Educate me on the Model 28

[Shade00]

The only thing you really need to know about the Model 28 is that you should buy one if you find one reasonably priced.

I'm sure you've heard it before, but they ain't getting any cheaper OR better.

 

[Hawk]

The prices I'm finding online for NIB Model 28's is closer to $600-700. Where are y'all finding $350 and $450?

Dallas. Specifically Singleton Blvd. But the lower range covers only darkest Bangor Punta (Bangor Punta, I heard, is Spanish for "tool mark").

Less troubled Bangor Punta will hit 450 easily and anything else will sail past that. A guru on another forum maintains that the nicest S&Ws are those from the early 90s right after Tompkins PLC paid for all the CNC stuff. I'm inclined to agree. Some earlier stuff may be nicer still but us mere mortals are unlikely to find any of that stripe that one would actually shoot. Too bad the 28s never saw this period.

Older is not necessarily better when one is comparing 1975 to 1986.

The 28 ran from 1954 through 1986. Good and bad can be found in all years but if you have to roll the dice on something that can't be checked, avoiding 75 through 79 couldn't hurt.

I love my 78 but a lot of that has to do with the amount of skin I have in it. Had I bought it new in 78 I'd probably be cussin' S&W to this day.

 

[Zeede]

Hmm okay, I was going to ask when the Bangor Punta days were, but avoiding 1975-79 is easy enough.

Cameron

 

[Hawk]

Fuff might expand or contract the year range to some extent and I will cheerfully defer to his expertise.

But 75 through 79 will do until he shows up.
Bangor Punta covered a much wider range than that but some parts are dicier than others.

 

[harmonic]

avoiding 1975-79 is easy enough.

It's a moot point. You're in kalifornistan. You can't find 28s there. The private party supply dried up long ago and they're not on the approved list.

 

[Zeede]

DOH, you are correct! Back to the drawing board...

Looks like some of the pre-lock 586's and 686's would fit the bill.

Cameron

 

[mattd987]

I was just reviewing a list dis-allowed guns in California. Wow! I am glad that I don't live there. That would suck!

Good luck with whatever you can do in your search for a good revolver.

 

[harmonic]

Back to the drawing board...

Looks like some of the pre-lock 586's and 686's would fit the bill.

This guy scored this.......



........from here:

http://www.bayareagunvault.com/

.........for a lot less than a new model 27 is being sold from Smith.

Here's his thread:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/530103904/m/6831048723

There are apparantly some P&R Smiths being sold. They're fetching a premium, though.

You can do what I did when I was living in kal (up till about three years ago), viz. compile a list of all the dealers who do consignment sales and who specialize in older collectable Smiths.

For me, that would be places like San Jose Guns, Collectable Firearms in Walnut Creek, Old Sacramento Armory, etc. I lived in Modesto and would drive around checking their stuff out. A couple hour drive in some cases, and it didn't always pan out. But sometimes it did.

It just requires some sleuthing on your part.

 

[Phil DeGraves]

FWIW I note that Bianchi's 5BH is said to fit both K and L frames.

Actually the 5BH is available for the K,L, and N Frames (I have some for my 624 and 29). But that is a model number of a holster. It doesn't mean that the one individual holster will fit all three frame sizes, only that that configuration is available for each frame size.

 

[Phil DeGraves]

The M-28 being the same size as a big bore M-29 or M-25 does nothing for me.

Except it makes training with your N-Frame platform cheaper because you can shoot .38 in it, though I will admit, it is overlarge for the cartridge.

 

[cherryriver]

My third gun was a six-inch M-28. I looked at the weight and thought it might help with getting my wife to shoot .38s.
In my youthful figuring, I neglected the size. Her small hands couldn't master this large gun.
But, this is the gun (in tandem with the spiffier 27) that the .357 cartidge was designed for, and shooting full-house .357s with a six-inch N-frame comes close to being pleasant. I have lots of .357s, but this one is the nicest to shoot with powerful ammunition. If I ever went hunting with a .357, this would be it.
On the other hand, so to speak, the large size makes fast double-action work a bit more problematic, with the longer trigger reach, stroke, and big, heavy cylinder to get spinning.
The 686 really does do better in this regard.
So, I still have the 28, 34 years later, but there's a 686 right next to it.
Meanwhile, I shoot a Python in IDPA. So there.

 

[CH47gunner]

most comfortable .357

Just have to be patient & be in the right place at the right time.
I picked up this Pre-28 5 screw at the last San Francisco, Cow Palace gunshow.
Serial number dates it to 1953-1954. Has the original Diamond Coke grips, no box or docs tho. Can't have everything.
It's, by far, the most comfortable .357 I've ever fired
They're out there, you just gotta look.
Yes, even in California.

Bruce

Smith & Wesson Pre-28

 

[Big Mike]

www.jgsales.com Check their website and get their flyer. Mike

 

[SwampWolf]

Anybody know what serial number range the Banga Punta made 28s are?

 

[Ala Dan]

FWIW, back in the fall of 2000 I bought a 6" Smith & Wesson
model 28-2 for $270, from Mount Vernon Gun & Coin in Mt.
Vernon, IL. Fit N' finish was near perfect, but this firearm
had internal problems; and I finally got shed of it~!

