Retired W4 - thank you for your wisdom -- strange to think few SW collectors in Atlanta, I'm in Texas and am still trying to learn what the market is like. I'm also going to have to learn how buying from the forum works --but that's for another day
Hawg Rider - you're absolutely right, I think the -2s are excellent and still meet my base criteria of "pinned & recessed" and its not so much about my obsession with "pinned and recessed" or even dashes its more about me using the dashes and no-dashes as proxies for date of birth. Prior to finding this great forum I was more concentrated on old SAA Colts, Browning HPs and 45s and my obsession with the 45s that I was chasing was all about a phenomenon that was common in the early S&W guns but now seems "boutique" in the world of 45s: The idea that a master gunmaker literally hand fitted your gun. So, in the world of 45s I was chasing Nighthawks and Wilson Combats all over the notion that they are building their guns via the "old school hand fitted by a master" concept. In today's world that process means "high dollar" pistols but back when I was 5 years old that was simply the way most all Smiths and Colts were made: They weren't "assembled" they were "fitted". So when my attention turned to revolvers the first thing I looked at was Korth (hand fitted and big dollars). But then I thought: "wait, isn't that kinda the way all reputable pistols were made back in the day, before the world of CNC and "assemblers". So, to me that is the major draw for me in old Smiths--- the older they are, the more likely they were made by a "master" and not an "assembler". So, for me the dashes simply tell me how old a gun is and the premise I'm using is the older the more likely a "master" -----Everything I just said may be totally wrong but that is the delusion I'm working from. For me -2 are definitely awesome because they're still from the "age in time" that I'm interested in ---Plus I already had learned (just from shopping) that all things being equal, -3s are less expensive than -2 but I had not yet learned how much more a no dash would cost. As an example, I found several very nice -3 for around $800-$900 but the -2 seemed to be more like $1000-$1200 what I didn't know yet was how much NO DASH would further bump the price ''> but from what I learned from you great folks is that the answer to that question is closer to $1500. Bear in mind, -3/-2 I have yet to see any of those I thought was not an excellent firearm. So again, for me, it was all about chasing age and I also think it's kinda cute to the think the gun I'm shooting was born pretty much the same time I was.
Hawg Rider - you're absolutely right, I think the -2s are excellent and still meet my base criteria of "pinned & recessed" and its not so much about my obsession with "pinned and recessed" or even dashes its more about me using the dashes and no-dashes as proxies for date of birth. Prior to finding this great forum I was more concentrated on old SAA Colts, Browning HPs and 45s and my obsession with the 45s that I was chasing was all about a phenomenon that was common in the early S&W guns but now seems "boutique" in the world of 45s: The idea that a master gunmaker literally hand fitted your gun. So, in the world of 45s I was chasing Nighthawks and Wilson Combats all over the notion that they are building their guns via the "old school hand fitted by a master" concept. In today's world that process means "high dollar" pistols but back when I was 5 years old that was simply the way most all Smiths and Colts were made: They weren't "assembled" they were "fitted". So when my attention turned to revolvers the first thing I looked at was Korth (hand fitted and big dollars). But then I thought: "wait, isn't that kinda the way all reputable pistols were made back in the day, before the world of CNC and "assemblers". So, to me that is the major draw for me in old Smiths--- the older they are, the more likely they were made by a "master" and not an "assembler". So, for me the dashes simply tell me how old a gun is and the premise I'm using is the older the more likely a "master" -----Everything I just said may be totally wrong but that is the delusion I'm working from. For me -2 are definitely awesome because they're still from the "age in time" that I'm interested in ---Plus I already had learned (just from shopping) that all things being equal, -3s are less expensive than -2 but I had not yet learned how much more a no dash would cost. As an example, I found several very nice -3 for around $800-$900 but the -2 seemed to be more like $1000-$1200 what I didn't know yet was how much NO DASH would further bump the price ''> but from what I learned from you great folks is that the answer to that question is closer to $1500. Bear in mind, -3/-2 I have yet to see any of those I thought was not an excellent firearm. So again, for me, it was all about chasing age and I also think it's kinda cute to the think the gun I'm shooting was born pretty much the same time I was.
A "pro" would never do that. 
