When I was a "kid" and rad my dads hunting magazines I read the S&W add that described the 6" Mod 19 as the best all round revolver.
38 wadcutters for target and practice, 38 Specials for defense, and 357 Mags for hunting. I knew some day i would have one...

However my first rifle was a Ruger Deerstalker in 44 Mag. My first revolver a Super Blackhawk in 44 Mag, my first S&W revolver a 6 1/2" Mod 29...

So I just never became a 357 Mag kind of guy...

I did use a 6" Mod 14, with a Bomar Rib as my PPC gun. This stock barreled shot as good,and better than any of the other Custom Bull Barreled PPC guns I ever shot. And I shot most of the best guns of the day...

However, I needed a short barreled revolver for "Snub Nosed" matches.

So I bought a 2 1/2" Mod 19. Again I must have been lucky as this short Mod 19 shot as good at 25 yards as any 6" Custom PPC gun I ever fired.

I won many a Snub Nosed Match with it. I did the action job myself.

I even carried it on some plainclothes assignments. It was 100% reliable with full power 357 Mag ammo and very accurate.

I must say it is my most favorite K frame.

However I am an N frame S&W kind of guy, in calibres of 44 Mag and 45 ACP, and I make no apologies for it...
But I still have a soft spot in my heart for a 2 1/2" Mod 19...

If I WAS, a 357 Mag kind of guy, I would have a whole "fleet" of 2 1/2" Mod 19's... And a few 4" and 6" ones as well, with a few Mod 66's thrown in too...

I agree. Awesome gun!

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NRA Certified Instructor

Also, I will say, that I just do not understand, why S&W does not make a Mod 19 and 66 today in 357 Mag.

OK, WE ALL KNOW, that a K frame 357 Mag is not as rugged as an L frame or an N frame 357 Mag...

That was known from the start of the K frame 357's...

I think this problem started when Police Depts. started requiring officers to qualify with 357 Mag ammo. "Back in the day" most Depts had their officers shoot 38 Special ammo, but they could carry 357 Mags.
Durring this time I was carrying a S&W 44 Mag, and I had to shoot 44 Mag ammo in my qualifications as well.

The K frame 357 is just not suited to a lot of 357 Mag ammo, and as it is so light it just kicked too much for the average officer, in a 50 round qual course with 357 Mag ammo.
The truth is no Police carried 50 rounds of ammo on their belt...

The L frame solved 2 "problems" it was stronger and heavier, so it lasted longer and kicked less...

But this was near the end of the Big Magnums of Police carry, and near the end of Police issue of Revolvers...

However for Sport Use, I still think a K frame 357 Mag is an excellent choice, for 357 Mag kind of guys...

IS THAT BOTTON ONE A 1971-72? NO DASH 64? BEAUTIFULL K FRAMES.

My favorite K-frame in my collection is a 10-5
My favorite K-frame NOT in my collection is a 65 (preferably P&R)

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John 3:17
<><

I like them all, from 2" to 4". This M19-3 is one of my better shooting, and the M66-2 is built for carry. Both are sweet.

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July 4, 1776 not Jan 30, 1909

17-3

This is not an easy question to answer.


10-8, 2 1/2"




or,


M&P Pre-10 that shipped in October of 1946




or,


19-2 from 1968

This thread makes me want to look for an M&P Pre-10 snub!

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NRA Certified Instructor

It's hard not to like a Model 10.

Much thanks for that link to the speedloaders.

better known as the pre-13

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2 Timothy 1:7

That beauty can start collecting Social Security! Gorgeous revolver Tom. Long time, no see. Good to see you back!

As I mentioned before my favorite is a 3" 66-2, followed by my 19-3 with a 17-3 coming in 3rd. They are the most perfectly balanced revolvers ever made IMO and are extremely accurate to boot. Especially the 17-3. This is my nice one. Have a beater and I mean beater for shooting and hunting. It will keep up with my model 41 on the range.

Nice "K's" everyone. Here's mine, in order:

66-2


19-3


17-3

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V/R
Roger / SG

Love those early post war M&P's with the long action

These .22LR Combat Masterpieces...




Tim

I posted a couple of my favorites earlier, M19/66's. However, a couple of the other K frames had their feeling hurt, so here are a couple more.
M15-4


M12-3

since no one mentioned my favorite k frame,i will. any model 53 with any bbl length.

