Recent content by AtTheRange

I inherited two at the same time; a model 19 .357 made at the tail end of 1958 and a model 39-2 nickel plated 9mm made in 1974. They both have newer stocks while the originals undergo refinishing. The rubber grip on the 9mm was too big for my hand so I found some verry pretty wood stocks.

I wish mine were that pristine. It was made at the tail end of 1958 before the first mod and the "-1". Mine served in law enforcement and has a lot of holster wear. But, I will not complain. I got if for free when my friend passed away.

Very nice. I also have a 19 made at the tail end of 58 and shipped in July 59 to a sporting goods store in Philly. It was the only 19 in a 6-gun shipment all marked various police depts. I know my late friend bought it from a retired LEO in north St Louis County. How it got from Philly to STL is...

I have a 357 that belonged to a LEO. I don't shoot because it has holster wear and doesn't look brand new. I shoot it because that's what it was made for! Take care of it, yes. But don't keep it under glass all the time.

SWEEEEET! That would be 'my' birth year gun but, I've already inherited this 19 made at the end of 1958. I put some Altamont stocks on it so, I can shoot it while I properly refinish the original stocks.

Yes, I 'do' know. I guess it doesn't matter if I mention the names. After all, it was 30-40 years ago that my friend bought the gun. From the 80's to when he died in 2020 my friend just kept it wrapped in a gun sock and stored it. The LEO retired from Vinita Park and my friend lived right next...

I’m posting this here because I don’t see a general topic forum for the question I’m going to ask. My #19 was passed to me by my late friend. He said he bought it in the 80s from a retired LEO who “wanted to take his personal protection in a different direction.” This LEO retired from a small...

I just inherited my model 19 (1958) and another S&W semi automatic. These are my first two firearms ever. I've always looked at guns with "meh, it's a gun" attitude. But something about the 19 made me fall in L-O-V-E with it just cleaning it up before firing it the first time. My friend had said...

Thank you all for your inputs. I have saved all your suggestions in a word doc. For now, I'm going to hold off on taking any action. I have some friends that do a lot of medieval woodworking and if this pandemic ever ends and we can congregate again, I'll show them the stocks and consult. In the...

1974 for S/Ns 4K54105-4K99999

A friend over in KC shot me these pics. I can't quite make out the last digit on the handle.

In my last (and very first) post, I introduced you to my inherited #19 made in the last quarter of 1958. I was told to get rid of the horrid finish on the stocks. Well, I went to my first gun show last Saturday and yep, these are horrid. I did the initial stripping with acetone and much came...

RE: How does it shoot? I was going to post a picture but I'm not seeing how I can? The first six rounds, put thru it at ~8.5-9 yards all hit center mass. These were .38 rounds. I also brought along six .357 rounds to try. Four, out of those, also hit center mass. I turned around and my friend...

RE: The damaged ejector rod THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU! Jack First Gun Parts did have the rod listed and I jumped all over that order. Being borderline OCD, I was tempted to have the gun restored as much as I could; functionally and cosmetically. I didn't care about the resale value. It...

Thank you for all that input. This is exactly what I'm looking for. And you're right, I don't have a lot of experience with this ....yet. My HOG chapter did 'A Night at the Range' event last November and my friend offered to let me take/shoot this weapon and his semi automatic S&W #39-2 made...