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Hi My name is Steve and I am New to THR.
I bought a model 28 S and W 357 can anyone tell me what it might be worth and what are your thoughts on this handgun.
turkey02, welcome to the forum. The Model 28 is no doubt one of the greats - it is extremely tough, accurate, and affordable. I would love to get one, but the example I was eyeing (waiting for some $$$) skipped out the door about a week before I was able to buy it. Oh well. There'll be another.
Value is, of course, variable based on your market as well as condition of the handgun. I cannot speculate on the value of any particular sample without seeing pictures. I would expect to see a good shooter with some modest blue wear for $350 or so in my neck of the woods, although those prices have been edging to $400 lately.
Out in my neck of the woods, expect to pay $500+ for a good specimen (One local store has a nice one priced $575!) I paid $450 for a well worn example this spring. I still love it!
Who ever said this was rough is dead wrong. Polishing of external
metal parts, is not as bright a some S&Ws, but the Model 28 Highway
Patrolman is a working man's gun. Bought one of these N framed
357s in the late 60s, while a LEO. I had a highy polished blue Colt
Python and watched a friend's finish degrade in a hurry. Very little
wear near the muzzle with the Smith, and the Colt still NIB. The
28 is an excellent shooter (4" barrel) and can handle about ant reason-
able stiff load without concern or wear due to being on it's sturdy 44
Magnum frame. In the condition mine is in (excellent to almost new),
$550 t0 575 is reasonable
I had one a while back and I regret trading it. The N frame Smith .357s are really nice. I prefer them to the smaller K & L frames even for carry. I paid $350 for mine, but the finish was in pretty bad shape.
The "Highway Patrolman" was in fact a fairly popular Law Enforcement handgun back before they discovered high-cap 9mm pistols, and a LOT of them were traded in back in those days for 9mms, cheap, though I bought mine earlier in 1971 or 1972. It was intended to be low priced (like.... for cops...) so it wasn't beautifully finished, but it was a solid (N frame) handful of reliable firearm. It takes some real work to wear out an N frame, though it can be done. I imagine a lot of 28s were used to shoot .38 ammo at the gun range more than anything else.
I miss mine. :banghead:
You got a very good deal if it's in average or better condition. Keep it. Wish I had.
In my part of Idaho I've seen Model 28's going for between $450 and $500. The prices went up in the past couple of years on most N frames regardless of their calibers.
When I got my two Model 28's I paid $330 for the six inch model and $375 for the four inch version. That was back in 2003/04.
For many years Model 28's could be had for under $300, but in the past few years there has been a growing interest in the old Highway Patrolman. Guess folks finally realized that S&W stopped making the 28 approximately 22 years ago and they aren't coming back.
The 28 is a great revolver. Not as fancy as the Model 27 ,but mechanically it's the same. Take care of it and don't abuse it and should last you - well for your lifetime at least. It might not be pretty, but it's reliable.
N frames have been going up in value. Looking at a large photo of your gun, I would speculate that around my area it would be priced around $350 at a gun show. It would likely change hands for around $300.
The two things that would lower the price of your gun to this range are the non-original grips and the wear/ freckling of the finish. Not an issue really, if you plan to use it as intended. It will last longer than you will if cared for. It can handle any .357 magnum load.
Sweet gun, but don't be fooled into thinking they are invincible. I am probably going to send the example I bought this summer to the smith because it is not "carrying up." My own inexperience with wheelguns is to blame here, though the "Revolver Checkout" sticky doesn't even mention "carrying up" in the timing section. Still, they are fine guns, really tame the recoil due to the weight.
Nice. I really like the Super Vel and Peterson Rustless and Stags. Nice touch.Looks like it should be one of the revolovers photographed in the classic Keith on Sixguns.
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