*
I have a 4" 66, and would no problem carrying it for a lot of uses. However, I do recall some of the issues that came up with the "train with .38s, carry .357s" paradigm. One, very simply, was that the radical difference in shooting the boomers under stress compared to wadcutters on the range was that shooter performance in actual shootings was ... poor. This is also related to the ergonomics of the revolver compared to the auto pistol, especially for those with small hands. John Bowman at the U/Illinois Police Training Institute wrote an article on the issue in the late 70s or early 80s, describing a female officer who had an awful time with the 66, and did great with the 1911. (John was the sort of guy who would tell off Chiefs when they started hand wringing about the officers carrying 1911s - maybe even worse than me.)

There were a couple of spectacular and ugly lessons about training as one fights that had a lot of impact on LE firearms training. The Newhall incident's impact was more on high risk encounter tactics and range procedures. NYSP had an ugly civil case in the early 60s (as I recall) in which their firearms training was raked over the coals in terms of judgment and proficiency under stress. As a result, NYSP shot a LOT, and almost all of it with service ammo. In their revolver days, it was enough to screw up their K frames pretty quickly. I spoke to one of their troopers about it, and he described a very high volume of shooting, and told me that this had resulted in substantial damage to the Ks, leading to a move to the N frames. The inability to "fudge" by using wimp ammo in training with auto pistols was advocated as another supporting reason for such a transition.

There is research data from the Marine Corps (I have assumed it is from their HSLD folks in Force Recon, as they are among the few who shoot enough and under controlled circumstances, but I don't know) which showed that measurable deterioration in shooting skill shows in 7 days without training. A realistic volume of shooting (500+ rounds/week) for maintaining skill using ammo that actually reflects that with which one needs to be able to perform will beat the heck out of many firearms, and in revolvers, K frames will start to poop out fastest. Given that knowledge, I can't blame S&W for not wanting to deal with the issues that will come from hard shooters and K frames, much as I like that frame.

I don't mean to single out revolvers, especially the K frames - there are a couple of makes and models of auto pistol which have reflected a lot of fragility under such use.

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NHI, 10-8.

Most of us don't have the ability to shoot 500+ rounds a week but I have heard of Model 64's with documented 70,000+ round counts before they needed to be rebuilt.

The French GIGN shoots every day and their .357 revolvers are a mainstay. I forget the exact amount but they shoot several hundred full bore .357's every day for training and the Ruger GP100 and Manurhin were the only revolvers they found were able to take the abuse of daily training.

[QUOTE=vrichard;136352612]Mdl.10-5
Dick

[/QUOTE

On vacation in Viet Nam north today in Chau Long Sapa 1click from the Chinese border. Its beautiful here. Got to keep in touch. I love the Skinney barrel mod-10 4" for K frame guns. Haven't found one when I have money. Last one I got was a worn Mod-66 but good shooter. Harry

By the way Viet Nam aint the same place I remember. Long Binh 518th Engineers Nov 1970- 27 July 1971. Long Binh is not there and Tahn Son Nuit Air Base is Ho Chi Min Airport. Where'd the Soda Stands go? Has anyone seen Jay Bucktel?

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US ARMY
Viet Nam 70-71

My favorite K-Frame revolver is a toss up. My pride and joy is the 4" .22LR 18-2 that I bought at a gun show in Albany, GA about 2000. I sold a decent Yugoslavian 24/47 and a bayonet to get the cash. At the time, I paid to much... $325, but I am so thankful I spent the money. It was and remains about 98% condition. And it shoots like a houseafire! If there is any uncertainty about this being my favorite K-Frame, it is only because earlier this year I found a bought a 4" 15-3 (ca. 1969). Only a tiny bit of corrosion on the barrel keeps it from being 100%. I got it and a RIA 1911 in a trade for a Glock 22. I was pleased. The 15-3 is beautifully fitted and finished. It showed no signs of ever being fired. I took care of that! Together these two revolvers are ideally matched. Put them down side by side and you can't tell them apart except for the bore size. I am so very thankful to have the privilege of owning and using these revolvers. I do suppose the 18 is my favorite, but it's a hard choice.

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<><

This 17-4 goes to the range every time I do.

I have a number of Ks, in various persuasions. I love them all, and shoot them all when possible.

But the softest spot in my heart is has to be not for the nicest, or flashiest, but for the oldest and humblest of them all.

