Why is there no love for the S&W model 12 on this site?

You obviously haven't been reading posts on this forum for long, there have been plenty posts about the Model 12. Unfortunately too many are negative simply because all of the Air Weight model have experienced frame cracking and too many that have never owned a Model 12 think this happens very frequently to the Model 12 simply because so many that have never owned one believe this! You know how this is, post anything on the Internet and before you know it the whole world believes it is gospel. Watch the posts here and you will see that every time the Model 12 is brought up in any context someone will immediately mention frame cracking!

Personally I own/have owned 5 Model 12s, 4 2" and a 4" I have carried one as a police officer in plain clothes for several years, and since retirement in 1990, along with several other models depending on how the mood struck me.

The Model 12 is an excellent revolver within its limitations. There are several of us who wish S&W would re-introduce the Model 12 with a Scandium alloy frame that should eliminate the frame cracking question.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

I’ve been on this blog for a while, and searching the site, there is very little information on the M12.
It’s a great K frame. I have two, but apparently there is no love.

Our forum search engine can be a bit finicky and doesn't handle short numbers very well.
If you search the S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980 section for "model 12-2" (make sure to include the quotation marks), you'll come up with 257 threads. You'll find additional threads by searching the name Military Police Airweight.

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"I also cook."

I had one for many years and considered it to be the ideal carry gun for me. Then I got bit by the semi bug, and worried about the frame cracking, so I sold it it off and started chasing other "stuff."

I shudda just kept the Model 12. I had the box, papers and everything.

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John 3:16 .

I currently own one, and have had several in the past...The only cracked frame I've ever personally witnessed was on a steel frame Model 19 that someone brought to me to trade...My offer for parts did not please him, so I gave him S&W's service department phone number......Ben

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Cogito, ergo BOOM!...

Oh, there is plenty of love here in my house. I’m a piker with only two- a 2” and a 4”, both RB- but give me time. I want a 2” SB next.

The 2” is a wonderful jacket pocket gun. Loaded, it perfectly offsets the weight of a cellphone in the opposite side pocket.
I spread the Model 12 news whenever I can. People love it when they try one. Too bad so few ever knew they existed.

The phrase “Shoots like a K; carries like a J” is pretty much on the money.

Eagerly dreaming and waiting for a Model 12UC model. Or 312 or 412 or whatever they want to call it.
Gimme.

I really like my model 12, it isn't going anywhere!

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I have one, a very nice Overcoat Revolver. I foolishly passed up another for sale at a low price, very low considering the store's usual pricing. An easy flip.

I do not have a Model 12, but I have owned a 2" Airweight M&P 38 for many years

I agree that in this day of the Internet, frame cracking has grown to the level of Urban Legend. While it happens much more often on the alloy framed revolvers than on steel guns, with the millions of airweights sold over the last three quarters of a century, it certainly is not a common problem

And these days the Scandium alloy revolvers have replaced the likes of revolvers like the Model 12. And yes, they are still susceptible to cracking

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"Acta non verba"

I had a 2" RB in excellent condition. I ended up selling it off because of the frame cracking issue posted on here and the fact that the anodized finish doesn't stand up well when carried. I loved the gun but never carried it. I wish now that I had kept it. I am one that would love S&W to come out with a modern version as stated above. A big brother to the new Lipsey's ultimate carry J frames would be the ticket!

The model 12 was carried by alot of
old time detectives in my city.
This one lived in a Forgey Detectives briefcase
in a rug.
He was not a gun guy.

While over the years I have seen a couple Airweights with cracked frames I own and have owned several 37's, 12's and non-model marked 38 M&P's that did not have cracks. One friend of mine will not buy an Airweight because of the problem. I told her to just closely inspect the gun before buying and don't use any hot (+P) ammo in it. Match grade wad cutters preform well in my 38 M&P Airweight (shipped Dec. 1954) and it will probably give good service for decades to come. I have lots of the old Super Police (200 gr. LRN) that I do not use in it but it will probably handle it without cracking.

I like mine, but it doesn't get shot very often. Like others have said, light loads.

I carry one sometimes but my Colt Cobra is my main carry revolver.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

Here's a GSP marked 12-2.