It kind'a burnt me out on buying off the Internet, or sight
unseen.

 

[jmr40]

If you can find a 28 at a reasonable price buy it. They are no longer making guns like that anymore. Don't worry about the weight. There is virtually no difference in weight between an L frame Smith or GP-100 Ruger and a model 28. The 28's have a thin tapered barrel and no underlug which offsets the weight difference between it and the 686. The cylinder is only 1/8" thicker than a 686 and aftermarket grips can make the large frame fit anyones hands.

The L frame Smiths and GP-100 are fine guns but I sold mine years ago and have decided I like the large frames best. It started when I bought my 1st 4" 629 When I actually weighed it, I found it was lighter than the 686 I had and the difference in thickness was neglible. My 28 is only about 1 oz. heavier than a 4" 686. To get any substantial difference you have to drop down to the K frame. I believe Bill Jordon had the right idea after all.

 

[Master Blaster]

I really like 4 and 6" n frames, the 4's have the best balance and shootability of any handgun ever made, for me anyway.

I see very few 28s around here. I am wary of any old Smith that has perfect cosmetics,It could mean it had a problem the previous owner never had fixed. The last one I found a model 629 P&R model had endshake from the factory even though it appeared unfired, it was easy enough to fix, but like Ala Dan I dont like buying guns sight unseen.

I actually see more 27s for sale in local shops around here by far.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Zeede- to answer your question on bbl. length, yes they also made the 28 with a 5" bbl. A couple guys at our local gun club regularly shoot 5" 28's and they are original factory bbl's. As for the L frame fitting in K frame holsters, they almost always do. I have an L frame [pre mim, lock etc.] 4" and yes it fits beautifully in a Bianchi 5bh holster that i bought for a model 66. Any time Generally if you can't get an L frame into a K frame holster it's becuase of the underlug, some holsters are sewn kinda tight in that area. I just recently offed a 28-6" in cherry condition and I regret it. They are nice guns, and if you want the high gloss finish, S&W told me they can put it on for a rather reasonable cost. One word about 28's- with the recessed chambers [which add nothing in the way of strength with today's better brass] wont accept bullets with longer than factory lengh noses which are common on alot of todays cast bullets. That's only a concern tho if you reload that type of projectile.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

I forgot to mention Williams Gun Sight in Davison Mi. usually has a few 28's on hand, for somewhere between 250.00 and 350.00.

 

[g.willikers]

I was chuckling at the price of the Colt in 1955.
While it doesn't seem like much in the horribly inflated money of today, back then $125 was about two weeks pay.
Good used cars could be bought for not much more.
By comparison, the prices today are actually lower relative to everything else.

 

[Reid73]

As for the L frame fitting in K frame holsters, they almost always do. I have an L frame [pre mim, lock etc.] 4" and yes it fits beautifully in a Bianchi 5bh holster that i bought for a model 66.

Thank you! That accords with everything I have heard.

 

[Big B]

I bought a model 28-2 six months ago for my first handgun, for many of the same reasons listed in this thread. When I was shopping around (here in northern California) I saw about six different models from $500-$750. I paid 600+ fees. I haven't seen one in the local shops since then.
[/IMG]

 

[[email protected]]

i own a mod,28 that was my duty weapon back in 1976(akron oh p.d. the weapon has been stored for years. it has a beautiful armoloy(sp) finish and new s&w target grips. for all intents and purposes. it's a ss model 28. it's like new in orig box and it would take a good buck to buy it. not forsale. thanks, dave

 

[BCRider]

Since this thread is reasonably current I thought I'd add my own news to the collection.

I just paid for this beauty yesterday and I'm looking forward to getting it out to the range in about 3 months once all my papers, permits and all the other ballyhoo is done... it takes longer for this stuff up here...

I never thought I'd be a wheel gun lover but after shooting a bunch of 9mm's to figure out what semi I would get for IPSC this coming season I was looking in the case of rentals and decided to try a K framed S&W for laughs. Well laugh I did but not with frustration or because I thought it was silly. Instead I was giggling to myself like I'd just found a new love. And I suppose I had.

The 19 felt really sweet but the solidness of the 28 combined with what feels like a really nice balance for shooting the .357's made me whip out the debit card. Besides, as mentioned around here a lot of times they ain't makin' any more of them so buy it and if by some miracle it's not for me then sell it. I'll get a 19 as well somewhere along the way but I'll probably reload .357 cases with a load equal to or slightly more strong than a .38 spl to keep more in tune with the size and mass of the 19. Meanwhile the 28 here will get the "full meal deal" or perhaps only slightly tuned down for IPSC revolver class playing. Gotta keep it strong enough to make major but keep the kick down a bit.

Oh yeah... it's gonna be a good summer coming up. Never got into guns other than an air rifle as a kid so this is a whole new world for this soon to be retired guy.

 

[Beagle-zebub]

BCrider, is your Highway Patrolman from before the era (1957 forward) when they were known as the model 28, or was "Highway Patrolman" the name of the 28 through the entirety of its production run?