I gotta laugh at myself of this one. Holy smokes, WTF was I thinking
The Stainless Security Six in .38 Spl. was NOT a commermorative but a failed contract. A Ruger distributer won the contract to supply new revolvers to the CHP with a low bid and had the guns made up only to lose the contract later to S&W. The guns were then sold on the open market. The CHP rejected the Rugers as "non compatable" with the existing S&W guns. It's a very interesting story. I have a copy of the rejection letter as well as examples of both the Ruger and S&W guns. Really, the only difference was the "push in" vis "push forward" cylinder release. Everything else was so much BS. The CHP has had a close relationship with S&W for a very long time and has consitantly rejected low bid contracts from other manufactuers such as Ruger, SIG and Glock. By the way, my son is a CHP officer.
But these are at least semi practical firearms! Who thought of chambering a big bore slow single shot rifle in a middling pistol caliber??? What's next??? A 9mm Barrett???
Thank you for the info. That is good stuff. I guessed it was just a contract & not a commemorative, since it was still a plain Jane 6. Like others, I'm a Sec 6 fan, & it caught my attention because it was .38 Spl. I have another, in .357, that is for the South Dakota Police Officer Association 50th Anniversary, and is decorated on the top strap with their info. Also has the letter, patch, & keychain tool.
I have a SS GP100 6" .357, and 2 Blackhawks also. The GP100 is just great, and is rather easy to shoot (pull the trigger in the DA mode). My .357 6.5" .357 Mag Blackhawk has a hair triggers it is only a SA revolver. I bought this gun in 1965!!! My other Blackhawk is a .45 5.5" Convertible SS Flattop, but its handle is a bit lacking (not the grip, but the actual shape of the steel handle). If I hold it lower in my hand than what is normal, then the it is fine and does not cause blisters. It is a Lipsys special. Also, looking at your icon here, were you in the Air Force, and did you fly B-52's? That is my favorite plane. If so, when were you in and did you fly the BUFF?
I was a crew chief, aka acft general mechanic or gas station attendant. Then moved on through different positions as promotions came along. It took awhile to get to know the Buff since I went to fighter school. With the war going on, every out fit was short & slots were filled with what ever was in the pipe line. Never went to SEA. The H models were kept as the Nuclear force & we were clod warriors. Lots of alert time. I flew om the Buff as a flight mech but rarely went any where with them. We took off, flew 13 hours, & landed back home. (Like Jimmy Stewart in Strategic Air Command).
