Let's have some fun. I bought my first new S&W revolver in 1980 (no regrets).
In those days, out in the Pacific Northwest S& W revolvers sold fast (except for some
of the more expensive large models). I would go by a couple of stores every week on delivery day and, if things worked out right, I would snag something wild and exotic
(Target Hammers, Target Triggers, P&R, etc. etc.)

Let's dream wild and say it's 1980 all over again. And let's say you get lucky at your
favorite store. What would the lucky revover be and what would it look like?

Of course, this time we would know what we did not know then. That within 2-3 years
P&R would disappear and S&W revolvers would go off in directions that would make everything from 1980 frozen in time.

Use your imagination and tell me what wild finds you would snag. It was only
29 years ago (Where di dthe time go?)

Welcome to the forum

I bought my first new gun, S&W, and 44 magnum in about 1985. If I had had the money I would have bought it in 1980.

29aholoic, I bought my first 29-2 in 1993! In 1980 a model 10 or model 19 was a
real score for $150 to $250. A model 29 was $500 or more and very rare to find.
My first 29 was scratched and dented but shot well. I was glad of this later on, because
if you use one alot it gets worn. A preworn revolver causes alot less concern as it wears more. The used guns that I have bought have been used the most with the least concern
I think. I do have a Model 19 bought in 1980 with over 5000 rounds through it. No one would msitake it for a new gun today.

My first S&W was a model 14 single action.
It was in the early 80's I am fairly sure. I still
have it today and it is in very good condition.
I might just take it to the range tomorrow.
haven't shot it in a long time. Don

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"Don't worry be happy"

Hawkeye, I remember my uncle having one of those In the early 1980's
and we initially thought something was wrong because it would not
shoot double action.
The thing was the most accurate 38 any of us had ever shot. It had what they called 3 T's
in the day (Target Hammer, Target Trigger and Target Stocks, all 3 extra wide
and very comfortable for big hands). Congrats on your longlived 14 SA, a
real heirloom piece in my opinion

In 1985 I was working at a gun shop and was able to buy my first 29 at wholesale, but at the time the Dirty Harry hype was still on. Wholesale at the time was $375 (IIRC). Less than a year later they went down $100 in price. I have had over the years literally hundreds of guns...and a bunch of really good ones, but at times my 1st new gun has been the ONLY gun in my collection.

I have posted pics of it before, but since you are new here it is again.



It started life as a 6", but has long been "Skeeterized" to a 5".
Working at an indoor range for a while, this gun had 100 rounds shot through it almost every day for a while, although most were hot 44spl loads. I estimate it has had 30K through it as I have loaded several 12lb kegs of 44's over the years. At 1000 rds per pound with my pet load...thats a bunch.

Again...Welcome to the forum. I am not always right, but I am always willing

OK, 29aholic, now you get me thinking lots of questions (especially because of your picture)
that I must have answered.
Here goes:

1) Are those Herret wood grips? I have had this type on 357 k frames and liked these,
but not a 44 or other large N frame. I normally use pachmayrs (ugly rubber but comfortable
for alot of shooting). Your opinion of Herret grips on a 44? Looks like these have seen alot
of use?

2) Five inch barrels. Had one once on a Colt 38 and a S&W 45. Loved both. Have looked for one on a 44 for years but rare and very high priced. I have owned 4, 6, 6-1/2 and 8-3/8
in 44s. Still have 4, 6 and 6-1/2. I have alwasy wondered about how a five would be on
a 44 (you know in a perfetct world where a five was the same price as the others)
Your opinion on the five?
You had it cut down? Was it worth the cost and would you do it again?

3) So in the darkest of times you were always a 44 man. In the darkest of times, I was
always a 357 man (giving up 38. 45 and 44 only when necessary). Curious as to you reasons
as to why you chose that way.

Ok, you've got me thinking alot of thoughts here, Great talking with you

Well to try to answer

The grips are a set of Herrett Shooting Stars I whittled down to fit my hands.

I love the 5" for woods carrying, and the roll mark on the barrel is almost perfectly centered in the bbl. As for cost, I did the work myself. I also radiused a full wide target trigger to make it more comfortable in dbl action. Yes, I would do it again, although appearance wise I like 6.5" bbls better.

I have always believed that the 44 was the best looking revolver proportionately, I feel the same way about 4" Model 19's. I believe the 19 is the 29 of the K frames.

In the darkest of times I would keep a 44, as I reload and it I believe it is way more versatile than a 357.

