Distracted by a S&W

[OldWin]

I'm a really poor Winchester collector. My problem is I distract too easy and there is a lot I like. One of my likes is S&W revolvers. I picked up a minty model 19-5 in a 2.5" round butt recently. Like all the Smith's I've had, its a great shooter and carries really well. I like the k-frame's compactness and carry-friendly nature.

I'd really like a 3" RB model 66 but I ain't payin' those prices.

This' ll have to do.

[Terry Murbach]

NICE !! the S&W M19 and model 66 are the two finest 357MAG designs in history. EVERYTHING else is either too heavy, or too light and kicks something awful. My 4" M19 has nearly 50M rounds through as we speak.

[OldWin]

I agree Terry.
I've a got a 4" P&R model 66 that I dearly love. Its an uncanny shooter and makes a very balanced package between shootability and portability.

The k-frame is only a little over .100 thicker than a j-frame across the cylinder if I remember correctly.

[Pete44ru]

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Very nice, and pristine, too ! Congrats !


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[Grizz]

I've got that same 66 OldWin. Best SA trigger on any firearm I've ever owned. Straight shooter.

I made the best shot I've ever made on game at any time with that revolver. It's a keeper for sure. Needs to find the proper grandchild who will keep it in the clan. Just for the stories it carries.

Grizz

[OldWin]

Thanks Pete,


Grizz,

This is an earlier pic of mine, its wearing a Hogue grip right now. Over the winter my wife and I have gone through about 1200 .38's. Many through this 66. The .38 Special has become my new .22lr. My youngest son doesn't want to wait till I die to get it and the oldest is eyeing it too.
If something happens to me its probably foul play.

[Rimfire McNutjob]

Fantastic looking gun. I agree on the 3" ... that would be just perfect.

[GoatGuy]

OldWin, that's a nice, good looking and handy piece. I too have a fondness for the K frame Smiths. Never had a 19 or 66, but mostly the .38 spec, versions. A model 67 .38 special is my closest companion here around the farm. Does about everything I will ever need done on my place. Do like my 3" model 13. It's a fine handy back pocket revolver. Had it parkerized and the hammer spur trimmed off of mine. My favorite S&W .357 guns are N frames and have a 1955 4" Highway Patrolman that works well for me when I need/want more reach...and blast.

[Rusty]

I agree OldWin, those K frames are just sweet. I've got a 3" M65 that I like to keep handy. I've been thinking about bobbing the hammer to make it more friendly though. Even the .38 k frames are over $300 these days.

[horsesoldier03]

I love my S&W 19, I had a nickel 586 as well but was an idiot and sold it to pick up a 1911. Now in my older years, I am tired of chasin brass and missing the hell out of my 586.

[GoatGuy]

"While the sight of a Model 19 on your hip only makes grizzly bears lick their chops just the rumor of a Model 28 will scare them out of the county."

Couldn't resist. Just read this on the Smith & Wesson Forum regarding someone asking for advice on K vs N frame .357 revolvers.

[yooper2]

Congrats! It's twin is my town gun.
It is fun to shoot the shorties at 50 or 100 yards, you really have to concentrate on everything to connect at long range. My 2.5" M19 made me a good handgun shooter because there is little room for error at long range with it, everything else seems easy after. Have fun,


Eric

[Booger Bill]

My Lew Horton special 66-3 one of three hundred 3".

[Mescalero]

Goat Guy,
My model 28 is a Texas DPS trade in.

[OldWin]

Bill,

You sure know how to hurt a guy.

[Malamute]

Nice score on the 2 1/2" 19. I had one a few years ago and foolishly traded it off. It really wasnt very pleasant to shoot with factory magnum 125 gr loads though. WOW!!!! It was like getting slapped in the face every time I shot it, the concussion was wicked.

Somebody had done a really good action job on it, it was one of (if not THE) slickest Smith actions I've ever felt. It was 100% reliable with everything I shot in it also. Needless to say, it shot very well.

[Paladin]

I agree the S&W model 19 is about the perfect feeling .357 GREAT FIND.
I had never owned a S&W until they issued me my second revolver when I hit the field. Been buying S&Ws ever since with the preferred barrel length being 3in for carry. This is a photo of my 3in collection upper left is a 3in 629 upper right is a 3in model 60 in .357, and a 3in model 66 lower left. (don't worry the 1 5/8 model 60 went with the divorce).

[GoatGuy]

Goat Guy,
My model 28 is a Texas DPS trade in.

