Advice needed

A

Anchor44

Inactive
I have been buying and shooting semi autos for about fifty years but have only had one revolver which was a Ruger single six that was a gift from a well intentioned ex. I sold it long ago.
I was recently at a friends house and he showed me a model 15-3 S and W that he hasn't shot since the seventies. It was absolutely beautiful, maybe the best bluing I've ever seen, beautiful wood grips that didn't have a scratch anywhere. He told me he wants to trade it in on a semiauto, which he's never had or even shot, solely for the greater capacity and ease of concealed carry. I could trade him any one of many I have but I'm not sure that's the smart thing to do.
I looked on gunbroker and there are lots of older Smiths for sale at a reasonable price, apparently in very good condition . I've looked at several different models and here's my dilemma. A new Smith can be had for less than $1,000 but I have been told they don't make them like they used to.
I am leaning toward a .357 since it offers the versatility of .38 special also. Would I be foolish to buy an older model 19, 26, 60 or 686 instead of a NIB model? The gun will be used as a range gun not for carry.
I am of the opinion that the Smithand Wesson's are the best looking revolvers, YMMV. I would appreciate any advice .
 
Assuming your entire post can be boiled down to this question...

Would I be foolish to buy an older model 19, 26, 60 or 686 instead of a NIB model?
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....I would always, always, always, prefer an older S&W to any recent manufacture. In fact, I would pay a premium price to get an older Smith.

Pinned barrel and recessed chambers (the latter for the magnums and rimfires, of course) are most desirable. But anything prelock is also important.

But that's just me.
 
Hello Anchor44,,,

Would I be foolish to buy an older model 19, 26, 60 or 686 instead of a NIB model?
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No, you would not be foolish at all,,,
Assuming of course the gun is not worn/shot out.

There is a great "sticky" thread at the top of the revolver forum,,,
It will teach you what is necessary to know in order to purchase a used revolver.

One thing though,,,
I believe the S&W Model 26 shoots .45 ACP,,,
I searched and found this answer to a similar question.

Model 27 and Model 28 are .357 Magnum revolvers.

Model 19 is a K-frame revolver,,,
It is exactly the same frame size as the Model 15 you saw,,,
The one caveat about this model is you should 158 grain cartridges and not shoot 110 or 125 grain cartridges.

The Model 686 is an L-frame revolver,,,
It is a slightly larger frame size with grips the same as a K-frame,,,
This model revolver is capable of shooting the 110 or 125 grain cartridges all day long.

The Model 27 and 28 are N-frame revolvers,,,
They are larger than the L-frame guns with a larger grip as well,,,
Like the Model 686, these revolvers can easily handle any .357 magnum cartridge.

I am leaning toward a .357 since it offers the versatility of .38 special also.
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This is a common thought,,,
There is nothing wrong with this at all.

My personal thought is that a .38 special is plenty to do the job,,,
But that is partly because the Model 15 Combat Masterpiece is my all-time favorite handgun. ;)

I hope this helps,,,

Aarond

.
 
Since the S&W will be for the range, I would not exclude the excellent .38 Special-only models such as the beautiful Model 15 you handled. Using .38 Special means all the K-frame and J-frame models can be considered.

I myself confine full-house .357s to L-frame or larger guns, and enjoy .38 Special very much in the small and medium sized revolvers.

You just need to narrow it down to a few models. Let us know what you prefer and we can tell you which models fit your criteria:

Blued or stainless?
.38 Special or .357/.38Sp?
Fixed or adjustable sights?
Barrel lengths can vary from 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8.
Frame size - J (small) K or L (medium) N (large).
 
I really appreciate the input. I'm not sure yet whether I'll go with stainless or blued, but I'm thinking I'll probably get a K size and since it will be for range use only there's probably no need to buy the more expensive .357 ammo and therefore no need to even buy that gun.
After the input, especially from aaronhgraham, I'm now leaning toward just trading for the friends 15-3. Later I may even get a couple more.
I have always felt that nothing was as pretty as a nice semi custom 1911, but seeing and fondling the Smith a few days ago makes me think they are in the same league.
Thanks again.
 
Ripping a few full-blown .357s at the range is fun every now and then (it certainly gets attention from all the plastic 9mm shooters). But they're expensive and uncomfortable to shoot. I have a .357 Ruger and shoot .38s out of it almost exclusively. Even for home defense, I keep it loaded with .38+p. What I'm saying is, don't get hung up on the .357 thing.

I'd jump on your friends 15. An old K-frame S&W in .38 special is definitely one of the finer things in life.
 
Don't make them like that anymore....

Compare the workmanship of any S&W coming out from the performance center at $1,000, or more, to a $400 unaltered 1960 something 90% Model 15.

New...puke-cough-gag-cry-complain
 
That is a pinned-barrel gun - it is what I used in Police Practical competition in the early 1970s. Super-accurate, super-reliable, great trigger. Buy it. Don't trade anything, just see what your buddy is offered cash and buy it for that or a little more.

If you decide not to buy it, I'll bet there are a number of us here who will be happy to buy it. Guns of that quality don't seem to be made any more, at least at prices most of us posters can afford.
 
Model 19 is a K-frame revolver,,,
It is exactly the same frame size as the Model 15 you saw,,,
The one caveat about this model is you should 158 grain cartridges and not shoot 110 or 125 grain cartridges.
Click to expand...

I'm sure that aarondhgraham is aware that you can safely shoot 110 and 125 grain loads through a Model 19 revolver and that his admonition for not doing so is because that, over time, when firing many such cartridges through it, there have been documented reports of the forcing cone being prematurely eroded. Some argue that this reported short-coming is the reason the L-frame series of Smith revolvers were developed.
 
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