Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Model 19

Picked up this nice 4 inch 19, It’s a 19-5. The price was right paid $750. Go price any pre hole 19 and they are $800 plus

Nice. I'm jealous. On the lookout for a decent 4" 19.

Didn't production of the m19 end quite a while before the hole appeared?

The 19-8 were the start of the internal lock 19’s. A lot of fans of the 19 say the -4 were the last of the good ones.

It's nice that it has target trigger & hammer!

Yeah I was just looking at it, thinking does this have target hammer and trigger? I’m no smith guy, know enough to get myself in trouble was it common for these to ship without target grips?

I've got a couple of 19s. Sweet guns. I have a four inch and a snubby. The snubby is pinned and recessed, but the four inch was made right after they stopped doing that.

Prices are getting steep on nice, pre-lock, Nineteens these days.

Probably didn't come from the factory that way.

It came from the factory that way. LOTS of 4" 19s in the 80s had target triggers & hammers, MUCH moreso than the earlier dash versions.

Congrats, that was a decent deal on a legendary revolver. It does appear you have the TT & TH...I love the S&W TT & TH!!

I bought mine in the late ‘70s and it came with the target hammer and trigger. $225 IIRC.

According to a fella on the S&W forums AUJ prefix made july-nov of 85. I’m extremely happy what I paid considering what these are going for on guns international and gunbroker.

My 19 came with TT & TH sometime in the early 1970s. I think that there is still some Super-Vel ammo around somewhere that was bought at the same time. I retired the 19 when I got a 66 in 1994 and haven't had it out of the box for nearly 30 years. IIRC, the box still has a tag from the company arms room from when I stored it there while on REFORGER 82.

Nice pickup. Yours certainly looks like it has the TH and TT. It DOES have the trigger stop, so that would make perfect sense (the little silver nub behind the trigger on the left side of the frame). That little bugger can prove to be problematic if becomes loose, the pistol will fail to fire. S&W recommended these be removed on pistols that were used for duty purposes. It is held by a single screw located under the side plate and it does not take much to stop the trigger from traveling far enough. Every K frame S&W that I own has the frame cut for a trigger stop, but it wasn't until I picked up a model 14-2 6" that I finally got one with the TS. Ironically my model 14 didn't come with a TH and TT (they made them both ways). I own the SCSW 4th edition book, if you send me serial number and contact info I can send you photos of what it says for yours.

I traded for a 19-5 right at the beginning of Covid. I had a Walther PPS 9mm that I disliked so I swapped it plus more than I should have for the S&W. It needed a really good cleaning, I swapped the hammer spring and trigger rebound spring from a Wilson Combat kit ($20), and had to replace the hammer firing pin roll pin as it started to walk out after the first six shots. After the Wilson spring kit it and the model 14 (S&W tuned target model) are neck and neck for the best trigger pull out of all my revolvers.

The recommendation is NOT to fire 125 grain .357 loads through the pistol. Cracked forcing cones occurred due to the notched relief at the bottom of the barrel for yoke clearance. The ultimate solution became the L frame - designed by a former Ruger engineer that went to work for S&W if I remember the story correctly.

Thanks for the info! Also sent you a pm

Nice Model 19!

I like "got a new gun" threads--When somebody gets a new gun, we ALL get a new gun!

Congrats!

I found a pinned model 19 in 99% condition for $650.00 at the local pawn shop…

That’s a hell of deal I hope you bought it! Like we talked yesterday those 19’s aren’t getting cheaper.

Fugger probably fenced it for you....

Picked up this 6" 19-5 a while back at a local auction. Very accurate revolver even in my hands. Now I'd like a 4" as well

Nice 19!

I only posted that because we talked about it yesterday. It isn’t true, just a poke in the eye…

79S, grats on one of the best revolvers ever!

I'm looking for another one, this time with the orange front sight insert. While I know my old '68 Python's a better made revolver, my wife's 19-4/4"bbl is still my favorite.

That's a good deal, nowadays. A new in the box variety would go for about $1,250.00.

