I guess I need to retire my model 19

[panamajack310]

Hi, guys and gals..A little update for you on my little drama that happened at the range this week..So I posted a dicussion; "I killed my K frame" I tell about taking my trusty 19-4 to the range for my agency's anual qualification. I have carried this revolver since I became a cop 13 years ago...I love the gun BUT this past week I had a little problem during qualification. I fired 3 cylinders thru it and the cylinder would not open up and would not close. I broke it down cleaned the gun really well and tried to open and close the cylinder again. Upon closer inspection by a S&W revolver armor they found the cylinder was warped and slightly bulged. I came home and posted my little delima. { sth44 } responded to my posting and being a big time stand up guy he told me he would send me a spare cylinder he had....I put up my little 2.5" 19-4 to await for the cylinder. I recieved the cylinder today and went to clean the revolver, and check to see if the cylinder would swap...I cleaned the revolver really well and noticed it...The forcing cone is SPLIT bad...I know what you guys are going to say....BUT I have owned several K frames and I have only used factory 158gr. Winchester ammunition in all of them..I fire a steady diet of 158gr. 38spl.FMJ and 200 rounds of 158gr. .357 mag JHP a year for qualifications. So I called S&W today. They told me that I could send them the revolver but They did not have any cylinders or barrels for the older K frames any more. I told them I had a cylinder to swap out but that the forcing cone was cracked.. They said send it anyway and they would look at it...IS MY LITTLE K FRAME BEGGING TO BE RETIRED AFTER 13 YEARS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICE?? IS IT WANTING TO JUST HANG OUT IN A SHADOWBOX WITH MY BADGES???SHOULD I JUST BUY A BEEFIER 2.5" L FRAME FOR SERVICE??? WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?????? And if you are woundering I am carrying a 3" model 625-4 for my back up to my glock 22 right now...yes it is very bulky and harder to conceal in my vest that my K frame...but it a revolver and I trust it...

 

[panamajack310]

Hi, guys and gals..A little update for you on my little drama that happened at the range this week..So I posted a dicussion; "I killed my K frame" I tell about taking my trusty 19-4 to the range for my agency's anual qualification. I have carried this revolver since I became a cop 13 years ago...I love the gun BUT this past week I had a little problem during qualification. I fired 3 cylinders thru it and the cylinder would not open up and would not close. I broke it down cleaned the gun really well and tried to open and close the cylinder again. Upon closer inspection by a S&W revolver armor they found the cylinder was warped and slightly bulged. I came home and posted my little delima. { sth44 } responded to my posting and being a big time stand up guy he told me he would send me a spare cylinder he had....I put up my little 2.5" 19-4 to await for the cylinder. I recieved the cylinder today and went to clean the revolver, and check to see if the cylinder would swap...I cleaned the revolver really well and noticed it...The forcing cone is SPLIT bad...I know what you guys are going to say....BUT I have owned several K frames and I have only used factory 158gr. Winchester ammunition in all of them..I fire a steady diet of 158gr. 38spl.FMJ and 200 rounds of 158gr. .357 mag JHP a year for qualifications. So I called S&W today. They told me that I could send them the revolver but They did not have any cylinders or barrels for the older K frames any more. I told them I had a cylinder to swap out but that the forcing cone was cracked.. They said send it anyway and they would look at it...IS MY LITTLE K FRAME BEGGING TO BE RETIRED AFTER 13 YEARS OF LAW ENFORCEMENT SERVICE?? IS IT WANTING TO JUST HANG OUT IN A SHADOWBOX WITH MY BADGES???SHOULD I JUST BUY A BEEFIER 2.5" L FRAME FOR SERVICE??? WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK?????? And if you are woundering I am carrying a 3" model 625-4 for my back up to my glock 22 right now...yes it is very bulky and harder to conceal in my vest that my K frame...but it a revolver and I trust it...

 

[Blackcloud2]

Panama, after reading through both of your threads, I'd let S&W evaluate it for root-cause failure and you can search around for a barrel, assuming they can't come up with something. It sounds as if from the incredible charity of another of this forum's quality individuals, you're still in the game. Take it a step at a time and if the barrel turns out to be the final nail, you go after that next challenge. It sounds to me to have too much history for you to retire out just yet. Hey, if that's what ends up happening, she served you well! BTW, thank you sir for what you do as a public servant.

 

[Jellybean]

Wear the revolver on your hip and put the Glock in your vest. Revolvers are much faster to draw from a thumbsnapped holster than autos and if you ever do run into a shootout with AK-47s you can still pull the Glock out while running for cover.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Years ago I busted the forcing cone on my 4" nickel 19. I searched and found a replacement barrel at Ocala Armory in Florida. I replaced the barrel myself and its still shooting today. I doubt that Smith will rebarrel it. I would shop around and find a barrel and have it replaced.

