I read a comment some years ago by a gun writer that I always thought made sense:

"Every serious handgun enthusiast should have a good .357 Magnum, Double-Action Revolver, with a 4" barrel,
as a basic addition to his personal arsenal."

Today I came across a S&W, Model 19-3, DA Revolver, Deep-Blued, with a 4" barrel, and walnut checkered grips in a Pawn Shop.
It is in 100% condition (No box) and drop dead gorgeous for - $650.

I think I can get it for less ... any comments or thoughts about value, desirability, function, or features of the S&W Model 19-3
would be appreciated.

Better jump and make it happen. I have the 66-4" and think it's one of the LAST pistols I would sell, but I happen to love the 19's.

My thinking is generally I haven't paid too much for a firearm but have occasionally bought one a bit early

Price on the 19 you are looking at may be a bit "early".

The 4 inch 19-3 is one of my favorites(along with a 6 inch 19-3 and a 21/2 inch 66) and is a must have...

That's a good price. I bought a 6" 19-3 a couple of years ago that looked unfired. I paid around $750 but it did have the box, which wasn't a big deal for me.

I like my 19-3. It's sitting in the drawer of my standing desk at home right now. Got it for $350 earlier this year. Shows some finish wear, but it's clean where it counts. 19's aren't getting any cheaper, so if you want one, get one.

On the high side, but on the other hand, how often do you find one that's drop dead gorgeous?

What are you waiting for? They sure aren't making any more of them! Bought one just after Christmas, last year- might have paid just enough...
Could be the perfect K-frame. I looked for the right one for years, would still be thinking about it, if I hadn't brought it home. Money comes and goes, good guns stay!

Even the new "remake" model 66 S&W Stainless guns are going for $799. or more at Cabela's.

And they are not near as nice in fit or finish as an original Model 19.

I'd buy it in a heat beat for $650 if it's 100% like you said.

Just try to buy a 2.75" or 3" Model 19 at that price!!! Like someone else mentioned, S&W ain't making them like that anymore!

I sold a NIB 6" this spring for 650; buy it. They don't make em any more and you could shoot the crap out of it and not get hurt reselling it.

19's are awesome. And I'm no fan of 38 cals.



Travis

I have some nice blued guns. But I prefer SS for easy maintenance. Sounds like the price of a nice 66 to me. Hasbeen

If it's truly in new condition, that's not high at all.

I personally am not a huge fan of the 19. The 586/686 is substantially better IMO. So is the 27 or 28 but they're pretty big. Unless you've got a need for concealment, I'd go with an L frame. But then again, a 19 ain't bad.

What brand is that little Tomahawk / wood chopper in your photo with your Revolver ???

http://www.coldsteel.com/Product/90TA/TRAIL_BOSS.aspx

It's a Cold Steel "Trailboss".

Thanks!

I borrowed the "Drop Dead Gorgeous" description from Massad Ayoob some years ago when he posted a pic of a Dan Wesson Model 15-2, DA Revolver, exactly like one which I had just acquired on its 'looks' alone.) - Now I'm embarrassed having repeated something like that.

This S&W Model 19-3 I'm looking at, I found out has been in the shop since all last summer (They don't usually have many guns there.) The only S&W handgun I have ever owned is my 432-PD Airweight, 32 H&R Mag. I'm only aware of some various S&W frame sizes, otherwise I'm pretty much ignorant about S&W's. Also I'm retiring and gun money is now scarce. The shop owner is a really good guy and I'm going to do whatever I can to get this - Revolver.

Cool! You want regret it. And even better if he knocks a little more off of that price.

And then post pics, of course.

I'm a big fan of the large N-frame Smiths, but if I was going to paint a picture of what a double action revolver should look like, it would be a 4" Model 19. The proportions, IMO, are just perfect. Buy that gun.

Yep, perfect! Except I like mine a bit longer...

Great pieces though I prefer 'em blond. That said, I too, am not a fan of the 357.

I think $650 is on the high side. But it's comes down to how much do you want it.

nice gun but a tad high but who cares. try the 2.5" 19 and you will love it.

I really knew nothing about this revolver except I liked it and I wanted it.
Thanks for all the input and information - even encouragement!

I'm flying to Dallas tomorrow morning for a week, (My Birthday.)
So I went to the Pawn Shop an hour ago and put the Model 19-2 on layby.

They said I could have it for $600 - YES! And thank you.
Might be a while before I can pay it off - but I will have it.

Eventually ...

[video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?annot...mp;src_vid=348UCM0Ykco&v=xPGu1cwAMHI[/video]

WOW, that looks EXACTLY like my last 19, same grips and all. I miss that revolver.

Weed,
You done good. As others have also stated, I am not a big fan of the 357 magnum, much preferring the bigger bores. But I would have bought that one just because of what it is. I have always liked the model 19.

Bill Jordan seemed to think that the 19 was OK.

He liked it a great deal, thinking it the ideal police sidearm. I think the Model 13 is that, however, i.e., same gun, but fixed sights. S&W's adjustable sights are too frail. A 13 with an ejector rod shroud would, perhaps, have been even better (protecting the ejector rod from being bent), but then you introduce the potential for mud filling it in (if the gun makes contact with the ground during a struggle) and preventing closure of the cylinder, so the shroud is a wash, all things considered.

I liked the 13 as well. (Thought that I had to sell it to justify buying the 19 - now that I am older and have a bit more money, I kick myself for getting rid of it, but it was a different time and a different financial situation.) As you say, the shroud is a wash as to impaired function. I had not thought about the mud-filling idea, only the bending, which leads to the Colts - I always wondered why they were designed with the rod completely naked on the end, just looking for something to catch on.

Good point about Colts. But the geometry of the ejector rod's position, in relation to the barrel and frame, tends to offer it a great deal of protection all by itself.

I would hope so since he's the one who told S&W to make it.

While that's a very good point about the ejector shroud and the mud, I think (especially in decades past) the more likely scenario was a bent ejector rod. I'd bet you'd have 10 bent ejector rods to every one shroud filled up with mud.

It's interesting to note that in every military test of S&W vs. Colt's DA revolver, the Colt's have proven to be more reliable in bad conditions. The internals of the Colt allow for more gunk, with things only getting tight at the last minute.

Still, I'm a S&W guy through and through. I can respect the design of the Colt's, and I'll always stick up for them when someone's trying to say they're "fragile", but S&W's are just MY kind of revolver. (with that said, I do carry a Colt's Cobra quite often).

I should have thrown in a wink emoticon.

those 19's are nice. I had an opportunity to pick one up a couple years back NIB, went with the 686 instead. I don't regret my decision, but there's nothing wrong with a 19 either. I just prefer the full lug barrel.

I like the Colts just about as well as the S&Ws. I carried a Detective Special for a few years, and I can really shoot the heck out of an Official Police. Maybe even a hair better than I can a K-Frame Smith & Wesson.

The original idea behind the full lug (first found on the Python) was to add forward weight with competitive shooting in mind. I like the looks of one on a Python, but not on a Smith & Wesson.

I did the same with a 4" GP100 for $300, including a pretty decent trigger job, tritium front sight, and Hogue grips.

Get the 19.

My first model 19 four inch was acquired in the 70's when i was playing popo. I have fired thousands of rounds through it. The sights have not fallen off yet.

Have you had a Smith rear sight fail? A lot of theory above...

I've had two adjustable sight S&W revolvers get sight damage from transporting in gun cases. The vulnerability is in the rear sight plate, which is very thin steel.

Plus some folks just like the look of a fixed sight double action. There's no school like the old school.