cheapest gun in the case. With bluing gone gray a bit, evenly, with no rust or pitting, and the worst fake pearl grip I'd ever seen, $229 still seemed a good deal, and I felt embarrassed enough to finally buy something. Well, the grips got yanked, and an older set of reworked grips from one of those crafters in Thailand gave it a nice feel, and lo and behold: the gun shot to point of aim for me, and grouped beautifully at my preferred 25 yards (if you can shoot long, it will only be easier to hit at closer range, right?). Another sleeper: a gun that shoots WAY better than it looks, much like my mostly stock Colt .38 Super. I bought it thinking it would just be another "plinker", but delivering such fine stuff from fixed sights is a real plus, and puts it on my "if you sell this, you're stupid" list. Let's see Your favorite .38!
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My only 38 revolver... Its brand new, and I'm too lazy to post a pic. But basically its a Smith 442 and the trigger is smooth!! I got a good one! :-)
 
No longer own it, although I wish I still did, a 640 no dash in .38 special. Why S&W decided to increase the size of the 60 and 640 all across the board just to accommodate the .357 I will never know, because I have no desire to own one again after the older 640.
 
S&W mod 36 square butt 3". Bought it new many years ago, never failed.

My favorite revolver is now a Ruger SP101 in 357Mag. I shoot 38 Spl in it.
 
My best is a S&W 686 .357 Magnum which will handle .38. This is cheating.

The only true .38 I have is a Colt Official Police Pre-War .38 Special. My revolver was the 240'th off the production line of 1943 and has an original nickel finish which helps its rarity. The Blue Book shows a distinctions and price adjustment between the Pre-War and Post-War models. It has about 15% of its nickel finish worn down. I am about to have it refinished in nickel to bring it back to its glory. This model was the most popular law enforcement revolver of its era and then some.

It is just a pleasure to hold in your hand. I have sent off to Colt Archives for the "Letter" on this revolver.

After I have received the Letter from Colt and had the refinish, I will post pictures and discuss its history. This is a fun project. I only paid $200.00 for the revolver. :)
 
My favorite is a single action Colt Army my father bought on the day I was born. For years I thought it was one of those 25 pre-war single actions in 38 Special. It wasn't. It was one of the thousands sent back to Colt in the early 50's to be re-bored and re-cylindered. More than anything this Colt marks my childhood. My age-mates learned to spiral a football and make the basketball go up and down--I think they call it dribble. For me it was always that Colt revolver.

I know plenty of people disparage the 38 special cartridge. In the past I count myself among them, and in my dotage I more commonly carry a 44 or a 45, but looking back sometimes I wonder if it might be wrong for a child to start out on something too perfect. Otherwise maybe he would never learn the value of exact shot placement under pressure. Those hours, those days of being 12 years old and roaming the hills with that old Colt single action 38 Special carried in a modified Daisy Spitting Image BB gun holster will not come around again.
 
That would be Stella,,,

That would be Stella,,,
S&W Model 15 Combat Masterpiece.

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In my not so humble opinion,,,
This is the finest .38 revolver ever made.

A close second is Libby,,,
3" square butt S&W Model 36.

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Libby is old and somewhat beat up,,,
But she shoots to point of aim,,,
She fits in my jacket pocket,,,
And feels good in my hand.

I have a few other .38 revolvers,,,
But these two are the most functional for me.

Aarond

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More than was asked, but my only honest answer

Best: 5" M27
Best Carry: No dash M60 or Brides Colt Cobra
Favorite: 3"RB M13
Fun: 3" RB M 24

Honorable Mention in ALL catagories: Mid 50s K-22

salty
 
Revolvers in 38 Special are like cocaine to me. For years as PDs swapped their wheel guns for autos I snapped up the 38s that flooded the used gun market.

No way I could pick one above the rest. Here are a couple.


Got this about 5-6 years ago off Gunbroker for $100. Who says there are no deals there?

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A much used and well traveled 38/44 Heavy Duty that has a serial suggesting 1956 but letters as shipped in 1960 (they were selling slow after the 357 Combat Magnum came out) to a police supply house in Texas. I can imagine a young officer buying this because he got a good deal on it. I got a good deal, too, paying $195 from a dealer in Denver. A few years ago I took top honors in revolver class at a combat match with this gun.

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This is a Navy contract Victory Model 38 Special I found in a pawn shop with a bulged barrel. Paid $60 for it. Bought a 5" barrel off ebay for $5 and swapped it myself. Shoots just fine.

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Paid $150 for this in a CA pawn shop years ago. For my 50th BD my wife had it engraved and added ivory stocks.

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Got this at a gun show about 25 years ago. Shot it some but it still looks pretty clean.

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Yeah, I have a weakness for ivory.

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Best?

I honestly dunno.

I have three S&W 10-5s and a pair of S&W 64s. They're all so similar, with 4" barrels and Magna stocks with Tyler t-grips. I also have a Colt Detective Special, a S&W 642 snub and a 3" S&W Model 36. Choosing a best from that group would be an exercise in frustration. They're all good.
 
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