my first relatively clean P&R smith

[roval]

the only pinned and recessed smith that i have is a beat up m17. i saw this 19-4 that looked fairly clean. 5 chambers .356 1 chamber .357 BC gap .006. i only noticed as i am buying it that the previous owner scribed his SS# on the frame beneath the cylinder with crappy handwriting as well. i asked if the price was firm with the SS and the owner of the LGS took off $100 the listed price so came to $550 plus tax. i have a 19-5 that is a great shooter with target grips just wanted to have a P&R Smith. came with pachmayer grips and the original box with a price of $209.60. trigger pull is nice. the grips actually feel good.

 

[1KPerDay]

Nice. I've never seen a 19 with a (5 inch? 6?) barrel like that. sweet price too.

 

[Charlie98]

Yea, those Pachy Grippers are the bomb for S&W Magnums. Ugly? Sure, but they sure shoot nice.

 

[silicosys4]

nicely done, thats a pretty good price for a P&R M19

 

[UncleEd]

The major problem with recessed chambers is they must
be checked regularly. They tend to attract crud, not always
easily seen but just enough to stop decent seating of cartridges.

For that reason I always preferred the 19-5 and later models.

 

[GRIZ22]

Nice. I've never seen a 19 with a (5 inch? 6?) barrel like that. sweet price too.

I used to carry a 6" Model 19 as a duty gun.

AFAIK they never made a 5 ".

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Nice. I've never seen a 19 with a (5 inch? 6?) barrel like that. sweet price too.

It's a 6-inch, they didn't offer a 5" M19 as a regular production model, but I believe there were a couple 5" special distributor orders.

Great looking M19, Roval. As you may already know, avoid 110Gr. Magnums in those as they are generally credited with contributing to forcing cone failure on K-frame magnums.

 

[roval]

The major problem with recessed chambers is they must
be checked regularly. They tend to attract crud, not always
easily seen but just enough to stop decent seating of cartridges.

For that reason I always preferred the 19-5 and later

definitely on the 617 with 10 chambers and 22 lr being dirty it is a pain to qtip the crud out. the 17 not as much. i'll see how this one goes.

 

[roval]

Nice. I've never seen a 19 with a (5 inch? 6?) barrel like that. sweet price too.

it is a 6 inch. maybe just the angle of the shot.

 

[roval]

It's a 6-inch, they didn't offer a 5" M19 as a regular production model, but I believe there were a couple 5" special distributor orders.

Great looking M19, Roval. As you may already know, avoid 110Gr. Magnums in those as they are generally credited with contributing to forcing cone failure on K-frame magnums.

158 gr should be ok with low to mid range 357mag right?. i'll shoot some 158 pc rnfp with 13.5 2400 i have loaded up for the 2021 python as well as 6 gr unique with 158 gr pc swc( more of this) but mainly 38 spcls.

 

[bangswitch]

The major problem with recessed chambers is they must
be checked regularly. They tend to attract crud, not always
easily seen but just enough to stop decent seating of cartridges.

For that reason I always preferred the 19-5 and later models.

Recessed chambers aren't an issue if you clean them after shooting and don't let gunk build up. An old toothbrush is a perfect cleaning tool. Of the ten S&W revolvers I own, only one isn't recessed, and I have no problems keeping them clean.

158 gr should be ok with low to mid range 357mag right?. i'll shoot some 158 pc rnfp with 13.5 2400 i have loaded up for the 2021 python as well as 6 gr unique with 158 gr pc swc( more of this) but mainly 38 spcls.

158's at a MV around 1200-1250 fps are easy on the gun, recoil isn't jarring, and still pack a punch. Nice find, it's the last series of P&R (dash 4) M19. The Patridge front sight is my preference on the 6" barrel and is usually what you find on 6" M19's. Great price, too. I know the Pachmayr grips are probably comfortable, but you ought to find a nice set of factory target grips for that.

 

[roval]

Recessed chambers aren't an issue if you clean them after shooting and don't let gunk build up. An old toothbrush is a perfect cleaning tool. Of the ten S&W revolvers I own, only one isn't recessed, and I have no problems keeping them clean.

