In mid 1972, I was sold a model 66 by my S&W dealer who described it as a souped up version of my long time carry model 19. I paid $273 for it cash. Might post some photos later today if I can keep people from trying to kill off or run over each other.

I was in college and in about '76 I bought a brand new 28-2. Been carried around more than shot but now rests in it's original box with tools amongst some of it's younger siblings. Looks wise, it's still pretty fresh due to lack of hard use.

The only one I was able to buy new was a 29-2 in 1978. Life got in the way and I ended up selling it to pay bills. My brother still has his 1973 model 19, and I have just finished making my dad's 1982 28-2 shootable again. I have many others now, but none purchased new.

I purchased this model 18-3 when I was nine years old. Actually I saved up the money and my dad purchased it for me. I didn't eat at school for a whole year and saved my lunch money. I saved birthday money and picked up bottles for the return deposit. The $130.00 it cost has brought much joy over the years. It will be with me as long as I live.

Attached Images

IMG_2770a.jpg (88.7 KB, 85 views)

__________________
FBINA 225

66-1

I still have the original grips, box, paperwork for it. Purchased through payroll deduction at $5 a week! Serial #76K2922

Ken L, I still have my 2 1/2" 66-1 I bought new some time in the late 70's. I still have the original grips, but no box or paper. The receipt is around here some where. Pictures have been posted before.

No pix handy, but I am the original purchaser of a 65 P&R and 14 P&R. (Also had a 17, but traded it for reloading equipment I never used... stupid, stupid, stupid!!!)

__________________
LEO since 1981.

19-3 4" bought new in 1970 - 19-3 2 1/2 " new in late 75 or early in 76 - a new old stock 14-4 bought in about 1983, never fired, traded for a sig 220 in about 93 bought back from the same shop (actually its successor) in about 2006 It wasn't unfired anymore but still spoke to me.

Just pulled out the box and the payroll deduction schedule was still in there. Total was $180.48 First payment was on 11/16/79 and the last payment of $5.48 was on 7/18/80. Purchased from Jones Equipment Company in Miami, FL. What is the serial number on yours??

That was a good price on your 66-1, KEN. I won't tell you what I paid for mine. Serial number is 30K0791, from 1978 I believe. I bought mine from a dealer in Kettering, OH. He had attended the S&W armorer's school and did an action job on the gun after I ran a couple hundred rounds through it.

Howdy

I had to think for a minute what 'P&R' meant. Here are my Model 17-3 and my Model 19-3. Bought both brand, spanky new in 1975. I don't remember now which one I got first, probably the 22. Anyway, they were my first Smith & Wesson guns. Turns out, all these years later, they are the only Smiths I ever bought brand new. I have lost track of how many Smiths I own now, but never bought anything brand new again. Had to run downstairs and check to be sure they are both 'pinned and recessed'. If I remember correctly, the 17 cost $125, the 19 cost $135. A lot for a kid in his twenties back then.

Attached Images

	Model_17.jpg (83.7 KB, 45 views)
	Model_19.jpg (74.7 KB, 41 views)

Let's see.... I have a 19, a 66, a 15, a 64, a 65, a 10, a 28, a 29, and a 57. All are P&R's (of course, the .38's are not "R"ed). All of them I am the original (and only) owner. All were purchased when I first started in LE and I was still single and actually had a couple of dollars to rub together. Many of them were carried on/off duty at one point or another so they are not safe-queens, but all of them are still in excellent condition with just a blemish or two here or there.

I graduated college in Dec. 1974 and went to work in the mines Feb. 1975. I was married making $800 a month. I learned pretty fast that life's lessons also come with tuition. Due to Dirty Harry, Smith 29s were few and far between. I thought any N frame magnum was rare and desirable. So when I saw a 4 inch model 28 in a discount store I jumped on it. Can't remember what I paid but when I got educated I sold it for $155. I hung onto that money and in June of 1976 I bought a 19-3, six inch for $190. I still have it, still love it. Also I was the original owner of a model 18 in July of 76 for $165. I sold it in 81 at a flea market for $200. Same day, same flea market I bought my used 17-3 for $210. I am pretty sure I wanted the six inch barrel to match the 19. Of course I wish I had both the 28 and 18 back, but by 81 I had three kids and didn't buy another revolver until 87, a model 57. Live and learn.

Time to run this thread through again to see if a few more original owners of pre-1982 revolvers can be found. Lotsa great stories that go way back!!