19-4 was the last of the pinned and recessed 19's but all of them are shooters. A friend of mine in the gun parts business told me awhile back that k frame target triggers sell for $250. So a k with the tt and th has some major added extra value...mb

Don’t Factory target grips starting at $100 as well..

You would need to subtract from that figure the price of a standard S&W hammer and trigger.

For a real beater.

Looks like a very nice find!

My wife's uncle gave us a small pile of guns before he passed.

This was her grandfathers 19-3. Has some holster wear but other than that is in great shape.

Very nice M19 you have there 79S. K-frames are my favorite too. I am sure you will enjoy it.
I have 2 .357 K frames. They are my favorite revolvers to just go to the range and shoot. 6gr of Unique and a 158gr lead SWC is very enjoyable to shoot.
M66 purchased new in 73 if I remember right. Has had a couple of make overs. 😁



M19-3 from 1970 was a gift from a friend.

I have never understood why people prefer the TH and even more so the Target Trigger. Does anyone shoot these guns double action?

Agree with you. The wide grooved trigger sucks for double action shooting. I very much prefer a narrow smooth face trigger.

I'm with you. I have always avoided Smiths with those features.

Pards, why don’t you 3 go start a model 19 thread talking about the features on these pistols you don’t like.

Sorry, did not realize this was designated an affirmation-only thread.

Typical specimens of the Model 19, with barrels shorter than six inches, didn't come with target hammers and triggers. They came with service style hammers and triggers, or perhaps better called hammers and triggers that split the difference between service style and target style. Same goes for the front sights, which were typically ramped rather than Patridge style in all but the six inch models. I prefer ramped, as is common in four inch models and shorter.

It's really a lovely gun, it would just be lovelier with the wide combat trigger.

Pard, we are trying to bring back the good old days of the campfire. More respectful dialogue less of the needless criticism. So let’s try to do that. Remember we can do this ..

Pard, are you saying this one was pieced together from 5 other 19’s?

Not sure where you got that from. Perhaps read my post over again.

It seems that there were a small number of four inch barrel specimens that came from the factory with the target style triggers and hammers, as has already been made clear in this thread. Ordinarily, however, those with barrels shorter than six inches lacked the full target style hammers and triggers. They also lacked the Patridge style front sights, which more typically came on the six inch barrel specimens. That's all I said.

Understood?

Pard, you are coming in a little hostile, tone it down some, but other than that great info! Remember we can bring the old campfire back.

I have a couple of pinned and recessed 4 inch 19s from the late 1970s both with target hammer and wide trigger. Strangely I have a 6 inch 19-5 with patridge front sight that has standard(narrow) hammer and trigger. I too prefer the standard hammer and triggers

Pard, you're coming in a little hostile. Tone it down.

Saying sorry seemed pretty kumbahyah. And you obviously missed my followup post.

How do you figure that his post is hostile? I don't see any hostility

Did you see the smiling face at the end of the post?.....He was joking.

This is exactly how my 19-5 is configured. Smooth trigger, hammer with enough grip but definitely not a target model, no trigger stop, and a ramp serrated front sight. Mine did come to me with target grips in it, not magnas. I have small hands but like the full size grips better.

I have a mint 4” 19-3 in a pistol rug in my safe, but alas it is not mine! Widowed neighbor across the street bought it with her husband in 1973, they went to the range with it a few times in the 70s and then put it up. She came to me during the beginning of Covid in a panic, son, daughter, and grandkid were all escaping New York / San Fran and coming to live with her. She had pistol loaded and locked in a cheap briefcase sized Costco “fire safe” that she had lost the key to years ago. Asked me to break into it. Broke out the full lockpicking set (knowledge learned during high school years when I was a bit more mischievous…) and I had it open in less than 30 seconds. She was estatic, wanted the papers out of the safe, but asked me to keep the pistol in my safe so it wasn’t at her house. Naturally I agreed and have even offered to purchase it twice, just name the price, but she still wants it. So it just sits in my safe teasing and torturing me showing me what I could have.