158's at a MV around 1200-1250 fps are easy on the gun, recoil isn't jarring, and still pack a punch. Nice find, it's the last series of P&R (dash 4) M19. The Patridge front sight is my preference on the 6" barrel and is usually what you find on 6" M19's. Great price, too. I know the Pachmayr grips are probably comfortable, but you ought to find a nice set of factory target grips for that.

are the current target grips sold by smith and wesson the old style that has good thickness at the top of the grip unlike the thin at the top grips that ship with the classic series?
still feels weird to have a gun with somebody's ss #. i used my birchwood casey touch up pen on it so it's not so easily seen or read.

 

[Pat Riot]

158 gr should be ok with low to mid range 357mag right?. i'll shoot some 158 pc rnfp with 13.5 2400 i have loaded up for the 2021 python as well as 6 gr unique with 158 gr pc swc( more of this) but mainly 38 spcls.

Congratulations on your model 19-4 Roval. Aside from those grips it looks great. I’m kidding.

I also have a 19-4. I mostly shoot .38 Special, but I do shoot 158 grain .357 Magnum reloads. I keep the velocity at 1200 FPS maximum. I use jacketed and lead moly coated bullets.
@NIGHTLORD40K mentioned avoiding 110 grain magnum loads. I take it further and only use 158 grain bullets. I have heard of model 19s cracking forcing cones with 125 & 135 grain magnum ammo as well.
I do not use factory magnum ammo unless I know for sure it’s not hot rodded. I won’t use factory ammo that I can’t find velocity specs on.
158 grain .357 Magnum Ammo made by Fiocchi, PMC, Sellier & Bellot and Magtech all run hot. Too hot for me to want to risk cracking the forcing cone.
If you hand-load, a load that I shoot occasionally is a 158 grain X-treme TMJ SWC over 6.2 grains of Winchester 244 powder with a Small Magnum Pistol primer.
I am going to test this powder with Bear Creek Supply moly-coated lead RNFP or SWC bullets. 6.0 grains (the max load) has a velocity of 1250 FPS with a 7.5” barrel. BCS bullets can handle over 1300 FPS without smearing or losing integrity per one of their customer service reps. I will keep at 1200 max.

I actually considered selling my 19-4 but a trip to the range cured that mental anomaly.

Here is my model 19. The grips are Altamont Ropers.

 

[Pat Riot]

are the current target grips sold by smith and wesson the old style that has good thickness at the top of the grip unlike the thin at the top grips that ship with the classic series?

The new S&W Classic revolver grips are made by Altamont and made the same dimensions as their Roper grips. They just have a different checkering pattern. I am assuming that you want the old factory Target grips, correct?
Personally, I really like the Altamont Ropers. I couldn’t deal with the factory Target grips because of the way they belled out at the bottom. I have XXL hands and for some reason just don’t like them.

 

[roval]

The new S&W Classic revolver grips are made by Altamont and made the same dimensions as their Roper grips. They just have a different checkering pattern. I am assuming that you want the old factory Target grips, correct?
Personally, I really like the Altamont Ropers. I couldn’t deal with the factory Target grips because of the way they belled out at the bottom. I have XXL hands and for some reason just don’t like them.

i do prefer the old style target grips.my 19-5 came with them but these pachmayers feel good. will m29 target grips fit?

 

[Pat Riot]

i do prefer the old style target grips.my 19-5 came with them but these pachmayers feel good. will m29 target grips fit?

Unfortunately, no. The model 29 is an N frame.
I just looked at K frame Target grips on eBay. Nice ones are $100-$125. The price has gone up since I last looked at them.

 

[CajunBass]

I've got a couple of my old guns out there somewhere that have my SS number electro penciled onto them. Yes, I was that dumb back then, but at least I had the sense to to put it under the stocks where it couldn't be seen without removing them. Just yesteday? Day before? I bought an old 38 M&P that has a SS number carved into the base of the grip, like we boys used to carve our names on a tree at the school bus stop. I look at it as part of the history of the gun. A relic from long ago.

