Royal Hong Kong Police revolver

[vintage hunter]

Stopped by to rummage through my buddy's pawn shop yesterday afternoon and turned up this neat ex- RHKP S&W Model 10-7. Serial number puts it being made in 1980. What has me a bit baffled is the grip shape and the presence of a lanyard loop. The grips on mine seem to be cross between the magna and the older style M&P. Also it has no import marks.
I looked around on the web and other forums last night and so far haven't found another one quite like it, even found two others made in 1980 with serial and inventory #'s very close but neither had lanyard loops and the grips differed.
Anyone else here have a RHKP 10-7 for comparison ?

Information

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[browningautorifle]

Those are the new style grips and they've been hogged down at the top. Easily changed when the originals become too beat to use. Also they're very worn, so they look like something older. The lanyard loop would be their special requirement and it's still crosspinned...all looking correct. Just a later acquisition by RHKP...standard barrel, square butt, 4"...yup...

[jmoore]

Aside from the stocks, looks to be standard. A photo or two can be found in The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson (title might not be exactly right- mine aren't at hand at the moment) by Supica and Naha. The 3rd edition has a color shot of the backstrap area, IIRC.

[Gil Boyd]

Just for your info, the lanyard was standard requirement to be worn by ALL uniformed officers in HK

[browningautorifle]

By special requirement I meant a demand by RHKP...standard for their equipment...but yes, the gun is average RHKP...

[TyndallTB]

I picked up RHKP # 565 at a show today, and it has IDENTICAL grips to your #549. Magna's that appear to be trimmed down at the top. I don't have any import marks. I pulled the grips off and they don't match the gun, (22324) ,but that isn't really a big surprise, considering armorers would have swapped them around during inspection and cleaning. I'm guessing they were all kept in an armory since they have butt numbers. They have RHKP in yellow grease pencil on the inside. The wear pattern of the gun is consistent with these grips being on there for a long time. My gun is also a 1980 vintage, 6D138xx.

[breakeyp]

The round ring lanyard ring assembly is of British design and manufacture added after weapon receipt. Smith would have suggested their standard oval lanyard ring if factory assembled.

[Peter Laidler]

We used to get loads of pistols from the Commonwealth Police Forces around the Pacific rim through our huge Base Workshop in Singapore. Singapore, Fiji, HK, Malaya etc etc. I don't remember any of them having anything other than the standard big ring loop that went with the large diameter khaki or white landyards that we used. Not many from HK though in the great scheme of things

The NZ Armourers such as Graham Kerr and others used to get the S&W's because they were trained on and used to them while the rest of us were Enfield/Webley and Browning blokes. The S&W's were very what we called 'parts concious'. That means you made sure that the parts went back into the same pistol. Parts for the S&W's were supplied by NZ too as part of their contribution to the Crown Agents programme that they were all refurbished under

[TyndallTB]

Speaking of the Lanyard Ring, my recent purchase at the Lakeland, FL show is it has a S&W Lanyard Ring identical to the typical S&W 1917/Victory Ring. I expect this is the only factory ring offered. The Only Difference is it appears someone elongated it, similar to pressing it in a vice so that it's more circular. What is weird, is I saw another one at the same show, with the same ring. I'm into Victories, so it caught my eye,,,and my curiosity, as to why someone would deform a factory ring, and then I found the same ring on the RHKP that I eventually bought. There isn't any vice marks or marring on the ring. I was reading on the S&W forum that the RHKP lanyards were thick chord type lanyards, so they needed the big round ring. I was guessing it was a S&W factory install. Since mine is a early RHKP butt number, maybe the early ones had factory rings?, because they all seemed to be drilled in the same spot at the heel of the grip. I'd be interested to see a 1980 vintage with a Jinks letter, to see if the first ones came with rings. I've seen a letter of an 87 vintage and it doesn't show a ring.