The one that got away

[Coldshooter]

I'm new here so I thought I might start a thread on which S&W you have owned that you are most sorry to have let go. As of last week I have S&W purchases 40 years apart and the one I most miss is a Model 19 with 6 in barrel, TT, TH large rosewood grips. A prior owner had smoothed it out. I used it on Coyotes and Mulies while at Ft. Huachuca. 125 grain Super Vels is what I remember as an excellent round. First S&W was a model 28 which was bought new for $125, maybe like first girlfriends I remember it well.

 

[Reddog]

I traded off a Model 52 because at the time I thought that shooting a gun that always shot to the same point was boring? Wish I could get bored some more! I bought my first Smith in about '66 or '67, a K-38.
Dick

 

[ditrina]

I'm new here so I thought I might start a thread on which S&W you have owned that you are most sorry to have let go. As of last week I have S&W purchases 40 years apart and the one I most miss is a Model 19 with 6 in barrel, TT, TH large rosewood grips. A prior owner had smoothed it out. I used it on Coyotes and Mulies while at Ft. Huachuca. 125 grain Super Vels is what I remember as an excellent round. First S&W was a model 28 which was bought new for $125, maybe like first girlfriends I remember it well.

Welcome to the Forum.. Your Gonna Like It Here...

There will be MANY tales here of regret as you discribe.. we have all had them.. but just as many, if not more of the
" New To Me" Smith and Wesson....

 

[44 special Dave]

Interesting question this thread presents.

I thought about it a while and strangely the answer is none of them. And yes I've owned more than a few since 1974 or so.

The memory of some of them is quite pleasant in terms of how they shot or looked etc. They all served a purpose when I had them from "cool" to have to hunting to target shooting and so on.

What really has changed over the years is my reasons for owning S&W revolvers. At this point in my life I'm strictly a self defense shooter. It's not all or most here think about about self defense, I'm sure they do.

But in my case that is they only thing I consider now when looking at an S&W revolver.

Doesn't mean they weren't good guns, most were fun (except for a early mod 59 "jam-a-matic"),but times have changed and so have I.

Dave

 

[kbm6893]

A 4" 66-2. Gun was perfect. I sold it for a 686, which I still have. Just picked up a mint 19-2, and I'm thinking of selling it to fund another 66. probably won't do it. I'll miss that 19, too!

 

[gjamison]

i've given this some thought. can say that i haven't
come to that point. i only buy s&w's that fill holes in
my collection. don't even like thinkin about selling them...

 

[bronco45]

In 1971 I purchased a new Model 14 6" for Police competition shooting PPC. It went by the wayside over the years for something more relavent at that time. After retirement I have tried to buy back a few of the weapons I upgraded from during my working years.

Well I just purchased a K-38 Model 14-1 and I am thrilled with it. It appears in unfired condition with only the slightest blue wear on the muzzle. It has a Target hammer and a standard grooved trigger and the action is more than sweet. Only have one more to get for my "early years" collection a Model 19, 4" as I already have a Model 19 2.5" and a Centennial. Keep lookin they are out there. The hunt has always been a great adventure.

 

[TAROMAN]

Bought my first S&Ws (M60 and 29-2) at Ft. Huachuca back in '74-75. In fact, that same 29-2 just got back from a total overhaul.
Over the years I added many others. Somehow, I've managed to keep them all, but along the way let go of a number of Colt's I'd like back: a Hartford Colt Argentine contract 1911A1, a WW1 1911, a MkIV Series 70 and an ACE.

 

[David LaPell]

That would have to be a pair of .44 Magnums, one a 629 4-inch that was pinned and recessed and the other a near mint nickel 29-2 4-inch gun. Both were near mint and I should have bought them. I really can't think of too many others that I let get away, most I liked and bought if I could afford it.

 

[Decker]

I'm new here so I thought I might start a thread on which S&W you have owned that you are most sorry to have let go. As of last week I have S&W purchases 40 years apart and the one I most miss is a Model 19 with 6 in barrel, TT, TH large rosewood grips. A prior owner had smoothed it out. I used it on Coyotes and Mulies while at Ft. Huachuca. 125 grain Super Vels is what I remember as an excellent round. First S&W was a model 28 which was bought new for $125, maybe like first girlfriends I remember it well.

Funny you should start out that way...
My very first brand new pistol that I bought when I just turned 21 (4 decades ago) was a Model 19, 6" barrel that I bought over the counter at a Montgomery Wards store way back when they still had gun counters in their sporting goods section (and of course, when the company still existed).
Because I got "into guns" from that time on, I still have that old friend and it's in "like new" condition still because I quickly ended up with many more pistols that all diluted the amount of range time the Model 19 got.
While many people never forget their "first", I kept mine to this day (that goes for the wife, too, but that's a different story ).

