Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns model 19 smith&wesson

A 4" model 19 is like that first kiss!!

Dick

I haven't seen, handled, or shot Smith & Wesson's new versions of the Model 19 and Model 66 revolvers. I did read a thread on a forum devoted to S&W products, past and present, pointing out the absence of a gas ring on the new versions. Apparently S&W eliminated the gas ring to make the rear of the barrel full diameter so the risk of splitting the barrel at that end would be minimized. Thoughts?

I'm a little confused. With all this bad mouthing of the modern S & W revolvers should I actually be excited about the reintroduction of the model 19?

the new MIM smith & dubs are FUGLY compared to their old school counterparts. despite that, they work awfully well. my 617 came with a creep-free 4 lb trigger straight out the box, which isnt something i can say about ANY of my ruger wheelguns.

you can be. itll be a great, functional revolver. just dont expect it to look as good or be as slick as the old ones. odds are it will shoot as well or better.

Good news. I already have old ones to look at and shoot. Nice to know I can replace them with a shooter. Otherwise the GP100 was the only real choice for a medium size .357. A buddy let me shoot his one day. The double action felt very different and unfamiliar. I didn't like it. On the first shot it felt so weird after the cylinder locked and before the hammer fell that I quit pulling the trigger thinking something had broke. He reassured me that no, the GP100 always feel like that.

I actually LOVE the MIM lockwork of current S&W's, but the addition of a locking system requires the unpleasant change to the profile of the frame.

The MIM lockwork results in very smooth actions, smoother than anything S&W has made since before WWII. I'm SO completely satisfied with my 617 which has had tens of thousands of rounds and easily 3x more than that in dry snaps. She is every bit as tight as day one, action smoothness is basically the same, and trigger pulls are fantastic. For milled/forged internals it take a good deal of gunsmithing to get to where current S&W's are right out of the box.

Still, I do miss that you can't have a TT, TH option anymore. Setting up for MIM production is VERY expensive, so they only designed one trigger & hammer for MIM, rather than the two option back in the day.

S&W has had a good deal of success with their MIM because they have held MIM manufacturing standards very high. Sure I've seen broken MIM S&W revolver internals, but the frequency of that is no more common than with the old process. But with MIM, you have the benefit of a part that comes out dimensionally perfect. MIM is a very technical process that has to be done exactly right. When done exactly right, the parts are more than up to the task. When not so right...well, you can expect the same problems or more than when other processes are not so right.

Still, when you take one of the older revolvers and finely tune the action; there's just nothing better. An old school S&W with the Target Trigger & Target Hammer is both beautiful and a joy to use.

when you take one of the older revolvers and finely tune the action; there's just nothing better. An old school S&W with the Target Trigger & Target Hammer is both beautiful and a joy to use.


that is straight out of the bible. particularly after they get worn in.

i have a m29classic that cabella's basically gave me, long story. Shoots just fine. But in some of the small details it isn't like the older ones.
one of the first things i did was trash those thin grips they put on it. And the ejector rod housing does not completely line up with the frame.
Shoots okay tho.
part of the reason why i like the 19 so much it's really the first center fire revolver i ever put a lot of rounds through.
It got so instinctive you just kind of point it.

Count me as an iconoclast, but the two things I hate most about Smith revolvers are the target hammer and doubly so the target trigger. (If I have to list three it's the Target Stocks but that's another rant.) It's a double action revolver for god's sake, it needs a double action trigger! The smooth wide combat trigger is a huge plus for me on any old Smith. If I want to shoot SA I'll get a Blackhawk.

My biggest objection is the red ramp front sight. I lose it in bright light. That said I haven't found a sight that is always right.

That's the way I've always felt about the target trigger and hammer, too, on S&W double action revolvers.

I have only 2 hillary hole S&W revolvers, a 686+ and a 642. The rest are all old school.

Oddly, S&W is still offering the 642/442 with or without the Hillary hole, buyer's choice. Weird, eh? I suspect the reason for this is that they are about the only S&W revolvers that still have a strong police following, and police likely demand they have no key lock.

Works for me. My only post old school Smith is a 642 no hole

I will never own any handgun with any type of lock or safety switch.