Clark Custom Model 19-2

s3dcor

s3dcor

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I picked up the 19-2 made in 1963 at a local gun show on Saturday. People I showed it to say nobody wants them and they aren't worth much. What do you say?

It was made by Clark Custom, Pikeville, La. It has a Bo-Mar rib with sights. The barrel, cylinder lug and rail standoffs were machined from one piece of steel. It has a beautiful crown. Hammer has been bobbed and has a smooth DA trigger pull. These Rogers grips were preferred by the PPC shooters back in the day so they will stay. It should be a great shooter.

The seller said he had it for 25 years and only fired it 4 times. The original owner was a Sheriff who did PPC shooting. That is all the info I could get.

I also got a Pre 15 from 1955 about 98% with a box and tools. It was a great weekend.
 

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Depends on the buyer. Lots of sellers think they should command big bucks because they are "custom". A bullseye shooter may covet one, but as a collector I wouldn't look twice at one. Some classic guns have had their value ruined by these conversions.
 
sodacan said:
Depends on the buyer. Lots of sellers think they should command big bucks because they are "custom". A bullseye shooter may covet one, but as a collector I wouldn't look twice at one. Some classic guns have had their value ruined by these conversions.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure I would say they are "ruined".
There are lots of guys now paying a premium for King's Gunsight modified pre-war Colts and S&Ws. Years ago, they were largely dismissed.
Personally, I don't care for PPC, the game or the guns. But, Jim Clark was a legendary pistolsmith. This conversion looks well done. He made a point of incorporating the ejector rod tip lock-up, when most smiths wouldn't bother.
In it's current configuration, it is a testimony to the times.

By way of comparison, most people don't know that there is only one known extant Stradivarius violin still in its original form. Virtually all the rest were modified, often quite heavily.

If that Clark 19-2 were mine, I'd contact Clark Custom Guns and see if they can provide any history or info, and I'd start gathering old Clark catalogs, magazine articles, etc.
 
Thats a really nice gun, I love the idea of a 38/357 gun and most of these PPC guns are .38 only...

This would be over the top for me knowing I could blast 357 out of it..

I also think these would fall into a "collector" category as they are of a bye gone era that we will likely never ever see again...
Good find..
 
I'm more of a purist...be it Winchester and Marlin lever guns, military firearms, etc., I want them original. If I was a competition shooter and wanted it for historical significance, I could see that.
 
Easy to dismiss these guns until you shoot one. When you feel the trigger glide back with a mere 6 or so pounds of effort and watch 5 or 6 bullets poke but a single hole in the target a spell is cast and you begin to realize that stock original perfect guns are for shooters with no imagination. : )
 
I wouldn't mind owning it, but I'd rather it had kept the hammer spur, and I'd get rid of the factory trigger stop in favor of a plain old pencil eraser glued to the back of the trigger and trimmed as desired. That's what I used back in the late 1970's on an otherwise stock 4" gun, in Service revolver class.
 
I'd have snagged that one too if the price were right. I appreciate custom and bone stock guns for what they are. A registered magnum untouched by a gunsmith other than at at the factory would leave me drooling. Same as a Clark PPC gun. Both represent history.

I spent Saturday at a local car show. An original Shelby Cobra had me in a lather. Then there was the '69 Camaro resto-mod. Nothing original except the body. Likely a better car than the original; but certainly not stock. It had me grinning too. I'd have a ball behind the wheel of both cars. People will say "it's only original once" and I'd have to agree. But customized cars and guns also have a place in my heart. They speak to times now gone. I'm a sucker for guns, cars and.... classic wooden boats. Don't let me get started on waterborne teak furniture!
 
Does it have value to a S&W revolver collector? Certainly not as much as an all-original, NIB or LNIB Model 19-2. Does it have value to a target shooter, especially one who competes in PPC matches? Oh, yes. So it is a hard to sell piece to the factory original collector crowd, but it would be of great value to a much smaller group of target shooters.
 
To the right buyer it's a great gun of much interest. To the "average" shooter today they'd be creeped out by the alterations probably. I bet it's a dream to shoot though.

Advertise it on one of the big sites and see what interest you get.
 
I've sold a couple PPC modified S&W's and they brought less than unmodified guns. It would be all about finding the right buyer though.
 
series guy said:
Easy to dismiss these guns until you shoot one. When you feel the trigger glide back with a mere 6 or so pounds of effort and watch 5 or 6 bullets poke but a single hole in the target a spell is cast and you begin to realize that stock original perfect guns are for shooters with no imagination. : )
Click to expand...

I'm not dismissing it, series guy, I'm just not a shooter. I collect guns that I am drawn to. If a gun isn't sexy, I'm not interested. I have shooter/self-defense guns that I practice with but they only make up a small part of my accumulation. I like wood, cased colors, nickel, engraving, etc. This is a nice gun with its functional modifications, but it just doesn't make my mouth water. This is a conversation I've had with a lot of my local collector friends. I'll pick up a high condition antique firearm and the first thing they want to do is shoot it! ;)
 
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Guns like this one were at one time just a dream for me. They were way out of my price range. I competed with a stock 6” M686 and that one was a stretch to the wallet. These weren’t just used for PPC. Revolvers ruled the range for awhile in NRA Action. (Bianchi Cup)

To say this one was “ruined”.... I guess it’s s shame people actually shoot guns sometimes.

Dan
 
Clark Custom Guns is located in Princeton, Louisiana, not Pikeville. I have been a customer at Clark's for about 40 years starting when they were first located in a log cabin in Keithville, Louisiana. Skeeter Skelton and Bill Jordan would show up there frequently to talk with Jim, Sr. and the rest of the crew. The shop is 15 miles from my home. You have a great gun that was most likely worked on by Tommy Bison or Jim Clark, Jr. According to Jim Jr., his father stopped working on guns around 1975. Tommy Bison had worked for Clark's many years before he retired a few years ago. His work was excellent. I have had several revolvers worked on by him and I would put him up with any other top revolversmith in the country. Yours is kinda special because they made the ejector rod lock-up under the custom barrel instead of a ball crane lock at the front of the frame under the barrel. I've never seen that on a custom barrel by Clark. As mentioned earlier, it now is a specialized gun made for PPC matches. The matches are not that popular as they were years ago. It is a great looking gun and a neat part of firearms history, having come out of the Clark's shop and one I would be proud to own. I buy guns strictly because I like a particular one and don't think of the value of it down the road. Enjoy it in good health.
 
s3dcor said:
I picked up the 19-2 made in 1963 at a local gun show on Saturday. People I showed it to say nobody wants them and they aren't worth much. What do you say?
Click to expand...
Well, it's a niche item. Very small group of buyers, possibly one of the smallest among modern firearms - you never hear of someone buying one just to have it.
If it appeals to you, great. They are a fine example of a precision revolver. You'll just be hard-pressed to find a lot of folks to agree.
 
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