__________________
Terry

First came this 60-No Dash. Purchased it in '74 while stationed in Arizona as a "pocket companion". Even back then, in the border area, there were plenty of two-legged varmints.


Then in '75, in the midst of the Dirty Harry craze, I made the jump to a Model 29. It was to be a hunting/ desert knockabout gun.


Later, while stationed at Quantico, the LGS had a matched pair of 8-3/8" revolvers, a 14-4 and a 17-4. I had them set these up like my 29. By that time the 29 was my silhouette gun. The 17 was used for rimfire silhouette. The 14 didn't really have a mission, but was too nice to pass up.



Still have all four and they are fired regularly. The 29-2 went back to Springfield last summer for an overhaul after digesting 1000s of full-house silhouette rounds over the years.

__________________
-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

I thought I would include the receipt for the 29-2 with financed on it. That's how I had to do it back then.

29-2 8/1973
28-2 5/1975

19-3. 6in. Purchased new 1978

This one will also qualify as a pre-1982 revolver that I bought new in April, 1962, Model 28-2, S-224XXX, shipped March. 1962. This one is also still with me after only 50 years, and is also in pretty good shape. It does not remain un-fired.This is an old picture, taken at the same time my K-22, previously posted, was photographed, (about 2001).
I need to take some better pictures of these old guns.
teesur.

"I graduated college in Dec. 1974 and went to work in the mines Feb. 1975. I was married making $800 a month."

Whoa, big money!

I started with the sheriff's department in October 1976. I was making $550 a month, but at least it was just me.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Hummm... Of all the S&Ws I have ever owned...and it is well over 100, I only bought 5 new P&R guns back in the day....it was just too cheap to buy like new used ones to pass up.

1970, a Model 18 and 19, the same day..my father signed for them. The 18 was sold to my best friend when he found me a mint 1961 Model 53 Jet with two cylinders about 1974 and the 19 went through 20K rounds before being traded in 1980..

1973, a 29-2 that had 10K when it was traded for my favorite 1969 unfired .38 Super GM in 1980.

1973, a blue Bodyguard that was stolen in a burglary in 1975...

1978, a 25-2 that my now ex-wife decided was "her gun" the first time she fired it and won a trophy metallic silhouette shooting. She still owns the gun.

...and I can't say I miss a one of them....Bob

I was four years old when S&W stopped pinning the barrels and recessing the cylinders. I was born in the wrong era.

I have to admit these are some really interesting posts and some really nice looking history.

No pics but I currently only own 3 P&R Smiths that I purchsed new...
17, 19 and 29

Sorry I do not have the where-with-all to post a picture,but I still have my 6 in.pre-27 that I purchased new at King`s Sporting Goods in Honolulu,(T.H.) in Sept. 1954. - 58 years, and it still looks 95% to me.
Our Navy Patrol Squadron was headed for a tour in Kodiak Alaska (T.A.)
for the winter, and I just wanted something more tham my Mod. 12 Winchester with # 9 Shot, in case I ran into one of them "Big Bears" up there.

Mine is the one you see in my avatar. This is a P&R Mod.19-2,one of the first three to come to my hometown. There were two nickel and one blued. I purchased the blued one for $90.00 police pricing.the two nickeled ones were also purchased by fellow officers.
Down the road I gave it to my dad to use for awhile and when I got it back after he passed,he had let it develope some slight pittin g and very mild surface rust.
I cleaned it up well but sent it to Robar and had the entire piece refinished in NP3 and a gold bead silver soldered onto the front sight.
I know I destroyed any collector value by doing this,but I am an end user,not a collector,so I don't care. I love it.
It's not going anywhere anyway,and will remain in the family after I'm long gone. I was involved in one shoot with this one at a homocide scene. The miscreant caught an old Winchester lubaloyed semi wadcutter,but survived.
I think I have some more lousy cell phone pics,I'll try to put up. It still gets carry time occasionally.

Here are two pretty bad photos.I don't have any in the original finish.

Attached Images

	Photo-0088.jpg (45.2 KB, 45 views)
	Photo-0089.jpg (79.8 KB, 45 views)

Here's another I came across with my great grandmother's old .32 hand ejector,circa 1917.This was the first gun I ever fired when I was 8 years old.I was hooked for life.Funny story how that came about.Maybe I can spin that yarn sometime in another thread.

