J K Cloward PPC Revolver

W

winter67uk

New member
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
2   0   0
Location
Vancouver Island
This post has two purposes: first, recording what little I know about this revolver, and second, requesting information from those who might be in a position to know more.

I recently picked this up at a gun show on Vancouver Island. It started life as Smith and Wesson Model 15-3, manufactured some time between 1967 and 1977. In its current configuration it is double action only, with a heavy barrel, Hogue grips and a Bo-Mar rib with rounded wings bracketing the front sight. There are a few other features visable, but not having owned an Model 15 before I don't know if they are original or not.

Model%252015-3%2520Display%25203.jpg


Here's a shot of the stamp on the barrel:

Model%252015-3%2520Barrel%2520Marking.jpg


There's not much on Mr. Cloward's handguns online. Hell, there's nothing! I spoke with Jim Cloward in Washington state on the 'phone and he remembers building 200+ PPC competition revolvers back in the '80's. Orders north of the border took off when a couple of brothers from BC placed first and second at the Canadaian national championships with his revolvers. He seems to remember they were RCMP.

There's no way to know if the revolver above is one of Mr. Cloward's as he doesn't have serial numbers for every piece he worked on back then. Even if it is one of his, it's not in the same condition now as it was when it left his shop - this one is double action only, and Mr. Cloward left the single action functioning on his guns.

I'd love to hear from any PPC shooters who could help identify the brothers Mr. Cloward remembers, or have any further information on his work. Like I say, there's no knowing if this particular revolver is one of his, but I'd love to know more about his work from the people who remember it.
 
Last edited:
I also bought one of Clowards model 15's this year. Aristocrat rib on mine. Gave it to my girlfriend who just started in PPC. I like it just as much as my Charlton. I too spoke to Cloward and was told the story of the two brothers. I mentioned that at the Nationals and one of the guys calling the range may have been one of the brothers or know who they were. I will ask at the next club shoot (Jan 5) and see if I can find out anything else. I see that you're on the Island, were you at the VICC event?
 
Thanks for taking an interest, coldest. I look forward to a post from you in the new year. I've sent out a few inquiries regarding the Canadian national championships. Spotting first and second place finishers with the same last name shouldn't be too hard, assuming someone has access to the results.

Yes, I was at the VICC this year, my first one.

Mr. Cloward told me another story about his days building PPC revolvers for the local constabulary. One gentleman ordered a revolver and picked it up before a match on the weekend. He brought the gun back to the shop on the Monday following, asking to return it. The gun was no good, and he hadn't won any matches. Employing some sleuthing skills of his own, Mr. Cloward asked if the gentleman had won any competitions previously. Surprise - the answer was "no".

Mr. Cloward generally builds rifles for competition and hunting these days, I gather.
 
Last edited:
The two bothers were named Jay and Willie and, at the time, they were RCMP. They were very gifted shooters and regularly won most of the PPC matches in the LML during the early - late '70's.

This is a Cloward made revolver. Jim used the signature small block at the end of the cylinder rod. I had one almost exactly the same only built on a M10 inside of a 15. Jim also made his revolvers with slab sides on the barrel which were a little lighter. His conversions shoot extremely well. The fact that it is DA only isn't a problem. A lot of us converted the revolvers to DAO after getting the guns made. This conversion became popular later in the '70's when it was found that you were more accurate using DAO.

Steve
 
Thank you both, Steve and Coldest, for the information.

Steve, did you see many other Cloward revolvers at the time? I got the impression most of his work stayed within the Washington state law enforcement community, and south of the border.

I look forward to trying this revolver out at a PPC 1500 match in the new year, once I get my hands on some HBWCs!
 
Most of the custom revolvers at the time were built by Cloward for both sides of the border. Then people like Murray Charleton in Sidney and Bill Davis of California started building them and the market switched over to them. The primary reason for the rebarrel was the barrel twist, with the sights being the secondary reason. The Speer hbwc shot best out of a 1-14 twist whereas the Smith M10 and 15 were supplied from the factory with a 1 - 18 twist if I remember correctly. You could always add weights to a stock revolver but that didn't affect the twist so you had to rebarrel. Many people shot stock revolvers up to a certain skill level then switched over.

coldest is correct on the name. I didn't want to publish it here because I haven't seen Jay or Willie for many years now and don't know where they are.

Steve
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom