Recent content by French Grumpy Bear

Thank you very much for these interesting details. :) This is probably why the production figures for special productions (M-19RS, M-19P, etc.) are known, whereas those for standard production will probably always remain in the shadows.

;) A job for the S&W Historical Foundation? ;)

Thank you very much for your reply. However, I'm still extremely surprised that a firm like S&W doesn't have a precise record of the number of units produced per model. It's a basic piece of management information that seems to me to be essential for both industrial and management control...

I'm disappointed by this answer... but thank you for giving it to me and it's reassuring in terms of my research skills. On the other hand, I find it hard to understand why S&W would consider this to be "sensitive" or strategic information that the company wouldn't want to divulge. Especially...

Hello everyone, Having spent some time on the internet gathering information on the history of the Smith & Wesson Model 19, I am very surprised to have found nowhere a rather basic piece of data: how many Model 19s did Smith & Wesson produce from 1955 to 1999 (i.e. 19-8 included, before its...

It seems that my information on Italian legislation was incorrect or out of date. Good news, I'll be able to consider moving to Italy again for retirement... ;-)

After that, ivory stocks are quite common... and General Patton's Registred Magnum is a good example ;-)

No, I don't think so. On the other hand, it can crack if excessively dehydrated, or stain due to its relative porosity. In other words, it would be a fragile material requiring a great deal of care for a handgun. I understand that it fluoresces brightly in bluish tones under black light, like...

Nice weapon. Personally, I prefer the aesthetics of Baughman Quick Draw-type front sight ramps, but Partrige's are probably perfect on a 6" barrel for target shooting. The white insert on my Model 19 probably indicates that its original owner also intended it for target shooting (better contrast...

Here's the Model 19 box label, which is indeed the original box. Unfortunately, it is partly torn. However, no specific mention is made of the front sight.

That's my opinion too: slightly higher in the ramp than usual inserts and shorter overall.

I'm not familiar with the Italian market, I just know that the 9x19 Luger is banned for civilians there (whereas the .45ACP is authorized...). A priori, as far as revolvers are concerned, the Italian market shouldn't be very different from the French market, i.e. fairly limited (there, the...

Hello Hawg Rider, Thank you for your appreciation of this 19-3, it is indeed in excellent condition and I acquired it without any hesitation, whatever my questions about the insert (my aim concerning the insert is to get to know this gun and its history better). There are some great...

Hello, In France and more widely in Europe, the .41 Rem Mag is very rare. So yes, manufactured ammunition in .41 Rem Mag is very, very hard to find. I unearthed an old stock of Federal Power Shok 210 gr. from a big gunsmith and took a little more than half of the lot. Otherwise, Hornady...

The insert is smooth (no horizontal grooves). Which would rule out a Mag-Na-Port installation, if I understand correctly. Moreover, as the photo shows, the insert is not flush on either side of the blade, but is very slightly recessed.