Attached Images

maggie 2guns & clip.jpg (64.4 KB, 34 views)

I still have 4,an 18-3,a 57 no dash 4'blue,a 57 no dash 6" blue,and a 29-2 6 1/2 blue.Along the way I "had'' 3 28s,2 or 3 19s,1 66,a 17 and a 15.Ah, the impetuosity of youth.

I bought this M-18 when I was in high school, sometime around 1973 or 1974 or so. I saw it in the case at a local gun shop. It had been stolen from the shop and then recovered, so they were selling it as "Used", even though it was in brand new condition. I don't recall exactly what I paid for it, but it was either $70.00 or $80.00.

I was 13 or 14 years old at the time. The shop owner called my dad to see if I could buy it. Dad said "yes" and I put a down payment of $25.00 to hold it. We came back a week or so later and paid it off.

The gun shop had a shooting range beneath it, so we got to shoot it before we took it home.

This M-18 has traveled many a mile with me in the woods. Somewhere along the line, I had the grip reshaped to a round butt.....:

Here is one more of my "bought new and still have", S&W's.
Model 13-1 with it's Jordan Trooper stocks. This one is rather interesting in that it's S/N is 3D158XX and there are no 3D serial numbers listed on page 399 of SCSW, 3rd., the list skips from 2D99999 to 4D00001. It's letter says it was shipped March 31, 1978, to Charles Greenblatt Co.. N.Y. city, N.Y. I bought it from a distributor in Baton Rouge, La., in April, 1978. A relative "new-comer", it's only been with me 34 years.
teesur.

I have a model 27-2 8 3/8's that I bought new in 1973. I wasn't old enough for a pistol permit but I wanted that gun so badly I paid for it in full and the gunshop owner held it until I got my permit. I fired nothing but handloads of my own cast 168 gr SWC on top of 7.0 gr Unique. A couple years ago the trigger went bad and I returned it to S&W for a full rebuild. I'll never sell it and I hope someone in my family will care enough about it to want it when I die ,but who can tell what the future will bring?

Model 19 bought new in 1971 and still have it. Shot it early on but not much since then. Plan on keeping it until my son gets it when I am no longer here. Not purchased new by me but have several 19, 27, 28 and 29 P&R Smiths. Great guns all.

I have several that fit your criterion. But here is a photo of the very last one that I purchased new, in 1982. It is lettered and actually left the factory in July, 1980. A Model 14-4.



Although not shown in the photo, it still has everything with it that came in the box (including the gun shop receipt) when I purchased it in La Grande, Oregon. I fired one cylinder full of ammo through it, cleaned it and put it away. It has never been fired since.

__________________
Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Stu - I can't get that Avatar to blow up large enough to be sure, but is that Eldon Carl standing second to the left? I knew him back in the day. He was an officer in the El Cajon Police Department when I was a teenager. My older brother used to assist him during his handgun shooting demonstrations. I believe I've seen this picture before. As I recall, Jack Weaver is the only one holding a revolver in the photo.
Jack

__________________
Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

There are some beautiful guns in this thread!

Here's my 6" 29-2 purchased new in 1980. I was too young to buy it so my mom signed for it for me! It was my first new Smith, and my first .44 mag.
It used to get a steady diet of the Keith load of a 240 SWC over 22 grains of 2400, ( I was young, and if it wasn't a maxed out load you were wimping out!) As a result of this the gun has been back to Springfield for overhauls three times and the factory reblued it twice, all at absolutely no charge. I won't say anything bad about Smith CS.
In the mid eighties it was the first gun that I sent to Andy Cannon for a deluxe tuning, got the first set of Hogue stocks I ever bought, and the first Millett sight I ever bought. These days it does have some end shake so it doesn't get shot a whole lot, and when it does, it's just with reduced loads. It's a keeper and I'll never part with it.

I freely admit to being stupid when it comes to guns I have bought NIB and let go for something I couldn't live without. I still have a Mdl. 18 (1967-$72) and a Mdl. 36 (1970?-$110), but over the years I have let go a Mdl.27, a Mdl.29 and two Mdl. 19's. I have replaced a couple of them, but the replacements belonged to someone else first. Buying and selling/trading guns over the last 50 years, I have made some bad decisions. But who knew some would become rare, extinct or valuable.

I've only got a handful of originals that I bought back in the 70's and kept.

One is a 4" M-66 with SS sights. IIRC it was $144 in 1972. Rays Sport Shop, North Plainfield NJ.