 

[bangswitch]

are the current target grips sold by smith and wesson the old style that has good thickness at the top of the grip unlike the thin at the top grips that ship with the classic series?
still feels weird to have a gun with somebody's ss #. i used my birchwood casey touch up pen on it so it's not so easily seen or read.

At least the previous owner put his SS scratching where it isn't seen unless the gun is open. I've seen them totally ruined by etching on the frame above the trigger area or on the trigger guard itself.

S&W now contracts to Altamont for all its wooden stock sets. IDK when exactly it started doing it, but a period-correct set for your revolver would be Goncalo Alves wood, non-laminated like the Altamonts are. A decent set of GA target stocks will run you a couple hundred dollars at least, depending on condition. Altamont makes many different patterns for S&W revolvers, beyond the "factory" design they do for S&W. They are good quality and fit perfectly. Checkering is actual pointed cuts, but done with a laser, and they have floral and "engraved" patterns too. I usually put a set of Altamont stocks on my most-used revolvers to keep the originals in good shape and unworn.
GA stocks for your dash-4 would have what is called a "speedloader cut" on the left panel, a broader relief than the "football" cut on earlier series, but the football cut would be fine as the dash-4 was sort of transitional for the change in stocks, early dash-4's could have the football stocks (shown below on my M19-3). The only engineering difference between the dash-3 and dash-4 M19 is the gas ring, which was moved from the yoke back to the cylinder. Early M19-3's had the gas ring on the cylinder and it was moved to the yoke around 1975 without making an engineering series change, When it was moved back to the cylinder, an engineering series change made it the dash-4.

You can see on my stocks where the football cut has wear from extracting spent cases and from using a speedloader to load, Not quite enough clearance so the "speedloader cut" was created to make more room. I don't have a revolver new enough to have a set of stocks like that for comparison.

 

[UncleEd]

Bangswitch, I believe you have the three "Ts", the target hammer,
trigger and stocks. Nice. Not the best for fast DA shooting but
that's not always necessary or productive.

Because Gen. Curtis LeMay wanted a gun ready for target shooting
in competition with the Army's 1911s, he chose the S&W Model 15
with the target triggers and hammers as standard. At the time
rules dictated strict limits on how much a "stock" gun could be
modified. Today as we know those USAF marked guns in
excellent condition are worth a small fortune.

 

[Armored farmer]

are the current target grips sold by smith and wesson the old style that has good thickness at the top of the grip unlike the thin at the top grips that ship with the classic series?
still feels weird to have a gun with somebody's ss #. i used my birchwood casey touch up pen on it so it's not so easily seen or read.View attachment 1200780

Ah
You can't see that from the road, off a galloping horse.

 

[Dave DeLaurant]

Beautiful 19-4 -- congratulations on a cherry find!

[BTW, since the M17 chambers use moonclips, the chambers aren't recessed for cartridge rims. But I know what you meant. ]

 

[roval]

Beautiful 19-4 -- congratulations on a cherry find!

[BTW, since the M17 chambers use moonclips, the chambers aren't

aren't this recessed?

 

[reddog81]

That's a rare find in that condition and that price was a great deal even with the aftermarket grips and penciled in SS number.

FWIW the M17 is a .22, I think Dave in post #21 was thinking of a 1917, which is a 45 ACP revolver that uses moonclips.

 

[roval]

That's a rare find in that condition and that price was a great deal even with the aftermarket grips and penciled in SS number.

FWIW the M17 is a .22, I think Dave in post #21 was thinking of a 1917, which is a 45 ACP revolver that uses moonclips.

now i get it.

 

[CajunBass]

Here's a set of S&W factory stocks with the speedloader cut. Note: This is a 19-5, no pin, no recessed chambers. You can clearly see the (dummy) case heads in the window between the cylinder and the recoil shield. On a recessed cylinder, there would be a much narrower window, and you'd have a hard time seeing the case heads.

Ironically, I never use a speedloader.