I couldn't stand it any longer...(long and boring)

With all the Covid restrictions at the LGS, I haven't been going by there much this spring/summer. The mask I don't mind too much, but due to "social distancing" and panic buying, they've had to put a barricade around the handgun counter, and start a one out, one in, stand in line system. I got a semi-bad back, I'm old, and fat, and hate to stand in lines. So I haven't been going in.

Last week I finally got desperate, so I started to watch the shops online shopping. I saw a couple of good ones that got away, but that got the juices flowing again. Got up one morning and saw a Smith and Wesson Model 19-4 that they must have just put up. I knew it must have just gone up, because it was still there. I hit the "buy it" button and a few minutes later I got an email saying it was ready for pickup.

It turned out to be a 1980, 19-4, Pennsylvania State Police Model in what to my old eyes appears to be "unfired outside the factory" condition. There isn't even a turn line. It had the target hammer, trigger, trigger stop, and smooth presentation stocks. I was pleased to find out the cardboard box, all the papers, and the unopened "tool pack" with cleaning rod, brush, mop, and sight adjusting tool (screwdriver for those who don't speak Smith and Wesson) was all included.





Anything that looks like wear is poor lighting I promise. I know someone will ask, but I'll probably never shoot it. I've got other Model 19's for that. This one will be just for show.

I filled out the paperwork, found out the system was being it's usual annoying self, so my wife and I left to get something to eat. On the way out, I walked by the used handgun counter, and spotted what I thought was a Model 629 with a 4" barrel. Not wanting to make my wife wait longer, we left and I called back in to ask about the 629. Nope. Sorry. No 629 in the case. Oh well.

Wife and I ate, went home for a while, got a call and was told my background was back. Just on a chance, I grabbed a gun I didn't really care for and took it along "just in case." When we got there, praise be, there was no line to get into the handgun inner sanctum. I slipped in, went back and lo and behold, the SS N-frame was still there. But the guy who told me they didn't have a 629 was right. It was a 624 (44 Special) with a 4" barrel.

Now I really like the 44 Special, and I have an almost fetish for a 4" barrel revolver, so I couldn't start that trade fast enough. To make a long story just a little shorter, I ended up getting the 624 (no dash) from 1985 also.





It's been fired a few times, and the grips are aftermarket Eagle's but neither of those matter to me. Now to get busy and load some 44 Special ammo.

 

Double jackpot! 2 beauties you got there. Enjoy them both, especially the 624, as you'll be shooting that one.

 

Awesome shopping trip. Can I come along next time? Please? LOL.

 

far from boring!

 

DAMN! You did good!! That’s awesome

 

If that was my lgs that you found those treasures, I hope you stay home for a while.
.....since I'm pretty certain that it wasn't, congrats.


Uh... why dont you visit my lgs, and trade those two jewels in on...say , a glock or a Canik or something.

 

Score!

 

Now there's an awful nice piece. Just curious.. Do you suppose you'll end up with a pile of Skeeter loads for that 624?

 

I wish I had that sorta luck at my LGS... right now it’s one empty shelf after another... unless I want to buy fishing lures or clay pigeons, those are stocked in abundance.

A brace of royal beauties you have found, nicely done!

Stay safe.

 

My LGS is decently stocked, but not stocked with that type of quality! I recently got a well priced AR15 lower and an 8lb keg of 4320 for under $200.

I too have a borderline fetish with 4" barrels AND 44 special. That one tickles my fancy hahah!

 

(Pointing finger). “He’s hoarding, he’s hoarding!” lol

Great double score. Good luck with them.

 

I doubt it. I'm not a real serious "shooter" these days, so I'm happy with some mid range loads that make the gun go BANG and punch a hole in a piece of paper. I do however, like nice guns.

You're darn right I am.

 

Cajun Bass

WOW, some guys have all the luck (there's a song title in there somewhere)! Congrats on the perfect double header!

 

Howdy

I have a Model 624 that could be the twin to yours. I bought it while I was still looking for a Model 24, which are scarce as hen's teeth.

When I got it, it had these oversized target grips on it.






I did not much care for the grips, so I put a pair of magna grips from my grips box onto it. 44 Special does not kick all that much in a fairly heavy gun like this, so I did not feel the need for the oversized target grips.






Anyway, you might want to give S&W a holler about that one. Apparently they used a batch of stainless steel for the cylinders of some that was not quite up to snuff. If you get in touch with the their customer service department they can probably look up your serial number and tell you if yours is suspect or not. Mine shipped in 1985 and the serial number is AHC04XX. They told me mine was OK. You might want to give them a call. If there is a problem, I doubt they have replacement cylinders for this model laying about, but you might want to call them for peace of mind.

