I'm not really a revolver guy. I admit it.
I've always liked semi autos. I have 15 of them. That said, I always thought that I should have at least 1 revolver, so a while back I bought a Taurus 431. I really didn't know anything about it, it just appealed to me aesthetically.
It wasn't the revolver I wanted, that has proved elusive for a long time. Ever since I was a kid, there was this cap gun I had. It was silver, and the right side of the cylinder slid up so that I could insert the roll of caps. It was a snub, but even for a kid's toy, it was a big snub. It was also -as far as I was concerned - the cat's ass when it came to revolvers. On the bottom of the grips it said "Trooper," and it wasn't until I was an adult that I learned it was a Smith & Wesson model 19.
The Taurus kind of reminded me of the 19. It was big, and imposing. I had only seen one 19 in the last 5 years of gun buying, and it was so abused, I wouldn't have taken it for free, let alone the $399.00 the shop was asking for it. I settled in with the 431 and kind of forgot about the 19.
Friday I made a trip to my usual gun shop. I was expecting a spotting scope I had ordered to be in. The manager brings it out from the back, and there's something sitting on top of the box. As I walk up to the counter, I can see it's a revolver of some kind, and I'm thinking he's bringing it out for someone else, but there's no one else in the shop. He just walks away and leaves it there.
I get to the counter, and what's sitting on top of the box is a beautiful, excellent condition blued model 19-4, 2-1/2". The manager is just watching me. 3 years ago I asked him to keep his eyes peeled for one for me. I thought he had forgotten about it, as I certainly had.
It was going home with me, of that I was certain. I wasn't really prepared to buy another gun as I've been rather profligate in my gun spending of late: In the past year I've gone from 3 pistols to 16 handguns and 7 rifles. I was kind of afraid of what the price was going to be, but the bluing was so deep and clean the pistol felt so natural, and reminded me so much of that cap gun when I was a boy. As I held it, just pulling back the hammer and lowering it again, I looked at Zach with an inquiring glance. How much was this going to hurt????
"$250.00."
So it now sits here next to me. He even threw in a box of American Eagle 158 gr. JSP cartridges, and I now have the revolver I always wanted. Had it not rained all day Saturday, and had I not had tennis matches today, I would be able to post a range report and see if it lives up to decades-old expectations, but unfortunately that will have to wait until next weekend now.
As I stated when I started this post, I'm not really a revolver guy. There aren't many that I want. I don't know if I shall ever get another, but I do know that this one will never leave. I don't say that about many of my guns. My Bren Ten, my SIG P228, my M1's and my M1 Carbine are all in that category.
And now, so is the 19.
..Joe
I've always liked semi autos. I have 15 of them. That said, I always thought that I should have at least 1 revolver, so a while back I bought a Taurus 431. I really didn't know anything about it, it just appealed to me aesthetically.
It wasn't the revolver I wanted, that has proved elusive for a long time. Ever since I was a kid, there was this cap gun I had. It was silver, and the right side of the cylinder slid up so that I could insert the roll of caps. It was a snub, but even for a kid's toy, it was a big snub. It was also -as far as I was concerned - the cat's ass when it came to revolvers. On the bottom of the grips it said "Trooper," and it wasn't until I was an adult that I learned it was a Smith & Wesson model 19.
The Taurus kind of reminded me of the 19. It was big, and imposing. I had only seen one 19 in the last 5 years of gun buying, and it was so abused, I wouldn't have taken it for free, let alone the $399.00 the shop was asking for it. I settled in with the 431 and kind of forgot about the 19.
Friday I made a trip to my usual gun shop. I was expecting a spotting scope I had ordered to be in. The manager brings it out from the back, and there's something sitting on top of the box. As I walk up to the counter, I can see it's a revolver of some kind, and I'm thinking he's bringing it out for someone else, but there's no one else in the shop. He just walks away and leaves it there.
I get to the counter, and what's sitting on top of the box is a beautiful, excellent condition blued model 19-4, 2-1/2". The manager is just watching me. 3 years ago I asked him to keep his eyes peeled for one for me. I thought he had forgotten about it, as I certainly had.
It was going home with me, of that I was certain. I wasn't really prepared to buy another gun as I've been rather profligate in my gun spending of late: In the past year I've gone from 3 pistols to 16 handguns and 7 rifles. I was kind of afraid of what the price was going to be, but the bluing was so deep and clean the pistol felt so natural, and reminded me so much of that cap gun when I was a boy. As I held it, just pulling back the hammer and lowering it again, I looked at Zach with an inquiring glance. How much was this going to hurt????
"$250.00."
So it now sits here next to me. He even threw in a box of American Eagle 158 gr. JSP cartridges, and I now have the revolver I always wanted. Had it not rained all day Saturday, and had I not had tennis matches today, I would be able to post a range report and see if it lives up to decades-old expectations, but unfortunately that will have to wait until next weekend now.
As I stated when I started this post, I'm not really a revolver guy. There aren't many that I want. I don't know if I shall ever get another, but I do know that this one will never leave. I don't say that about many of my guns. My Bren Ten, my SIG P228, my M1's and my M1 Carbine are all in that category.
And now, so is the 19.
..Joe
Your FFL sounds like a well OK fella.