The one that got away that I wish I had back was an early Model 66 snubby that I sold to my brother. When I finally missed it enough to try to buy it back, he told me to go screw myself so I eventually bought another one just like it.
Having learned my lesson, that was the last pistol I ever let go, and most certainly the last one I'd ever sell to my brother.

 

[dscampbell]

On the day I turned 21 I bought a 6" model 28. Carried it on duty (3 years) until I got the urge for a model 19 snubby. First box of magnums and gun went back for repair. Got it back and again one box and it was back for repair. Got a model 13 and sold it when the dept went model 66 issue only. I wish I still had the model 28.

 

[lawandorder]

The one that haunts me.......,

or at least reminds me on one of my stupid moments, is my K-22 I bought in 1970 or so. I had sent it to Amoloy and loved that revolver yet in a moment of needing $ to acquire some other sought treasure I traded it off.

 

[LazyKB]

My first

I sold the first Smith I owned, a model 28-2 four inch back in 1975. For some reason I never missed it. I suppose it was because I used the money to buy the 19-3 six inch I still have. I replaced the 28-2 with a six inch this summer. I once sold a model 57, 8 3/8 which I missed every time deer season opened. Thankfully the friend that bought it sold it back to me last spring and we are anxiously awaiting opening day. The one I foolishly let slip away was a model 18 bought new. I traded it for a 17-3. Never regretted acquiring the 17 but wished I had sense enough at the time to keep the 18.

 

[kbm6893]

On the day I turned 21 I bought a 6" model 28. Carried it on duty (3 years) until I got the urge for a model 19 snubby. First box of magnums and gun went back for repair. Got it back and again one box and it was back for repair. Got a model 13 and sold it when the dept went model 66 issue only. I wish I still had the model 28.

What ammo were you shooting, and what repairs needed to be done? I shoot .357's in my K frame (though not often, but certainly more than a box or two) and never had a problem.

 

[Snapping Twig]

I sold a 29-2 6.5", a 25-7, and a 686 ND 6". Of those I was able to repurchase the 29-2 and the 25-7 and I am grateful. What was I thinking?!

The 586 was my first revolver, but in truth it was a lemon IMO - it always spit and trips to the factory and a local mechanic never cured it.

I sold the 29 because I bought a 29-3 Classic Hunter and THOUGHT I didn't need it. Was I ever wrong!

The 25-7 I bought new in 89 and didn't shoot it because I had 44's and thought, foolishly, that the 45 Colt was passé and underpowered - a wanna-be. Again, my error! What a laser this revolver is! Shoots straight and true.

I missed out on a 4" 624 because I was trying to make a deal and the shop sold it out from under me, but I was later able to find a 3" and a 4", both excellent condition and the 3" was unfired. Took two years to find that 4" 624 and now it is my favorite S&W. Hard hitting and accurate, a pleasure to shoot.

 

[Djay1]

Doesn't exacty fit your criteria but ...

was at a gun show a few years back and hit a windfall of 3 Smith's that had been on my Want List. Found a nice 4" Model 10 in excellent condition ... ca'ching BOUGHT IT! Ten minutes later found the cleanest blue 19-3 2.5 I had ever run across. Took a deep breath, dug deeper and BOUGHT IT! Two bought the same day at one show ... a first for me. Then low and behold the fellow with the 19 pulls out a second one a quintessential BBQ gun - a pristine 2.5 inch nickle 19-3 with stag grips! I was stunned but grudgingly walked away since I already was in store for some 'splaining to do when I got home with two Smiths!

 

[Mike1957]

Any time I have sold or traded a gun I`ve almost always regreted it later on. (unless what I traded off was a complete junker, can think of a couple that no one would ever miss)
So I almost never trade guns anymore. If I can`t afford something without a trade, I just do without it.

 

[highpower3006]

Two come to mind... I bought a 6" Model 10 new in 1980, the first firearm I ever bought new. Great gun, I carried it when hiking on the BLM land behind my property. Sold it in a fit of stupidity a couple years later so I could buy a new 4" Model 29. Even more stupidly I sold the 29 a few years later so I could buy another toy.

 

[Bert Man]

Wife gave me a new 15-3 4 inch for a first anniversary present in 1971. Thought, wow! great gun and great wife. They are both gone now. Wish I still had the gun.

 

[gunny4053]

The one I continue to seek a replacement for, my 686 CS-1.