K-Frame .357 Magnum

[scooter123]

Kavinshy, we are getting into a bit of thread drift here but sometimes I think that can be a good thing.

I believe that you are doing yourself a dis-service in avoiding revolvers made after 1980. You may not remember it but S&W during the Bangor Punta Era had periods when their reputation for Quality was pretty miserable.

All of my revolvers are post 1980 and I really can't complain about any of them. In fact my model 67-1 from 1988 is as close to perfect as can be made. My model 620 from 2008 is far more accurate than I'm capable of shooting even by "cheating" with a scope and rest. As I've learned, 50 yards out ANY error in technique results in flyers and all I can do is achieve occasional flashes of "brilliance". Fact is that even with the Lock, S&W is building very serviceable revolvers that are an excellent value for the money invested. In addition they remain very easy to work on. In fact the post frame mounted firing pin and MIM revolvers are the easiest revolvers I've found to do an action tuning on.

BTW, IMO the reason the 357 Magnum has been dropped from the K frame is mainly due to the lifetime warranty. It has proven to be a bit more sensitive to proper care and ammunition choice that would be desireable in a gun with a lifetime warranty.

 

[amplifryer]

Model 19-5

Seems like as good a place as any to jump into a thread ... I ran into Combat at a gun show yesterday and he put me onto a deal from a guy walking around looking for trades just before closing time. I was actually shopping for something else yesterday (used Beretta 3032 or a 38/357 derringer) but this hog leg for $300 changed my direction instantly.

Numbers stamped into the metal:
MOD 19-5
C14
919XX
F5

Numbers stamped in ink on the back of the grips:
FEB 910XX

The guy said that his dad passed down two of them and he was letting one go and keeping the other. My guess is that the grips got mixed up somewhere along the way since the numbers don't match. No idea about the actual age but I read somewhere that the 19-5 was produced from 1982-88. Sound about right?

 

[amplifryer]

Went to Shooter's on my way home from Columbus today ... I like it ... a lot! Sadly, just about everything I own is pretty much equity. There are only a few firearms in the safe that can be considered part of a permanent collection and everything else is subject to horse tradin'. This K-frame might actually be around for awhile.

12/12 - 158gr JHP .357mag@10 yds.

 

[Combat]

Pretty good shooting for the first time with that gun. A little more practice and you will be getting them all in the 10 ring. They are great shooters.

 

[amplifryer]

Pretty good shooting for the first time with that gun. A little more practice and you will be getting them all in the 10 ring. They are great shooters.

Thanks! I sent my 6" Taurus .357 M66 (7-shot) to Chris for his birthday last week. It's pretty minty, with box and paperwork. Don't need it anymore now that I've got this. Thanks again for finding the guy who was selling it at the gunshow ... it was the only deal I saw all day long.

I sold my old H&R Guardsman carry pistol and remaining supply of .32 S&W Long and got almost got as much as I gave the guy for the 19-5. The Model 35 Beretta 7.65 fits great in the same ankle holster so I'll never miss it.

For as much as California firearms laws suck, they've got pretty good regs for family transfers. Download a PDF, fill it out and send it in with 19 bucks. No FFL transfer. Chris is really happy with it ... he never even considered a wheel gun before.