Magnaport hurt value?

My LGS has a near pristine S&W Model 28-2. Gun is in original condition with almost no turn line in the cylinder. Looking at the front face of the cylinder, no powder rings to show it was even shot. Has box, and paperwork. I would have already bought it, but for the Magnaporting. The gun is on consignment, owner is asking $950. What do you think about the price? I thought it was a bit high. This will be a shooter, especially being it lost its originality by being Magnaported.

 

Mag-Na - Porting lowers the price, so i have been told on the S&W forum. I ported my m29-2. Porting for the 44 mag is useful in double action with full loads. In the M28, not needed. The weight of the m28 soaks up the recoil.

If you want a ported gun to shoot, its a plus. As a collector item, it will never be one. To many made. I have a M28 also.

Buy a new 686


Use the new gun price as a bargaining tool.

A colored insert does get blackened.

 

My Model 28 is my most accurate DA centerfire revolver.

I read a lot of whining about magna-porting, but my experience is that I don't care. I've owned ported handguns and it doesn't really matter to me. I don't really notice one way or the other when I'm shooting them. I think my 629 is ported. NBD. Just takes two minutes longer to clean.

If it was in good shape and the price was good, I would buy it, NP. If it sits in the case for a while, mention how horrible porting is and how everyone hates it and how it ruins the gun. Maybe that will drop the price for you.

There are no excuses with this thing. Either the bullet holes all touch, or I am totally messing up.

Smith And Wesson Model 28 by Tallball posted Mar 14, 2019 at 11:51 PM

 

It is my opinion that your opinion is all that truly matters.
If the porting doesn’t bother you and you want the gun then buy it. Worrying about collector value in a gun you plan to shoot us like driving a sports car to only get groceries so that the next guy that owns it will have a well taken care of sports car.
Are you buying it to leave on a shelf and then hopefully sell it at a profit?
In that case the porting might be an issue.

Would I pay $950 for it? If I wanted it, yes. I highly doubt you’ll find one in the shape you describe for less money these days.

It’s your money, not they guys that collect guns and have mini heart attacks over what someone else does to their firearms.

 

Pat Riot said it best, it’s your opinion that matters. I couldn’t agree more with him. If you’re going to shoot it, then any collector value will probably drop significantly.

 

Buy it, shoot it, enjoy it.

 

Once the undervalued dog of the N-frame world due to its plain finish, M28 prices have recently surged. I haven't seen a halfway decent example for under a grand in 2-3 years, with some pushers asking $13-1400 for minty examples.

So, with the porting removing any collector interest, $950 seems in line with the market for a clean shooter-grade.

 

If you are buying a gun for the collectors/increased resale value, then don't make any permanent changes like Magnaporting. If you are having a hard time shooting a gun due to the recoil/muzzle rise then Magnaporting may be your thing.

 

My standard answer has always been, I'd rather have a sister in a whorehouse than a ported sixgun. Contrary to popular misconception, porting does not reduce recoil. It redirects it. It just turns muzzle rise into more backward push into your palm. It also increases muzzle blast and I'm a cast bullet shooter, so the extra bullet lube all over the front sight is also a big turn-off. So there's no way in hell I'd pay $950 for a ported model 28 but that's just me. I paid $600 for this minty pre-28 but that was 6yrs ago.

 

Other than the historical significance of the 27/28 It make no sense to have a 357 Mag 6-shot N-frame when the 8-shot N-frame exists and the 7-shot L-frame exists. 357 Mag is already obnoxious loud and magna porting is only going to make that worst. I would pass on then gun for both reasons. It got to be bigger and have more recoil than 44 Mag before I would even entertain the idea of porting a revolver barrel. JMHO and worth exactly what you paid for it. $950 does seem high for a 28 of any flavor unless its a pinned and recessed NIB condition.

 

Unless you have absolutely no desire to own a modern S&W revolver. Especially in stainless. The guns you mention do not appeal to me in the least.

 

I'm with you on that one.

 

The OP did say its a LNIB 28-2. All the Dash-2s were pinned and recessed.

