Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Found My S&W Model 18-3 .22

Nice revolver and much less used than mine which I bought when still in High School. I still have it.

I shot pistols recently with my son and he had never shot it, so he did. Mine has the magnum grips and a trigger shoe and is well broken in. He liked it.
I found my hand made belt and holster last week when cleaning out some old shooting stuff in my shop, but it had not aged well and I tossed it. I had long ago bought a nice holster that fit both my 4 inch M19 and my 4 inch Model 18. Cant tell which is which when holstered.



I plan to shoot that M18 more.

Let's see a picture.

Sorry for exhuming that thread but I'd like to have some advices when it comes to the accuracy department comparing M17 and M18 (6" vs. 4") Is there a significant difference when shooting beyond the 25 yards mark. According to RGK who likes to shoot his M17 even at 50 yards that particular gun (his 17-3) is as accurate as his Ruger Stainless Mk? 22 pistol. And what about a comparison between the S&W Model 41 and the S&W Model 17?

I've had & used M 17 Smiths......

The 18 seemed less money back then IIRC

What were the major differences ?

My 17 back then was 8 3/8" & 3 T's....

On a lighter note.......

The mother of my children...ended up with the M 63 S & W

Early 70's mfg date.....

Couple here.. 5 screw and a 4 screw

One more

You'd need a Ransom Rest to determine that. Most of the accuracy difference (if any), otherwise, would be attributable to subjective factors. A longer sight radius will always give better subjective accuracy.

Late to the party. A pre-17 and an 18-2.

18 came with the target grips. I like them but not sure if they are original. Maybe someone can advise.

The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson says they all shipped with Magna Grips.

I've got one of those 4-inchers in the safe. Swapped into it at a gunshow probably 20 years ago and can't recall what I gave up to get it. Mighta been a Norinco Compact 1911 that was a jam-o-matic (one of my blunders), but I digress.

I always thought it was a very nice piece but I guess I've put a bit of wear on it. A while back I was in contact with someone in the classifieds, and my 18 was trade bait. I sent the requested photos, and my prospective trading partner very nicely explained that my gun just really wasn't much of a collector piece and declined to do business. I thought about it and took a look at what's in the safe handgun-wise, and there seems to be a common theme with most of what's in there: they've all aged and taken on a bit of "character."

Funny how you don't see as gun's wrinkles and blemishes accumulating over a long period of time!

Thanks for the info. Kinda figured these weren’t original seeing all the pics with Magna grips. I’ll have to find a set someday. Picked another set of targets here awhile back for the pre-17 just to try.

Be prepared to spend if you want a set in nice shape.

I'll trade my Taurus 22 revolver for it.

A sorta friend of the family apparently invests in firearms while not knowing a lot about them. My brother-in-law asked if he happened to have a .22 revolver for sale, and being an investor, the guy brings over a 90-95% revolver he doesn't see a future in. Brother-in-law texts me a few photos and asks if he should by it.

I say "yes". Pre-18's for $275 are a touch rare.

What year did S&W start stamping the model # inside the yoke?
Just noticed mine is not marked in this way.

1957.