S&W Model 19-2 Combat Magnum

[Oyaji]

Have an opportunity to pick up on a trade a Bill Jordan special; a very nice Smith Model 19-2 w/4" bbl, target grips, hammer, and trigger that appears to be in 90% or better condition. Serial number is K-657-XXX which, I believe, places manufacture date in 1965. Revolver comes with original paperwork and blue, corner reinforced, factory box. What would experts say is value of this revolver? She shore is purty however, I don't want to be taken to the cleaners. Another thing to keep in mind is that we're talking California which tends to drive up prices.

Here's a pic.....

[Allen]

There's a couple on GunBroker (19-2) with 6" barrels and diamond target grips with a buy it now price of $600 and that would have been my guess of the worth. The one you have pictured has the target hammer and target trigger which is wider. That is always a plus and the ones on GB didn't have these. These are not Bill Jordan specials either. Hope this helps.

[Oyaji]

What I meant by "Bill Jordan special" was that the Combat Magnum was first envisioned by Bill Jordan and it was he who encouraged Smith & Wesson to put in into production. This particular revolver is certainly not a special run such as those ordered by Lew Horton and others.

Here's a few more pics....

[Allen]

Very nice. Looks like Santa might be coming early this year.

[Emri]

What would experts say is value of this revolver? She shore is purty however, I don't want to be taken to the cleaners. Another thing to keep in mind is that we're talking California which tends to drive up prices.


Looks nice in the pics. I would say somewhere in the $500 - $600 range (retail). Remember, they don't make them anymore. The closest things available new are a M66, ( SS, rubber grips, K-frame ) and a M586 ( blue, wood, L-frame ) each with a MSRP of about $850.
I'll let you interpolate a conversion to CA prices.

HTH,

Emri

[da gimp]

good luck on her & if she's available between $400.00 to at the very most $450.00 I'd get her if you need a good carry CCW gun ... Here, one that is a hard graded 90% blue, means it has quite a bit of wear.... but it is still a good using gun... but it has zero collector value. I have no idea on California prices.....

[StockDoc]

I have seen them 400-1000 bucks. Depending on the Gun store "in Calif". Even a few over the 1000 mark.

Correct me if I am wrong, but a handgun such as this must of been originally sold in Calif and stayed in Calif. Because of the Safety Testing. right?

[Oyaji]

Correct me if I am wrong, but a handgun such as this must of been originally sold in Calif and stayed in Calif. Because of the Safety Testing. right?

Short answer: No. It will be a private party transfer and is not subject to being on the so-called "roster."

[Art]

with the box and the papers and at 90% (it looks better than that to me) I think $550.00 to $600.00 would be fair. Anything much under $500.00 would be a very good buy. I'd have to want it a lot to pay much over $600.00 for it.

[Oyaji]

We made the swap. I traded an Israeli surplus Hi-Power, 100 rounds of 9mm, and a 20 year old guitar amp that had been sitting in my garage for the last 10 years collecting dust for the featured Model 19. I think I did okay. The revolver looks even better in person. It is an honest 90% and probably closer to 95%. Old school bluing in gorgeous.

Thanks to all for your input.

[da gimp]

cool... I think you did even better on the trade than the straight cash price...

[joem]

We made the swap. I traded an Israeli surplus Hi-Power, 100 rounds of 9mm, and a 20 year old guitar amp that had been sitting in my garage for the last 10 years collecting dust for the featured Model 19. I think I did okay. The revolver looks even better in person. It is an honest 90% and probably closer to 95%. Old school bluing in gorgeous.

Thanks to all for your input.

I'd say you did pretty darn good. I would have bought in a NY minute.

[Iceman66]

A word of caution on the S&W mdl 19. A steady diet of .357mag ammunition will cause problems with these revolvers, which were never designed for a standard feeding of full house .357mag ammo. These are just fine with .38special. The common problem is with the forcing cone. This problem was discovered by LE in the early 1970's and led to the development of the mdl 586/686. S&W exchanged most department mdl 19's for the new guns built on a larger frame to handle steady firing of the .357mag ammo.

Hope this helps.

[Art]

A word of caution on the S&W mdl 19. A steady diet of .357mag ammunition will cause problems with these revolvers, which were never designed for a standard feeding of full house .357mag ammo. These are just fine with .38special. The common problem is with the forcing cone. This problem was discovered by LE in the early 1970's and led to the development of the mdl 586/686. S&W exchanged most department mdl 19's for the new guns built on a larger frame to handle steady firing of the .357mag ammo.

Hope this helps.

This is correct. In the old INS we trained and qualified with .357 Magnum ammunition, for several years that was the very hot Remington 125 Gr. "M1" ammo. In addition we all got 600 rounds a year to practice on our own. It was not unusual for us to put over 1,000 rounds of this stuff through a revolver in a year. I used a K frame Magnum (Model 13) at that time. After about 3,000 rounds the forcing cone cracked, I had the barrel replaced but the revolver wouldn't hold time after that, mine wasn't the only K frame Smith to develope problems due to overuse with Magnum ammo.. The issue guns were Ruger "Speed Six" revolvers and there were no problems with them. After that the Agency discouraged the use of K frame revolvers and went to the lower powered 110 gr. Remington magnum ammo.

So .357 Magnum is ok for carry or occasional practice but don't make a steady diet of it. I carry 110 gr. Remington magnums in my S&W 640 and practice regularly with it. When I go to the range my normal procedure is to fire off the five magnums in the gun and follow it up with a box of .38s. I've had it for nearly 20 years and nary a hiccup with that protocol.

[da gimp]

thanks Ice, Art.