 

[jpage]

Here's a M66 barrel, it's a start:


http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=113249208

 

[Tom M]

Send it to S&W for their review. Split forcing cones are not rare in these guns. Since they no longer have parts for these guns, it's not unheard of for them to offer you a new, similar gun. Tell them you're a LEO, and you use the 19 for work.

 

[Mack]

Send it to S&W for review with the replacement cylinder and make sure they know it is for a duty weapon. You never know they might 'find' a barrel they 'forgot' they had.

m.

 

[MKT]

I say retire it.

My Model 19 is the first handgun I bought, did that on the day I turned 21. When I joined the Border Patrol they issued my a Ruger. Soon as I was off probation I started carrying my Model 19 on duty. Carried it until 1992 when the forcing cone split during my second tour teaching firearms at the Academy. I retired her that day and immediately purchased a 586.

My Model 19 is still in the safe, still with a split forcing cone. Someday I may try to find a replacement barrel, but for now she sits in the safe only coming out on occasion to show off a lot of character.

 

[panamajack310]

Well, I called S&W today and spoke to their performance center. they told me good luck finding a needle in a haystack, on the barrel,cylinder and extractor star. So I have decided to retire my model 19-4 for now...I will start to look for a 686 since you can still get parts for it and it has a beefier frame.

 

[18DAI]

Take your 19-4 to Brian over at Greensboro Gunworks. He might be able to save it. Worth the trip before letting S&W replace your 19. My 0.02 Regards 18DAI.

 

[NFrameFred]

Gun broker displays auctions for 'parts guns' all the time; if I really liked the gun I'd just plan on putting it back and keeping an eye out for parts; there are millions of them out there, sooner or later you'll get lucky.

On the other hand, there are millions of them out there; just pick up another one.

 

[panamajack310]

Originally posted by 18DAI:
Take your 19-4 to Brian over at Greensboro Gunworks. He might be able to save it. Worth the trip before letting S&W replace your 19. My 0.02 Regards 18DAI.

I would but there is no way he can fix this cracked forcing cone..the crack is a really bad one..I will defianately need to replace the barrel..there is no way it can be welded back together for safe use.

 

[n4zov]

"They told me that I could send them the revolver but They did not have any cylinders or barrels for the older K frames any more."

Am I the only one who is surprised that S&W no longer has barrels and cylinders for a Model 19? I can't remember exactly when it went out of production, but it doesn't seem like very long ago. The M19 was a popular handgun for a long time, and S&W was well aware of the problem with split forcing cones long before they discontinued the gun.

 

[hitecrednek]

They don't have basic parts for older K-frames???

Its not like its THAT old!

Every time I start to warm up to the new owners, I read something like this and have to shake my head; could they do anything else to piss off customers?

I wonder how that lifetime warranty on my new 642 will work out 20 years from now...rant done, time for cookies.

 

[myakkaman]

I'm sorry to hear that about your model 19. Its clear that your cared for you weapon in the proper fashion. You avoided the 125 grain stuff. You did not fire an inordinate amount of the 158 grain factory load, and you still got a cracked forcing cone. You did mention that you fired .38s in the revolver. The only thing that I can think of, is that the 38s left a crud ring ever so small in the cylinder that increased the pressure of the jacketed factory magnums when you fired them. The 19 seems ever so suseptible to the split forcing cone at 6 oclock from the lack of reinforcing metal. For myself, I have a 4 inch and a 6 inch 19, which I will now moslty only fire lead 38+Ps and if I need the magnum charge it will be the Keith bullet with 12.7 max 2400. I will no longer fire .357 magnum JHP/JSP of any sort in my model 19 revolvers. You never hear of a model 15/14 with a split cone, at least I dont.

 

[panamajack310]

Oh I forgot to mention that besides having no parts available for the model 19 the S&W customer servive reps tell me that the lifetime gun policy only applies to guns made starting in 1989 when they started the lifetime warranty.
So if your revolver is made before 1989 you are S.O.L. if made after 1989 they will honor their policy....

 

[Buford57]

I thought it might be worth a stab. Numrich has 3" M13 barrels. While there is no ejector shroud and the front sight might need a little work and a longer ejector rod, when you are done you would have a unique carry piece. $69.95

www.gunpartscorp.com


And then there's this guy, who can't decide if the 2.5 inch M19 barrel he's selling for $80 is blue or nickel.

http://www.gunsnparts.com/barrels&.html

 

[2fingers]

Maybe you could find a Colt Python barrel for it, What a better time to build a "Smolt"