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Are you kidding? There's lots of love for Model 12 on here. I have four of them. Round and square butt blued. Round and square butt nickel. Carry the blued round butt occasionally.

I would like to find a Model 12-4. Never actually seen a 12-4.

Here’s some love! I think I’ve made a thread about this before but it’s worth revisiting. I’ve owned two model 12’s, first one was at a gun show before I started collecting and I got hosed by a dishonest dealer. Frame was cracked. I shot it a few times, no problem, sold it to a friend fully disclosed as a parts gun, he still has it stoked with 6 wadcutters in the bedside drawer.

***** please do not shoot an airweight with cracked frame *****

The second 12 is this beauty queen. Not. It’s a 12-3 2” that was a steal, all original, matching stocks. Unknown round count. Some carry wear. But I’ve added to the round count and carry wear significantly. Probably 1000 rounds of standard 158 FMJ, 200 rounds of +p, I don’t know how many reloads (this is one of my “test” guns for reloads believe it or not) and a few years of daily carry in Arizona.

Here she is, still carry it from time to time, still no frame crack. Plenty of love but no abuse. Your mileage may vary.

Note: I haven’t seen one for sale locally in years, if I ever found a 4” pencil barrel with round butt, at a reasonable price, it will be coming home with me.

Cheers
SVT28






Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For many years, I have been on the lookout for a 4" that I could have cut down to 3". With the standard profile barrel (pencil barrel) and the aluminum frame, it would be a very handy carry piece.

I also believe that the frame cracking issue is a bit overblown. If it's not cracked out of the box from the barrel being cranked down too far at the factory, it should be good to go for the average user and plenty of standard pressure ammunition.

A modern version with the two-piece barrel and the current K-frame's slightly beefier design (and titanium pins as in the UC J-frames) should ameliorate any durability concerns without having to go the spendy scandium route.

I’d love to see an updated version of the original model, with a titanium cylinder in lieu of aluminum. This old girl weighs less than an Airweight J-frame.

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Mark Lathem

Because nobody is slobbering over a model 12 does not mean owners do not like it. On the other hand, lots of frame crack history issues will turn it into a paperweight have caused many to dump them before they became useless. Perfect for a carry gun that will not be shot much… but I was on the line once during semi annual qualifications when a detective was shooting his 4” model 12 and the frame broke and the barrel fell off… The dept only had maybe half a dozen of them and immediately pulled them out of service and replaced them with model 36’s. Not sure if the 12’s went back to S&W or a police distributor took them on trade.

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S&W factory revolver armorer

My LGS has a 12-3 for $999 it appears mint and likely a "nightstand gun".

I recently picked up another little brother of the Model 12. I have a 3" flat latch model 37 Airweight but just picked up this model of 1955 (pre 43 for those who need to know) 3-1/2" Airweight 22. The 37 and the '55 with its model 34 siblings.

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Do you mean a new Colt Cobra, like from 2017, or an old Colt Cobra from back in the day?

Two 12-2’s.

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Would love to own a 12-2

I have owned a half dozen in the last 30 years, and regularly today shoot/carry a 12-2 or 12-3. I have come to accept that frame cracking as stated above either happened when or because the barrel was torqued on too hard at the factory or it won't happen. One of mine easily has about 5K rounds with no problems.

I did have a frame crack on a 442 some years ago, not with +P ammo and I attribute that failure to this same issue of over torque at the factory.

Osprey did a 1,000 round +P torture test on his M12 and documented it here, no frame cracking.

+P Through a Model 12: THE TEST...is done!!!!

I too wish for a scandium version, and a 3" version, but the only hope for that is if influencers outside the S&W organization who S&W will listen to will lobby for it, see the recent 432UC/632UC and the whole UC series.

Instead of lobbying S&W for it we should be lobbying Jason at Lipsey's plus Darrel Bolke and Bryan Eastridge to push S&W to make one. They got the UC series done right. It is selling. They actually have some influence.

The new Cobra ain't a Cobra, I don't care what Colt says.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

And I just snagged my third, only moments ago off Gunbroker. A SB 2” 12-1 flat latch.