 

I never saw the need for magna-porting on a Mod 28. That being said, I would offer less, stressing how the magna-porting ruins the collector value of the revolver.

 

Box and papers ? I would buy it. I recall Magna-porting was all the thing 40 years ago or so, seems to have faded now. The M-28 was discontinued in 1986. Bought my 6" in 1981,I had been looking for one for a while, that was the first I saw in a long time.

 

Over looked that. $950 Seems reasonable to me if its truly a LNIB 28-2. Though the fact that its ported and a 6-shot 357 Mag N-frame would make it of little interest to me.

 

The 28 I currently have (this is my third), is a nice, basically NIB 4" I got for $450 about 6-8 years ago or so. It is amazing how fast the prices have jumped up.

They are great guns, and seeing what the other older S&W revolvers are going for now, $950 seems to be about in line with other things that are similar these days. Decent older S&W revolvers of all models (excluding the well worn police trade ins) seem to be running $800-$1200 around here when you see them. And they usually dont sit long.

If you like it, and you dont mind the porting, it doesn't sound like a bad deal. You could always offer less too and see what they say. Maybe use the porting as a negative.

I had a 4" 29 Mag Na Ported back in the 80's and pretty quickly regretted it. Never saw a reduction in muzzle rise or recoil, but that big flaming "V" was impressive and distracting in lower light. The front sight was always fouled, but you dont notice it near as much as you do on a SS gun. I didnt lose any money on it when I sold it, but porting was a thing back then too.

About 5 years ago, I picked up a used 3" S&W 696 that was a Lew Horton run, and it was Mag Na Ported by them as part of their deal. Love the gun, hate the porting. The biggest issue is the fouling of the front sight, and actually, the whole front of the gun, when using lead bullets. You also dont want to fire it from a retention position either.

ETA: This will give you an idea as to the fouling with lead bullets after a few cylinders full. Theres a red insert in that sight too, not that you'd know it...



Same using plated or jacketed.

 

Not looking for a collector piece. I will be shooting this if I buy it. Basically asking if this price is about what it should be.

 

Many S&W sold at auction https://www.horstauction.com/gun-auctions/gun-auction-results/june-11-2022-gun-auction/

Prices will never go down. Buy it if you want.

 

Maybe these links will help you decide.

https://www.gunsinternational.com/g...ith-wesson-revolvers-model-28.c1560_p1_o6.cfm

https://www.d4guns.com/product/smith-wesson-28-2-357-mag/

Here are 2 on Gun Broker with “Buy Now” pricing. Not sure if one can see this unless signed in.
https://www.gunbroker.com/All/searc... 28-2&PageSize=24&Sort=13&View=1&BuyNowOnly=1

Hope this helps.

 

@trackskippy
Thank you for those photos. I didn’t realize how Magna-porting also doubles as a sight blackening system.

Sure would be a pain if one relied on colored sights for shooting.

 

It is annoying to have to keep wiping the front sight off while youre shooting. Your hands get black enough shooting revolvers as it is.

Cleaning the lead build up off after youre done is even more of a PITA. It can be pretty stubborn to get off.

 

My question is if a 28 is worth $950 what is a 27 going for?

 

I’d buy it for a song so I could have a smith chop off the barrel and get rid of the porting. I would not pay $950 (or even $450) for a ported model 28.

 

A quick look on finished auctions on Gun Broker it looks like maybe $1100-1300 on average. A couple as high as $1600 or more, but they seem to be basically NIB with al the goodies, or in fancy wood boxes,.,

The porting is annoying, but I wouldnt turn down a nice gun at a reasonable price just because of it. Especailly if y was something I wanted and they were hard to come by.

Decent 28's arent usually all that hard to come by though, but at least around here, you are seeing them less and less in the shops.

And just to give an idea as to what the older S&W's are going for, the one shop I mostly deal with, currently has a decent 6" 29 for $1000, a 2.5" 66 for $950, and a 3" 629 for $1200. And those sorts of prices for similar type guns (not just the Smiths) have been in those ranges for the past year or more now.