That's a dandy one to own, Mescalero, congratulations. TX DPS heritage...the real deal for sure! Pack/shoot it much?
Balance seems just right to me with the Highway Patrolman 4" barrel. Of course a 6" is also grand and has some ballistic advantage, as well as a longer sighting plane. Think a feller just might be better off with one in each barrel length. What do you think? My 28's thrive on 158 grain, lead semi-wadcutter gas check bullets over 14.4 grains of 2400. Gotta love the S&W Highway Patrolman!

Sort of glad they don't make them today, just wouldn't be the same with frame mounted firing pin, lock, mim parts, funky cylinder release, stainless steel, etc., etc.

[6pt-sika]

OW , being a not so great Winchester collector isn't that bad a thing . Over the years I've found when I specialized in one brand or aspect of something I usually got tired or burned out on it quickly .

IF you have a little diversity in your collecting true you may not be as pronounced in one area but overall you should be the better for it !

Now with that being said I'm kinda thinking I need to replace my old S&W 629 4" I sold a couple years back

[OldWin]

6pt,
Thanks for the encouragement buddy. I'm not really complaining, I've got a few decent Winchesters. I just like too much other stuff too haha.


Paladin, Bill,
Nice 66's. Seems like everbody but me has one of those babies in a 3".
Good stuff guys!

[Ysabel Kid]

I can see where that would be distracting! What a beauty!!!

(don't worry the 1 5/8 model 60 went with the divorce).

That stinks!!!

[Booger Bill]

I have a lot of smiths and colts. I favor .44 specials and .45 colts. The K frame smiths are a little easier to pack than the N frame. I would rather shoot the bigger calibers over the .357`s. Most people that do carry a concealed .357 probably have them loaded with .38 special anyway. Okay, my favorite realistic packing gun is a 3" s&w model 36. Same barrel length as that model 66-3 with all the bells and whistles that I showed but almost half the weight. Not near as fancy but actually more practical and gets carried far more because of it. For outside carry, when I trail ride etc I like the N frames in bigger calibers. Here is a smith 25-5 in .45 colt and a 24-3 in .44 special. The last picture is a 5" .44 special that I had converted many years ago from a .38 HD. Being already beat up truth is it gets carried the most when we trail ride with our rzr.

[Grizz]

I like that last 44 spcl a lot. It looks like the real deal. Are the grips slippery?

When I started shooting and loading 44 mag I went with superblackhawk because I was reading about the extra strength, and stories of smiths shooting loose with full house mag loads. This was before the internet, possibly before al was born, and I don't know if smiths really shoot loose or not.

Suffice to say that I found a deer load that turned the ruger into a compact no miss carbine. Later switched to the redhawk because it was touted as stronger than the sbh, and I figured out that double-action has benefits if a bear is sitting on me.

But the redhawk isn't really attractive like your Spcl is.

Grizz

[OldWin]

Nice N-frames. The old .44spec is cool.

I've only got one N-frame, but not cause I don't want more.
My dad gave me this 629 when I graduated high school thirty years ago. It was brand new in the box, my first new gun, first Smith, and one of the handguns I wanted most. I treasure it to this day.
Fun to shoot and very accurate.

[CowboyTutt]

Now THAT is one Heck of a graduation gift! I could see how that would have so much meaning for you. -Tutt

[horsesoldier03]

Definitely a nice graduation gift. I received my first revolver, S&W 19 4", for my high school graduation present, 31 years ago.

[OldWin]

Definitely a nice graduation gift. I received my first revolver, S&W 19 4", for my high school graduation present, 31 years ago.

Weird.

Guess that makes us dopplegunners.


We both must have been really upstanding young men and great students............well, you must have been.

I still can't understand why my dad did that for me. I had other guns that I'd bought for myself by then. He bought me my first Winchester 94 carbine when I was in jr. high.

Since then, I've given him more guns than he gave me. But I'll never be able to repay him.

[rjohns94]

I like the 3 inch guns. Here is mine, an L frame. 586 performance center, black finish, rosewood grips, 7 shot, night sight front, adj. rear.

[OldWin]

Nice.

That's a pretty cool setup.

[Booger Bill]

No, the grips aren't slippery. The reason I like the smith .44 specials is first, you can load the special up to do about 90% of what people think they need a .44 mag for but the special is lighter do to the lighter barrel and shorter cylinder. I own a smith 5" model 29-2 and have owned another two in the past. I am a .44 special nut as I have 7 of them. Don't know how that happened. Reading Elmer and Skeeter I guess.

[1894c]

S&W Model 19/66 with a 2.5" barrel is my all time favorite handgun...of course I was real STUPID for letting the last one go when we transitioned to Glocks in 1996....NICE FIND...now I try to pretend that my Glock-26 Gen4 has been a good replacement for a M-19/66...not... :)