For what it's worth, he was a great man, spent 35 years in law enforcement in Texas. Also left me his S&W .44 special he carried as a highway patrol officer and had to use to put down a felon 30 years ago.
Well, if you were trying to "make me say Wow!"…you succeeded. WOW!
What a great hand-me-down piece of incredible family history that I'm sure will remain in your family for generations. A couple of things to think about:
1. You know this part, I'm sure, but it's worth saying. Resist any temptation you may ever have to get it "re-blued", made to look like new, change the grips or anything like that. Whatever patina, holster-wear, etc. it may have are part of the history itself. Don't change any of that. Like I said, I'm sure you know that…but some folks don't consider that until it's too late.
2. If you don't already have one, I'd strongly recommend you consider making or buying a custom-fitted wood presentation case for the pistol. You know the deal…velvet-covered foam interior that's custom-fitted for the pistol. Plenty of room around the gun or up on the lid-lining to display/attach whatever other "memorabilia" is germane to the pistol…your Dad's badge or uniform accoutrements (cap device, collar insignia, rank devices, stripes, Texas DPS shoulder patches, whatever...) …you get the idea.
3. Some day, when you have the time, prep and print out a "Letter of Provenance" about the pistol, identifying it specifically by manufacturer, model designation, serial number, caliber, barrel length, etc., and EVERYTHING your Dad ever told you about "the history" of the gun's issue, service, years of carry, your Dad's LEO career, etc. Enclose a copy of the letter inside the presentation case, and keep another somewhere safe in case it ever gets stolen. Some good quality pictures of the revolver would also be good…to facilitate tracking it down and recovering it if it should ever go missing.
Sorry to sound "tutorial", but stuff like this just rings my bell. As a side personal note, my wife's father was a WWII Navy veteran...commissioning "plank owner" and QM2 on an LCI in the Pacific theater during the last half of the island-hopping invasions. After the war, he joined the Pennsauken Police Department in New Jersey, and retired as the senior Sergeant with the force. As was the custom, he was allowed to keep his badge and service pistol. After he passed away, my wife's mother returned the pistol to the PD, because she didn't like guns. We didn't learn about this until long after the fact. It would have been very nice (and appropriate, in my mind…) if Mom has asked my wife (the oldest of the 7 children, and the ONLY one of the 7 to ever follow her father into the service...she was a Navy Lieutenant, Nurse Corps, in the Vietnam era) if SHE would have wanted to take possession of her father's service revolver. Oh well…too bad, so sad…no family heirloom there. But I would have surely done all that I describe above had she/we had the opportunity to do so.