I even full stripped it, deep cleaned and oiled, it is slick as whale snot now. Dammit…
I have a photo of it loaded here on 24hcf somewhere, prob around May 2020.

The price of various S&W grips is partly where you are located. 2 weeks ago at a gunshow I picked up a set of older goncala alves target grips with the football cut out on the left side smooth rosewood for $40 not new cond. but nice. Put them on my 6" blued 19 that has tt and th. 3 months back scored a set of checkered GA's with the crescent cut out real nice for 35. There availible at a decent price I buy them.just my 2 cts...mb

Damn skippy...

Anywhere I show up the price of things seems to triple. I'm gettin' a complex

nice grab 79s....

I was being very Facetious😁. I know everyone has their preference. I have a 28 that has the narrow trigger and hammer. I’m in the camp of not sure which one I like.

Looks like I missed that

Not sure but awhile back the demand and price seemed to be falling off a bit. The huge popularity of semi autos I think has fewer people contesting for all cool revolver items. I don't have any problems running a tt fast double action if the upper right corner of it is sharp round it with a dremel.( very carefully)...mb

Could be you're right

I dove into GB for the first time this week and got 2 nice S&W revolvers for a total (-minus tax and shipping) of $1053. One was a clean S&W model 18-3 that I won with a bid of $718
The pics on GB show the Model 18 with German proof marks, so it's been a traveler. I'll post pics of both revolvers when they show up...

Good score m18-3 are nice shooters bought mine 40 some years ago nib for 185. Std trigger and hammer magna grips, now wears dark smooth rosewood sw target grips...mb

Never did understand the allure of the target (wide) trigger, maybe just a cool look to some? From a pure shooting point, they suck, at least for double action shooting, which is the only way I shoot mine. All but one of my revolvers has the hammer spur bobbed or speed hammers, which have no spur.

Scratch that. Closer to $2,000.00 nowadays.

My first revolver was a model Perfect from Herters, which I ordered via. USPS. All I needed was a check to them. 357's have been in my possession one way or another since then. I like 357's. I have three Model 19's. The first one is a Model 19-5 - it mainly has stayed in the factory box. But I have fired it, maybe 6 times.


The next one is a Model 19-4 with TTT and 5" barrel.


The next one is a 19-2 and I carry it sometimes.

I like that 5 incher. 😊

Thanks. It has a faint line around the cylinder. I mainly shoot that at paper... I have not shot it much. I wish the 19-2 was as good a shape as the 19-5. But since it isn't I have it on my hip around here. If I feel the need or if I'm more where animals are bigger and bad, I'll carry a 45 Colt (S&W or a Colt Model "P" Clone) or a model 629. I've shot rabid skunks, coyotes, stray dogs that chase deer and a wolf around here. I know that precise bullet placement is most important and a 357 will likely do in even the worst in the western hemisphere. But I practice with the 44's a lot and the 45's some too and I feel more comfortable with them if I needed them.

A lot of people feel the pinned and recessed S&W's are the best. The 19-2 and the 19-4 are pinned and recessed. The 19-5 is not.

My next one will be a model 14, don’t know why. I should’ve got into the smith game 10yrs ago lol

I'd say it's based on your having good taste in revolvers I might could suggest going for a post war premodel number K-38, though. Even us gen Xers find them to be coolest of the bunch.

My one and only I gave $450 for four years ago. I do own a 4" M66.

Reasonably cool, but a very distant place compared to your 38 WCF Highway Patrolman

5" is from early 60's exceedingly rare. Yours is a 6" (5.9") measure from cyl face to muzzle. Check it..mb

My contributions to the discussion, both pinned/recessed. I'm told the 2" is fairly rare?

It is 5” to the face of the cylinder as I recall, so you’re probably right. I’ll get measurements later. TTT and low usage. Great shape.

That’s why I have 2each 2”. One is like new in the box. Except it’s a dash 5. My dash 2 is in great working order, shots great. But is carried a lot. Bluing loss.