I was about 100 mi. from home in college and I had 'borrowed' off and on some of my Dad's guns (.38 Super LW Commander among others). I went to a gunshow in Knoxville and traded off a .303 British Jungle Carbine and, I don't know, maybe $150 or $200 for a 4" Blue Model 25 in .45 Colt. First handgun I bought myself - had it until 1993 when I had to have an M29. Had a choice between a Mtn gun and the 3" unfluted 29-4; got the 3". I must say it was a lot more accurate than the M25! Still have it.

1980 huh? I was 10 at the time, but let's say I had the funds and dad was signing the 4473 I'd have to go with what I already own from 1980. A 6" 629, 1st year production, it's sweet and put together right, lockup is vault tight and does it shoot! Found it new in it's original presentation case 2 yrs ago, it's a keeper. I feel we'd all be better off if times were like 1980 instead of the way things are now, we had a new good president unlike now and we actually had a bright future unlike today. Here it is:

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Sie vis pacem parabellum

Could not have said it better myself, I second that post. Our ages are the same and our feelings are the same just exchange the gun to a 1980 6" M57 that I have on layaway. I will post a picture when I get it. Great thread!

If I could go back to 1980 and buy any S&W I would buy a Nickel 27-2 with 4 inch barrel as my favorite looking S&W are model 27-2's with the checkered top strap. The 4 inch barrel model was short lived and is very hard to find now and if in great shape they are pricy.

Lets see, 1980. My parents were in high school and I was -4 years old.

Guess I can't play? :-P

I would probably get a model 13 as that's what I want now (if they were a production model at the time, I don't know the dates). I like the looks of the pencil barrel model 10's as well.

Just about 1980, (or so ) I bought my first Mk 4 series 70 Government model and started re loading 45 a.c.p.

If I were shopping for a Smitty in 1980 it would be a 27-2 4" blue. BUT my friend Mike said it well , a 629, 4" would also be nice.

Oh , and here's a picture of that 27-2 4" from 1980













Allen

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NRA cert.instructor&R.S.O.

I'd look for a pre-war Kit Gun that some fool had traded in.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

My first new S&W was a M28 6" that i bought in 1970 for a grand sum of $118.00, I also bought a used 6" Python at the same time for $110.00.

In 1980 I was a new MT resident having moved here from NJ in 1979. I was accustomed to "New Jersey Pistol Purchase Permits" that required fingerprinting, a fee and even as a cop....a healthy waiting period.

Being able to simply fill out a yellow form and walk out with the gun was intoxicating.

I recall M-520's at well under list as few people wanted non adjustable sights. I did buy a 3" RB M-547 for less than list and after shooting it a bit promptly sold it. I wasn't impressed with a 6 shot nine when I owned a 13 shot BHP.

M-29's and M-57's which were virtually unavailable in NJ were somewhat common out here. I recall in the $360 to $400 range.

The new stainless 629's were tough to find though. And as always 19's, 66's, 60's, 27's and 28's were sought after as well. So few deals on those.

I also recall that the quality of fit and especially finish (bluing) was starting to slip at this time too. At least compared to the 60's and 70's guns.

If I was looking for anything at that time it was probably an older M-19 or early M-66 they have been a favorite to this day.

FN in MT

Allen, that's a magnificent lineup my friend! I have to ask what the neighbors must think with you carrying armfuls of S&W's for a photoshoot?

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Sie vis pacem parabellum

My first Smith was a Model 10, 4 inch. Bought it in 1964. I was so ignorant of Smiths that I thought this was the only gun they made. Walked into Buckhorns, Dallas, Tx, the summer of 1966. Saw my first 29. Had to ask Mr. Hodge what it was. A week later I went back to try to buy it or trade him out of it. It was gone.

Did not see another until I walked into Jim Ferris' little shop on Jefferson St., Dallas. He did not have one, but knew where one was. He called this man; waited 45 mins for him to show. He brings in a pristine, 4" five screw in the original box w/ all the stuff. Did not know what I was looking at; gave the man $200. I was disappointed because it was not a 6.5". Sometime later I gave the 4" and $75 to Wylies Gun Shop, Dallas, for a 6.5. What a dumb trade. The 6.5 was probably 85-90%. A three screw to boot. The stupidity of youth.

Like some of you others, had many 29s and 629s down thru the years. All were P&R; all different barrel lengths. I even obtained 2 more 5 screw, 4" 29s. Don't have any of them now.

