Smith & Wesson revolver 1970's

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And the world is full of comedians. Larry:D

Ain't that the truth!

Actually, Elvis was fond of firearms, as we all know, but what we don't all know is that he was instrumental in setting up Cuban S&W-production.

C. R. Hellstrom lead a dual-life. He often clandestinely performed with Elvis and hung out with him as much as he could. Elvis used his undue influence with Hellstrom to secretly obtain specifications for all the models, which he concealed in his music that was exported to Cuba. (No one cared about Elvis' music, so no one bothered to inspect it at customs.)

Roy Jinks found out about this evil deed, but he could not stop it before the damage was done, even though it is rumored he personally swam to Cuba to try to recover the stolen documents. He was so exhausted after he swam back that he could only assume the job of company historian and has never been properly thanked for his heroism. To this day, the private life of Hellstrom is virtually unknown.

"My work here is done." :)
 
Excuse me gents,I'll be away from the forum for a few minutes.Gotta go slip on my Wellingtons!
 
I've shared the story elsewhere on the site about a gun dealer's minion who was telling a nice young couple that all Smith & Wesson revolvers are made by Taurus in Brazil. I asked the young lady to pick up the Smith & Wesson and read what was on the right side of the frame below the cylinder. When she got to "Made in U.S.A," I thanked her and walked away.

ECS

"...all Smith & Wesson revolvers are made by Taurus in Brazil."

We all could have told that counter minion that story, company and its products was all a bunch of bull. After all, the name gives it away.
 
Actually I'm surprised you guys are so busy clouding the issue that no one asked how the OP came by this info. Is there a reference he can cite?[the answer to that would be a joke in itself!] I will admit ,Bangor Punta, Marcas Registradas, and a little imagination can make for some fun humor tho'..... Don'cha wonder how you can get an S&W revolver but no cigars from Cuba? Man,a Model 27 or 29 cased in a humidor with a dozen Havanas would sell well if you can keep the gun from rusting. Nick
 
I was working down on Wall Street, NYC when they had a parade for a guy named Fidel who had just overthrown a dictator named Batista in Cuba. He was wearing a couple of S&W revolvers and smoking a cigar. Now you can't get Cuban made cigars or S&W's. This embargo has to stop now. There was a secret plant run by a guy named Che. Time for my meds.
 
I found a Model 27 in a pawn shop with the serial number FC 1. Do you think I missed on a opportunity to buy Fidels own personal S&W? I could just kick myself for passing on that one!

John
 
Bangor Punta ran that little sporting house in Havana next to the factory. Goncalo Alves, her husband, was also the plant manager overseeing the Cuban operations. Rumor is that Castro was a frequent visitor to the sporting house and that as a favor to Bangor, he allowed the factory to stay open and did not nationalize it. The guns were imported into the US through Brazil to avoid the embargo that was in existance at the time between Cuba and the US. Fascinating bit of Smith & Wesson history.

Interesting. All this time I thought Bangor Punta was a verb and that Goncalo Alves ran a house of ill repute for Castro's regime.
 
Actually I'm surprised you guys are so busy clouding the issue that no one asked how the OP came by this info. Is there a reference he can cite?[the answer to that would be a joke in itself!] I will admit ,Bangor Punta, Marcas Registradas, and a little imagination can make for some fun humor tho'..... Don'cha wonder how you can get an S&W revolver but no cigars from Cuba? Man,a Model 27 or 29 cased in a humidor with a dozen Havanas would sell well if you can keep the gun from rusting. Nick

Did you ever wonder why the started manufacturing in stainless steel? There you go!
 
no only +B

Cuban Spanish
p [p]. Does not occur at the ends of words, and is pronounced slightly differently from English [p](it might sometimes sound like ).
 
Welcome to the Forum. I believe the SN on the model 17 begins with the number 5, and if so it probably shipped from the factory (Springfield, MA) in 1974. There is another S & W facility in Maine, but as Bill noted they have never had a manufacturing plant outside the US. If the model 17 in question seems to work normally I would buy and enjoy it. Hope this is helpful.

To your question about the sticky cylinder - toward the end of the -3 run (for example 19-3, around S/N 8Kxxxxx), S&W moved the gas ring from the cylinder to the yoke. The firing gas and debris would then get into the cylinder bearing gap and start to cause the cylinder to drag. I sent a couple guns back to S&W and they put a cylinder gas ring on them and that fixed the problem. I doubt if they still do this, but you might check. On your 19, remove the front side plate screw which will let you remove the yoke and cylinder. Then slide the cylinder off the yoke and clean the bearing surfaces for a temporary fix. I don't know if S&W ever put the gas ring on the yoke of N frames. Eventually the -4's fixed this problem. Hope this helps.



Thanks for giving the new member a serious answer. This place is not very tolerant of new and misinformed members. I'm sure that the members that gave the cute answers were born a genius and never had to learn anything.
 
This place is not very tolerant of new and misinformed members. I'm sure that the members that gave the cute answers were born a genius and never had to learn anything.

On the contrary, I'm sure most of us here learn something new every day, I know I do. My observation has been that most folks here are very tolerant of new members, and try to answer even the most basic questions patiently, no matter how many times they are asked. The flip side is that most new members display a genuine interest in learning, and post their questions in a respectful manner, for lack of a better term. In this case I think most folks gave the OP a pass on the Cuba statement in his first post. However, when he came back with the obvious attitude displayed in post #6, as Maximumbob54 said, it was on. Not trying to stir controversy, just my thoughts on the situation, worth what you paid for them...
 
That explains why my M & P smells like a cigar, it was smuggled over during in the early 80's when all the boats drifted north to Florida. From now on when I take out my Model 27 to show people I am going to say it with the following "Say hello to my little friend!" and I will tell them it belonged to Tony Montana.

Hey, I know where there is an early Smith break open. I think I will buy it and tell folks it was in the Spanish-American war and a relative captured it when American forces took Cuba.

From now on all Hong Kong Smith revolvers were in fact made in China. Get em while they're hot!
 
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