Very nice find, especially with the service grips!

And now you can go and hunt down some terrorists like Ulrich Wegener did in 1977:





https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lufthansa_Flight_181

If by rare you mean nonexistent, you' re absolutely right. The 2 3/4" would be a standard catalog item, while the 3" would be fairly rare.

Me too.

My oldest was using my 2.5" M19 this last fall while working as a cowboy in the back country of Idaho. served her well, loaded with 170 grain Keith SWCs.

Love the Herrett's stocks... 2.5" M19 is SUCH a classic!!

From the end of the barrel to the barrel is 5.625"

I’m very fond of M19’s and M66’s. I have two M66’s; a four inch and a six. The four is pinned and recessed.

I've got a 66, too, in snubby form.

My EDC is a M19 2 1/2", bought it new in 1988, but looks like its a hundred years old. Wears a set of Herretts similar to Mackys, it's like an old friend now, comfortable to carry, comforting to have, just the greatest revolver made to date.

I can fully understand that. For many years, my EDC was an S&W Model 13, and I felt the same about it. The only reason I switched to a Glock about ten years ago (for the higher capacity) was due to a sudden rise in mob attacks.

Sold my 19s awhile back. Still have my 66, though.
Bob

If you would send me some targets like that, I could take cool pictures of my 66!

Update: Found one! 4" 19-5. A little rust and minor pitting, but I'm guessing she'll shoot.

S&W Model 19 is still offered in Classic line. The Model 19 is very common revolver almost as common as steel K-frame with .38 Special cylinder.

Let's see a picture.

Slavic, if you don't know the "Classic" line sucks, you must be a neophyte of the first order. Sleeve barrels, key locks, MIM. No thinks.

I am waiting patiently for Model 12 made between 1984 and 1986 that has been shot a little. I am sick and tired of seeing 12-3 and prior variants.

Did some quick research, did you?

I am very selective and know exactly what I want. I do not like .357 Magnum cartridge but I would buy first year of production Model 686 +. My admiration for "Blue Collar" means I would probably fall for Model 619 or 620.

I don't much care for the look of the Hogue finger groove grips on a 19, but they fit me well and I can't blame my shooting on the grips. I'll look for a set of wood target grips, and if I can't find a set, I'll make some in that imaginary future place where I have free time....

Don't know how I missed this the first time around. Congrats on a nice 19, 79S!

Looks good in the Hogues, but I agree that an old four inch 19 needs to wear OEM wood target grips. Congrats. Join the Model 19 club.

Nice looking M19. I think I have a set of factory target grips if you're interested I'll see if I can dig them up.

Here's mine, a S&W Model 19-4.

That's a nice one.

Pb, congrats, that's a peach!

MOGC, I would be interested.... Let me know if you can find them.

I was doing some pics for ad stuff and remembered we had a Model 19 thread, so..

Bumping it up!!

I got my 4" S&W 19 around 1971/72 at Norm's Gun Shop in White River Junction, VT. I put it away around the time that I got a 4" S&W 66 in 1994 and haven't shot it since. It has quite a bit of blue wear on the barrel and cylinder from where is rubbed on the leather Hunter belt holster that I carried it and its S&W 18 understudy in. I still have part of a box of Super-Vel ammo that I got at the same time as the S&W 19.

I wish that S&W had made the 696 with a 4" barrel to match the 4" 19/66 size and weight.

Now my preferred .357 MAG revolver is a S&W 620 7-shot, as it kind of splits the difference between the S&W 19 and the 27 weight and size wise.

Love those grips.

My S&W 19. Started off as a 2 1/2 inch. But since I regretted selling of my 3" Lew Horton 66 round butt with full length ejector rod I had it modified about 15 years ago. It now sports a 3" HB off a model 13 with a small rib to accomodate a standard height front sight with a full length ejector rod.

I carry it in either a Bianchi pistol pocket with 125 JHPs or if in the field with the Lost River 170 Keiths in a WWII era Victory shoulder/chest holster.