Currently, have a love affair with the old .44 Spec. Got this bug from reading Skeeter Skelton. Never got to meet him, but met Bill Jordan at a Ft. Worth Gunshow in Nov of '89. What a treat getting to meet a historical person in the gun world. He appeared to be a real nice person. Bob in Texas

I was just 18 in 1980, but if I could go back in time, there is no question what I would have bought.

A Jovino. Jovino's was still making "effectors" at that time. A model 25, round butted, chopped barrel with some ugly rubber grips. If I am allowed to bring back more then one, I would buy 10 of them. I prefer mine without the effector engraved on the barrel.

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Dave

In 1980 I would be happy to pickup a new model 18 or model 15.

No wait I would just get both !

Texan

I was a little older then and actually bought my first S&W that year. A 29-2. They were very hard to come by. The list price was probably in the $350 range, but many were selling for around $500, unless you wanted to get on a waiting list for a long time. To put things in perspective, that $500 in 1980 would be equivalent to over $1,400 right now, so they weren't exactly a bargain.

I know what you are getting at about the political climate, but you may be a little off. Reagan wasn't elected until Nov 1980, so we were still in the dregs of the Carter years. Hostages in Iran, oil shortages, terrible president, national malaise, etc. Things were about to get better, but we didn't know it. I hope we are in a similar position right now and brighter days are ahead.

In 1980 I bought my first handgun, a brand new six inch Colt Python. I bought a two inch S&W M64 the next year to carry.

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Peter
S&WCA #2620

Bought my first S&W revolver in 1983. It was a Model 60. If I could go back, I'd pick up a few Model 13s with three inch barrels and round butt frames.

In 1980 I was beginning to seriously collect and accumulate pre-War High Standards plus the occasional Colt 1911. This continued for about 10 years, and during this time the only S&W I owned (which I still have) was a Model 29-2 w/ 4" barrel. I'm embarrassed to say now that it has an 8 3/8" barrel that I had installed to make it more suitable to dabble with handgun silhouette. BUT... if I knew then what I know now, I would have bought that strange K-frame revolver at the local gun shop, a K-32 that was made to go along with the K-22 and K-38 that a few bullseye shooters still had in their gun boxes. I've acquired the latter two over the years and even had a Model 16-4 for a while, but the classic K-32 of the immediate post-War period through the '70s has continued to elude me.

Froggie

Back in the mid 70's, my dad's buddy shows him a crate of surplus 30 carbines he bought for $12 each. I don't know how many were in a "crate" (10, 12?) but Dad tried to buy a couple... nah, he wanted to keep it full.

Anyway, if I could go back to 1980, (and I know then what I know now) I would need a large truck to bring back all the cheap mil-surplus model 10's, 1917's, 1911's, carbines, Garands.. etc.

In 1979, I was 19, and had my dad buy me my first revolver, a Virginian Dragoon in .44 Magnum. It cost $239. This is back when PayLess Drugstore sold firearms, and they also had a Colt Gold Cup, and it was $350! I've always kicked myself for not buying it instead. However, I also know I wouldn't have it now, with all the bad trades I made in the early part of my shooting hobby!

I bought my first reloading outfit also, and would laugh about the fact that I couldn't buy .22 ammo because I wasn't 21, but could buy everything I needed to put together .44 Magnum ammo!

I didn't get my first S&W until I was 30, and lived in Idaho. It was a 4th Model Safety Hammerless, 2", .38 S&W, in pristine condition. I paid $150 for it. I wound up trading that and a Security Six for a brand new SP101 that I couldn't live without. Hindsight is 20-20!

I remember me and my brother walked into a military surplus gun shop back in the early 1980s and they had just taken delivery on several crates of Model 97 US trench shotguns, all decked out for war, still covered in cosmoline. They had cleaned up ten or so and had them lined up on the display wall, priced at $100.00 a pop. Each came with a bayonet. We both thought about buying one each, but eventually decided that, even at that price, what did we want with an old war shotgun. Man, I've been kicking myself ever since for that. If I could go back to that moment, I'd buy at least ten of those.

A 4" Model 57 or a 4" 29


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

C'mon now. 1980 wasn't THAT long ago, was it?
Started out in '73 with a new Model 60. It was $123 OTD.
Followed with a 14-4 and a 17-4, both about $200.
Of course, it seemed like serious money back then..

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

It was serious money back then. I am now collecting a modest retirement pension and Social Security and I'm getting almost exactly 3 times what I was earning then working hard at teaching unappreciative youngsters the joys of Biology and Earth Science. Every time I look at the "cheap" prices back then I have to remind myself of these facts.