Second is a 17-3 I bought LNIB, in 1979, 3T's gun, still have it.

I've got a mess of older P&R guns but most were bought somethime during the past 20 years or so.

Model 19-4, which I bought in 1979, and a Model 29-2 which I bought in 1982.



I shot the 19 at a bowling pin match today. I'll probably shoot the club PPC match with it next weekend.

(There was a matching Model 17-4, but I've moaned about that enough times.)

Attached Images

19&29.JPG (47.5 KB, 310 views)

I still have my model 27-2, 6 5/8" barrel that I bought new in 1962 at Big 5. I also have a model 15-2 4" barrel that I bought almost new in 1966. I say almost new because I bought it from a friend who bought in new right before he got his draft notice and needed traveling cash. Came with the box and the 1/2 box of ammo that he hadn't shot.

The only one of my older S&Ws I still have from my first stint of buying is my customized M58; old serial # from the 60s, but bought NIB in 1978 or 79. The rest got sold for tuition, divorce, etc.

*
That looks like one of the photos from the old LeatherSlap (I think it was) group including Cooper, Weaver, et al.

__________________
NHI, 10-8.

I have only two Smith & Wessons that I bought new. A Model 19-3 that I bought in the early 1970's. I bought it because I thought it was one of the most beautiful guns I'd ever seen and I needed something besides my three screw Ruger to shoot .38/.357.
I also bought a Governor a couple years ago, because....well....because I wanted to. It's a fun to shoot, it got me into .45 Colt reloading, collecting another .45 Colt revolver and, for me, it's a good night stand gun.

Attached Images

	19-3Lc.jpg (134.4 KB, 17 views)
	19-3Rc.jpg (135.8 KB, 23 views)
	GovLc.jpg (123.0 KB, 18 views)
	GovRc.jpg (110.7 KB, 14 views)

Heck, I was born after the barrel pin was discontinued!

I own a couple pinned guns older than myself, though. Superb guns, each.

I have a few that I bought unfired in the box but I am not actually the
first person that owned them. I do have a 6" md 28-2 that I bought
new in Oct of 1966. As for a story; one day in about 1968, I was at a
local shooting range shooting the 28. Back then the range didn't have
nearly as much in the way of benches, backstops and frames as it does
today. I had walked downrange to get closer to the dirt mound back-
stop to fix a target and had left the 28 and it's two piece box about
50 yds behind me on the ground. I turned around just in time to see
some stupid little dog just disappearing over the hill onto the road
that led to the range with the top half of the 28's box in it's mouth.
I just said a few choice words to myself and walked back to the gun
and went back to shooting. Looking back on that I now wish that I
had ran back to my car and gone after the little bas**** but as they
say, hindsight is 20/20.

Attached Images

001.jpg (55.2 KB, 19 views)

As I have posted before, I still have my Model 19 that I bought in the BX at Guam. 1968 , I think.

__________________
NRA LIFE MEMBER

I bought this Model 19 when I turned 21 in 1977. I paid $200 even for it (out the door). I have shot about 1 box of .357 magnum through it and about 300 rounds of .38 special. It still looks brand new. I (stupidly) threw the original gray box out about 10 years ago before I knew better. I almost sold it to a co-worker earlier this year, but couldn't go through with the sale...I ended up selling him a Model 28 instead. I decided it will be the LAST gun I own as well.

Sorry I'm not the orginal owner with my older s&w revolvers. I'm a really late in life proud owner of s&w revolvers. I have no clue why I waited 44 years of my gun ownership to finally purchase a new s&w m57 & m58. For $699 each.
What started me on the s&w path was when I purchsed the 4yo grandson a 1948 s&w k22 in the orginal box with all the goodies.
What a fine quality revolver it is. It drove me to purchase the 41 magnums I always wanted since no one else offers them. Even my brand new 2012 s&w are awesome quality revolvers. This quest to purchase more s&w revolvers brand new or older won't stop till my last breath.

I refuse to change my ways.

Sorry I'm not the orginal owner but they are used in 99.99%. Ok I'm the second owner.

I have bought back two handguns I regret selling(a 1911 gov colt & a ruger mkII) I have one more to buy back yet a colt Python.

JP@AK,my apologies,I missed your question,but yes,it is he.Left to right,Ray Chapman,Eldon Carl,Thell Reed,Jeff Cooper,and Jack Weaver.The original Combat Masters

__________________
Blessed be the Lord,my Rock