 

Congratulations...!

Nice to hear a good story with a double happy ending.

And just in time for Thanksgiving, too.

 

Mine is in the AHC4XXX range, so it's pretty close to your's. The Smith and Wesson boards tell me they S&W doesn't have any replacement cylinders, and haven't for years, so I'm just going to keep my fingers crossed and my loads moderate. I don't shoot to much these days anyway.

The grips on mine are Eagles (so marked on the back) and they have a thinner profile than the somewhat thick target grips Smith and Wesson was using about that time. They feel great to me, and I just like the way the targets look on a gun. I think all of mine have them now.

 

Wowwww, that Model 19 is gorgeous.

 

I have a 24-3 and much prefer the smaller grips. My favorite load used to be the old 240 grain Lead RN Remingtons. I used to buy two boxes every payday, shoot them up in my Super Blackhawk over the next two weeks, and do it again next payday. My favorite gun-store was next to the bank. !!! (back in the day when you got your check, and then took it somewhere to cash it) Those were really super accurate. I used to be able to repeatedly twang the wire on a bob-wire fence with them. Of course, 100 rounds a week didn't hurt my shooting skills either. Now I load a cast 240 grain RN to the same velocity, I think it said 740fps on them old boxes.

As far as I know, they don't make that load anymore, seems like I've seen boxes of them at gun shows for insane prices. Winchester made an identical load back in the day, I still have a few of them laying around.

I'd shoot the heck out of that 19.

 

I can understand why people would say that, but I've got other Model 19's that I do shoot. This one is going to be just for pretty.

 

Howdy

I like that. There are some folks who cannot understand having a revolver and not shooting it.

I have plenty of revolvers, and plenty of the are Smith and Wessons.

There are some I shoot, and some are 'just for pretty'.

This is my Model 19-3 that I bought brand-spanky new in 1975. Hmmm....45 years ago.

I ain't saying I have never shot it in all those years, of course I have. But I don't take it to the range much these days.

It is pretty much Just for Pretty.

 

No, don't understand just-for-pretty, but I defend your right to exercise just-for-pretty! Or something like that.

 

The wife and I have an fairly extensive S&W collection, but only one .44 special. You are very fortunate! Model 24s are quite rare and rather expensive. Our only .44 special is a nickled 5" 1929 .44 Hand Ejector "Wolf & Klar" model (Jenks' letter said it cost a whopping $21.90 at the time, but I wouldn't take twice that for it now! ) We purchase most of our guns as investments, and yours' is one of the absolute best! However, the .44 special is a fantastic, underrated round, inherently accurate, easy to reload, and it does not beat up the guns it's fired in, so you'd be fine if you want to shoot that beauty. Congratulations! The Model 19 is also a fine gun, which is skyrocketing in value, and the first .357 I ever shot. You did VERY well!

 

One of the things that I really like about this particular Model 19, is that a Model 19 was the first handgun I ever purchased. I didn't know diddly about "dash numbers" back then, but it was probably a -4 based on the time period, which would have been the late 70's. I was young then of course, and there was always something else, and I was going to live forever...so when something else caught my eye, I traded that gun away.

This one is from about that same time period. The box looks just like the box my original one came in. The paperwork inside is as best I can remember the same paperwork that was in that first one. The original one wasn't a Pa. State trooper model, and it had regular target stocks, not the smooth presentation stocks this one has, but I figure it's about as close to that original one as I'm going to find.

Back then it was a "thing" to engrave everything with your social security number. Insurance companies, police departments, TV and radio news pushed the program. Some of you no doubt have seen a gun with a SS number scrawled across it like scar on a pretty girls face. Well, I fell for it too. But I was at least smart enough to put it under the grip, not across the face of the gun. I seldom pass by a Model 19 with a 4" barrel, I don't ask if I can pull the grips. One of these days, I hope I find it.

 

When I lived in GA a fellow shooter was showing me a gun he bought from a local pawnshop. It was a Model 60 S&W 3in .357 full lug pre lock adj. sights. It had the most horrid electric pencil scrawling ALL OVER it! It was brand new otherwise. It had "this gun stolen from ...." all over it. Social security number etc. It made me physically ill to look at it. The funny thing is the pawnbroker is a buddy of mine and had my number on a sticky note at the register for ALL S&W revolvers that came in. He said he never called because he thought I'd not want it as bad as it looked.
It sold for about 125 out the door. (I still woulda bought it)