S&W Model 14

[Smith357]

Buy it before you regret it.

I picked up my NIB 14-4 for $350 about 2 years ago. Going price in this area for a used M14 was 225-300, I was willing to pay the extra coin to sacrifice a virgin. After its first cherry poppin' trip to the range it replaced my m66 2" and became my nightstand gun due to its balance and pointability, and since I live in the city I never used magnums at home for the overpenetration issues. I have made up special light wadcutter loads for target work, and use standard 158 SWC for HD.
with the ability of this revolver to hit the target every time, I do not feel under gunned in the least.

 

[SaxonPig]

All S&W .38 revolvers are +P rated since +P is not loaded beyond industry standards for the caliber. It's actually well below maximum. Factory +P is what I use as a mild target load in my J and K frame Smiths. I do not consider a 125 at 925 FPS to be a stout load. I load the same bullet to 1,100 - 1,200 FPS for use in my guns. No problems in any of them.

The +P ammo is a marketing and legal ploy to avoid lawsuits from owners of cheap, imported guns who blow themselves up.

 

[Deanimator]

I've got one that I shoot in my club's DA revolver league. Superbly accurate with 148gr. wadcutter handloads.

It's pretty accurate on man targets at 100 and 200 yards too!

 

[jad0110]

Buy it before you regret it.

And I did just that! The gun originally listed for $399, but I talked him down to $350. Still $25 more than what I wanted to pay, but only $25 extra for this beauty 14-4, pinned barrel was a no brainer! There are only two very minor chips and the blueing on the ejector is a little worn, but otherwise the gun is like new! All numbers (including the grips) match.

The owner of the pawn shop was telling me that .38 6" barrel revolvers of ANY kind are extremely difficult to find this part of the country, much less in the condition that this one is in. I believe him, as I think this is the only one I remember seeing.

I will try to posting pictures here, or in a new thread so all can see, sometime in the next week or two. I'll probably wait until my K-22 M17 arrives, and I'll just post pics of both brothers-in-arms.

Best part is, my wife didn't kill me! (yet... )

 

[Bullet Bob]

Good thing I live in the middle of NC, they're not rare here at all!

 

[jad0110]

Bullet Bob,

Are the gun shows up in Raleigh, Charlotte, and Fayetteville any good? Not that I can afford to buy anything for at least the next year .

 

[jad0110]

Here it is, my new used S&W Model 14 that I paid $350 for...

 

[earplug]

Nice Revovler

Nice looking revolver.
If your wife has smaller hands, you might try some Hogue grips. They can be sanded down to fit. I slim mine down along the sides and open up the finger groves.
Now you can shoot 148 Grain wadcutters out of your 642!

 

[Walkalong]

The owner of the Pawn Shop stated that the price is flexible

Good luck jad0110

My Mod 14 is a 14-3. What does that signify? 14-3 , 14-4 , 14-?

 

[jad0110]

earplug,

My wife does have small hands (and I have big ones), so I may be buying some grips sometime soon. FYI, I'm 6'7" and my wife is 5' . We'll both have to try the factory ones out just to see. I was thinking about some Hogues with no finger grooves or a set of Ahrends. I'll be getting into handloading this spring, so I'm definitely looking forward to plinking some 148 wadcutters out of this baby! BTW, if you handload, what powder to you prefer for the 148 WC?

Walkalong,

I picked the gun up for $350, perhaps not the best deal out their, but not a bad at all. Your 14-3 is an older version of the 14 than my 14-4:

14-3: Mfg from 1967-77. Changes between the -3 and -4 are: changed gas ring from yolk to cylinder

http://www.handloads.com/misc/Smith.Model.Changes.asp

If anybody has a better website for looking up S&W models, please post!

 

[earplug]

I should shoot some 148's

To be honest I'm still shooting up a large stock of 158 SWC in both by 642 and my M-14 and M-65. I use WW 231 which works well for many 38 loads.
My local shop was out of wadcutters last time I picked up some bullets.