Tell me about Bangor Punta

[jetfire]

Some dude just dropped an assload of Model 67s on the secondary market for about 4 bills. These are "Bangor Punta" guns, which I've heard on the internet is a bad thing, or maybe not depending on who you talk to. The thing that really gets my attention is that they're all PD trades from the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department...where my father was a deputy when these would have been issued. There is a tremendous sentimental desire to buy one of these if for no other reason than to do a neat write up on "guns of my father" and cover this, his custom .357, and the Beretta 92 in a retrospective article.

But I'd also shoot the hell out of it, and I don't particularly want to drop $400 on a K-frame if it's going to fall to bits on me.

[TNWNGR]

The Bangor Punta S&W gun’s didn’t have a very good name but were still serviceable guns. I wouldn’t worry about it any because most of the highly desirable “pinned barrel” S&W revolver’s you run across were Bangor Punta Smith’s.

[David Armstrong]

Given that it is an LAPD gun I wouldn't worry too much. IME of the major PDs out there LAPD was probably the best of the bunch over time in the maintenance and upkeep of the guns for the regular street guys and gals. Personally I think 4 bills is a little steep, but if that is what the market is bearing it is what it is.

[TGS]

$400 sounds awfully steep for a PD trade in. I got my 19-4 in excellent condition (would've been "like new" except for the grip reduction) for $450. The only PD trade in revolvers I've personally seen were model 10's and Ruger speed/service 6's, and they went for $210-$260.

BTW, I also bought my Smith for similar sentimental reasons. Seemed like I had to have one being my dad carried one for 11 years as a NJ State Trooper. I'm glad I did, I ended up LOVING these pinned & recessed Smith's. Heirloom guns. Didn't care so much for the 586 I got though....something about recessed chambers really makes it "happen" for me.

[jetfire]

Given that it is an LAPD gun I wouldn't worry too much. IME of the major PDs out there LAPD was probably the best of the bunch over time in the maintenance and upkeep of the guns for the regular street guys and gals. Personally I think 4 bills is a little steep, but if that is what the market is bearing it is what it is.

Not LAPD. LA Sheriff's Department. Having been raised by an LA Deputy, that's a fairly important distinction. If it was an LAPD gun I wouldn't touch it with someone else's hands, lest my father disown me.

[Simon]

I bought my first S&W revolver in 1967 or so, and I bought my last in about 1985. I never found any difference between any of them. I don,t like the new model revolvers nearly as well as the older models. I don't think Bangor Punta changed the quality any.

[Tamara]

"Bangor Punta" is nothing but the shorthand for the company that owned S&W from '65-'87.

It is sometimes used as a pejorative for "low-quality Smiths", but that's more from a collector standpoint. Think of it as the "Ron Cohen" era for S&W.

If all you're looking for is a service-grade revolver to shoot, odds on one from the Bangor Punta era aren't terribly worse than those from the subsequent early Tompkins PLC era.

[Tamara]

I don't think Bangor Punta changed the quality any.

I beg to frickin' differ.

[TGS]

It is sometimes used as a pejorative for "low-quality Smiths", but that's more from a collector standpoint. Think of it as the "Ron Cohen" era for S&W.

I'll be quick to admit that I don't have nearly as much knowledge and experience with wheel guns as you, Tam.

That's a bit of a stretch though. Having a slightly higher aggregate return to the factory for problems, ever so slightly looser tolerances or not as good polishing on internal parts is a long ways away from "Doesn't work/Weapons returned/Contract revoked/No longer allowed to participate in procurement program."

Of course, I may be wrong. I'd appreciate anything you can share.

[jetfire]

Cool. Time to smash the piggy bank.

I have this idea for a shooting project; my dad was issued a k-frame Model 67 when he was a deputy sheriff, which he shortly thereafter replaced with a Ruger/Colt hybrid he had made. This was back when LASD allowed individual officer purchases of duty guns as long as it was a six shot revolver chambered in .357 Magnum or .38 Special. He carried the Ruger/Colt until the department issued Berettas to everyone in '88 when I was six.

I have the Ruger/Colt now, and I still shoot it. It doesn't have the best trigger, but it's easily the most accurate gun I've ever shot. Kind of like "This is your father's revolver. Not as clumsy or random as an automatic; an elegant weapon for a more civilized age."

And now I could get a K-frame just like what he carried before the Ruger. It seems appropriate.