Froggie

1982: My best friend bought a 27-2 6"bue in a presentation case. I loved it and bought a 28-2 6"
By 83', the 28-2 had been polished and reblued to look like a 27-2, and I ended up selling to another buddy and bought a like new 27-2 for (again) $300!

Now, I was on even setting with my best friend (In my mind). We would try to shoot weekly with a box of factory .357's and a box of .38 wadcutter reloads. Now 50 divided by 6 = 8 cylinders full and 2 extra rounds.

We would save the last 4 rounds of .357's and .38's for the "Beer Round"

We would load each others gun (in a random order of mags, empty holes and Spl's", 4 hots and 2 "nots". Note the .38's shot about 2" higher than a .357 at 75'. The one with the best group got the beer bought after shooting.

I feel I never lost. I did "develope a flinch" quite a bit of the time so he wouldn't get discouraged though.

After a couple of years, I broke down and told him that I always aimed about an inch inch low to compensate for the different calibers trajectories. He always tried his best and took careful aim, and sighted dead on (Magnum POI) for every round and couldn't understand why I would beat him!

My 1" lower aim brought the .38's down into the 10/10X range and still kept the .357's in the 9/10 ring.

His dead on hold got him 1 or 2 tens and 2 8's or nines.

We were closer in points after I told him, but with me shooting a lot more than him, I still got my beer bought most of the time.

I wonder what those old, worn out 357 magnums, you know... the registered ones, were going for back in 1980...

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Proud anachronism

I would buy a 4" 629 with the wood presentation box and tools.

Wow, that is a tough question. Here goes:

3 inch round butt Models 10 and 13, blue
4 inch Model 27, blue
4 inch Model 18
4 inch Model 15
4 inch Model 10 standard barrel
4 inch Model 19
6 or 6 1/2 inch Model 29 (not sure if the length had switched by 1980)
2 inch Model 60

Item:11082788 Smith & Wesson 29-2 6.5' For Sale at GunAuction.com

l bought this gun less than 2 yrs ago on AA for $755...lt sold recently on GB for $2000.. l would say Wash/0re gun are going up.. P&Rs too

http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/Vie...Item=398381618

l got the new case off ebay for a hund..Brand new case..0ld stock..Never had a gun in it..Sleeve too

If I could go back to 1980 I think I would buy up all the Smith & Wesson wood stocks that were thrown into the $5.00 and up buckets that every gun shop had at the time. Sell them today and make enough to but a mint registered magnum , a pre 29 and a Colt Python.

In the 80's , I was more into Gibson guitars and Marshall amps but this one got me started in the 90's.

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Buckeye Firearms Assn.

1984, went to a gun show in Branson MO which was held at the local High School. It was a pretty big show at the time. Picked up a barely used 686 (no dash). It cost me $245. A couple years later when the Hogue's brought their trailer with a portable set of equipment I bought a set of Pau Ferro grips and had Guy Hogue himself fit them to the gun. I still have just that way and still own it and shoot it. It has seen many a round shot in competition.


The gun has a .500 target trigger which I had ground smooth and contoured for double action shooting.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

In September, 1981 I was at the NRA National Police Revolver Championships in Des Moines, Iowa. Many of the shooters in the Distinguished Matches were using tuned Colt Pythons. S&W was introducing their new competing model to the Python, the 586 Distinguished Magnum. Myself and team members just had to have this new gun and orders were placed. In February, 1982 we received our guns, all with AAA series serial numbers. Mine has the high post front sight that allows a neck hold on the B27 target at the 50 yard position. It took a few years to compile the required 30 points, but I finally received my Police Distinguished badge. This gun has an unbelievable smooth double action.

I bought these from the estate of a dear relative. They are still like brand new. Check out the receipt from 1980. These are definitely two of my favorites.

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If I could go back to 1980 and buy any S&W, I would buy a S&W 520. No doubt. It would be cheating, cause I would be a time traveller and I'd know it would be a unique revolver. But yes, a model 520.

Yep, the old gun shop I started going to as a teen had 2 boxes full of factory grips from colts, smiths, and rugers..... Everybody had to have the pachmayers that were so popular then, also had boxes of holsters I'd love to dig through today.

my first S&W was a 4" 686 I purchased in 1987, if I could go to 1980 I'd probably buy a 651 w/3" barrel, for some reason I always wanted one.

Three inch Model 19s.......... both with the fixed (picture a blue Ladysmith) and adjustable sights!!!!!!!

I got 2 3" 66s in the late 80s when no one wanted a 6 shooter anymore ...$279 each....... picked up a used one about 12 years later..... the best all around carry gun!!!!!!!!!