It doesn’t get much more classic cop than a Smith & Wesson wheelgun in the hands of law enforcement. While the company’s family of firearms is vast, breaking down just the catalog of S&W revolvers takes someone with a unique passion for the topic. Just the CliffsNotes version is a rabbit hole that can consume a few afternoons.

Fortunately, covering some of the specific police trade-in guns we have on hand right now takes a lot less time. Currently, we have several used LEO Model 64s and Model 65s in very good condition in the Guns.com warehouse. 

In a way, these revolvers kind of show the end of the reign of LEO wheelguns as more and more police officers moved into semi-auto pistols like the  M&P45 and the ever-popular Glock 17. But there’s just no replacing the classic look and feel of a revolver.

Both the Model 64 and 65 are part of a lineage that goes back over a century. Smith & Wesson got its start in 1852 when Horace Smith and Daniel Baird Wesson joined forces to create a firearm that could fire a fully self-contained cartridge. In the early 1900s, the company got heavily involved with revolvers, which featured Smith & Wesson hand-ejectors and the Military & Police line.

Smith & Wesson's Military & Police line still exists today, though it boasts many modern rifles and semi-auto handguns as well. The Model 64 was the successor to what was at the time one of the most popular police sidearms, the Model 10 that actually dates back to 1899. Introduced in the 1970s, the Model 64 offered a stainless-steel finish, making it more suitable for humid or coastal environments. The 64-series guns we recently picked up are chambered specifically in .38 Special, with a few also marked .38 +P. 
 

Related: Feel Like a Great Deal on LE Trade-In S&W K-Frames?

The arrival of the Model 65 signaled a shift in power, namely to .357 Magnum. This required a slightly longer cylinder for the larger cartridge, but it kept the classic look and feel of the 64 while also boasting a stainless-steel finish. These revolvers will still fire the lighter .38 Special cartridge. They represent an interesting transitional period as more officers moved to semi-auto options, but others still sought the power, reliability, and feel of a .357 revolver. 

Like cool, used LEO guns like these?
Check out our Police Trade-Ins Page for even more.