My birth year M&P. Things were just special in 1947:

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

There are some beautiful K frames out there. I have been watching this thread since the beginning posts and debating my favorite. I am a K Frame guy. My first new, quality gun was a M-53 bought it 1965. My second was a M-19 bought in 1969. I still have both and will never part with either. I have a 3" M-66 that is great. I have a M-65 that is fantastic. I have a M-18 that gets carried a lot and might win the "if you could only have one gun" contests we play. However, the K frame I carry the most at present is my M-13 3". It is everything I need and nothing I don't. Keep shootin'

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If it's a K frame and shoots 38special it is good in my book.

It's my favorite cause it's my only K frame at the moment.
My K22 Outdoorsman, with the wrong stocks, currently working on fixing that.

My next favorite is either a M13, M65, M19 or M66 with a 3" barrel, trying to fix that too.
It should go good with my other .357's in 4", 6", and 8-3/8" barrels.
Greg

K's are my favorite. Nice pics.
I have a soft spot for my 10-5s. The 6in. is a tack driver.
I know, I know it's labeled as a 14, so are the pics of everything else, including my horse. I dunno what I did!


Best, Rick

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My personal favorite 64-5, next comes the 19-3

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82nd Airborne Div 1980-1986

My favorite K-Frame is a blued, 4" tapered barrel Model 10 that started life with the Royal Hong Kong Police.

I don't have a favorite because all my K frames are my favorites. Here they are.

M&P 38 special 4 inch production 1954

model 13-2 4 inch 357 magnum

model 19-2 4 inch 357 magnum

model 66-4 4 inch 357 magnum

HA! Another excuse to mention my 10-9--my favorite because it's the only K-frame I own:


To me, the 4" pencil barrel M10/M&P is the most graceful handgun there is!

Lots of nice guns posted

Here is my 10-5 Don't know the year it was made my guess is mid 60's

My favorite.....my dad's pre-15 from 1962.

It still shoots great after all these years and countless wadcutters.

It was an ugly duckling when I saw it; I passed as I was buying the 19-3 sitting right beside it. Called and told my buddy to buy it but he passed on it so..........I went back and rescued it.

Bought this new waaaaaay back. Made my own combat trigger. Altamont balck/silver grips

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Of course, I sorta like this one too. Grips are from Boone Trading

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My one and only K Frame.

617 with Altamont grips

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Not my fav K, but my most recent.

67 no dash.

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S&W 19, 6 inch barrel
Penmon

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I was going to say the same thing,but suddenly came to the realization that I love them all equally.It's a terminal disease.I'll love 'em 'til I die.

My favorite? It's the only one I own....a 10-5. Got it a couple of months ago, the phone photo doesn't do it justice. It is in pristine shape. Not bad for a 40 year old revolver....and with the sweetest trigger.

It's a lovely shooter.


<a href="http://s1072.photobucket.com/albums/w374/Danno2012/Mobile%20Uploads/?action=view&amp;current=IMG_3688.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w374/Danno2012/Mobile%20Uploads/th_IMG_3688.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket" ></a>

Out of my (so far) only 2 k-frames, a 19-6 and a pre-model 14, my favorite is the pre-14...

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m14-3.jpg (114.3 KB, 26 views)

Neat gun, what's the story on the 2.5" barrel?

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"Shall not be infringed"

I only own one K frame, unlike most of you, but it is nice firearm. It is a model 65-4 which came with a 4" barrel, but I purchased a 3" and sent it S&W for barrel replacement, action job, and polishing the SS. I wish I was able to show pictures. It is my pride and joy. It was born in1990.

Earlier in this thread I posted my favorite K, here's my wife's.

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Ogy

The K-Frame is my favorite of all the S&Ws revolvers. I like them all but really have a preference for fixed sight 4" HB square butt and have a hard time deciding on whether I prefer blue or stainless. My favorites these days are the Models 10, 13, 64 and 65, with my absolute, all time favorite K-Frame being the 547, which I'm surprised no one else has mentioned:




Don't get me wrong, I think the .38 spl and .357 Magnum are great cartridges, but this picture will illustrate why I think 9x19 is a perfect bridge gapper (at least in terms of the 547):




Note the dimensions, or as I like to refer to it as "power to size ratio". You may be able to get .38 +P+ to get close to 9x19, but not in those dimensions (the magtech SJHPs in that picture are +P).

Anyway, that's my favorite K-Frame!

Oh that's simple. It's the last K frame I saw and just had to have even though "Yes Dear, I have three others just like it..."

The only one I have - Mod 19-4, 6"

George

Model 66-2. I've thought about selling it several times but just can't bring myself to part with it.

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Isaiah 41:10