Questions on Colt Trooper and S&W 19

C

croyance

New member
I'm looking at guns right now for range fun. Two of them are used revolvers.
One is the Colt Trooper with a 6" barrel, .357 magnum. Are there any serial number ranges I should watch out for, good or bad? What is there reputation? The trigger seems very good, but are there things I need to be aware of?
The other gun is the S&W 19 with a 6" barrel in .357 magnum. Which frame type is this? If it is the 'K' frame, what is your opinion on running .357 magnum rounds through it? Again, are there particular ranges of serial numbers or manufacture dates that I should avoid? I love the trigger on this one, but $500 seems much for a used (barely) gun.

Thank-you for your posts. Most of my knowledge and experience is with semi-autos.
 
I dont know much about the Colt Trooper ,other than my father carried one with Nassau County PD for 26 years with no troubles or complaints.I know a little about the M19. I carried a 4 inch 19 for a few years. It is a K frame.If you fire 158 Grain magnums,and shoot them at a rate of 9 38's for every 357 another words 10% of what you run through, you should have no problems.I carried mine with Speer Gold Dot 38+P for years.The M19 is not a weak gun.I also have a 6 inch 19-3 for range work.The problem with the 19 is in the forcing cone. If you look at yours it's flat on the bottom in order for the cylinder to close. When you use light and fast rounds like 125 Grain,they impact the forcing cone hard and can cause it to crack. If that happens you are SOL ,because S&W say they dont have anymore. Now if you have an eroded forcing cone you can send it to S&W and have it "turned" which will increase barrel life.Shootin 125 Grains or 110 Grains also brings on endshake, which can be cured easily by any competent gunsmith. I've got well over 4000 rounds thru the 4 inch and only now is she getting a little loose. I've got about 2500 thru the 6 inch and she's like new.I've never seen a cracked forcing cone in 37 years of being around M19's.I've heard the internet commando's worry about them and have met mall ninja's who say they've had them. I have noticed that the only photo's of cracked forcing cones (3) all belonged to M19-5's.YMMV Regards 18DAI.
 
$5oo seems awfully high for a used model 19 even if you are 100% sure it's barely used. I bought one off of Auction Arms about one year ago in great shape 85%-90% for $325. They are great guns but from what I've heard, asteady diet of full power magnum loads will beat it up pretty good. If your set on shooting only magnum loads and you want a Smith, you may want to look into the 686 L frames. They are much beefier and will probably soak up some of the recoil. The K frames (models 19 & 66 ) are fantastic with 38 +p and you can run a few cylinders of magnums to end the day. Just my two cents.
 
The M19 is more durable and a better gun if you intend to fire it DA quickly.

The M19 will hold up to more magnums than you can afford or stand to shoot in it.
 
My father bought me a model 66 2.5 inch bbl when I was three years old. I started shooting wadcutters out of it when I was four or five. I've been shooting it regularly for thirty years and it's still as tight as can be. It mostly shoots 357's, 38 plus p and plus p plus ammo. I had eleven S&W K frames at one time a few years ago and decided to clean house. I never had a bit of trouble out of a single one of them. From the factory, the Colt's seem to have a smoother trigger or hammer pull. The Smith would be my choice except for the price. I'd find another one for a couple of hundred less in the same condition. I got rid of most of my K frames because I fell in love with the .44.
 
$500 strikes me as high for a 19 but prices can vary depending on where you live.

Which Trooper are you discussing? The original Trooper was very similar to the Python except for the standard barrel (with free-standing ejector rod) while the Trooper Mark III was introduced in 1970 or so with the new internal lockwork. The Mk III is likely a bit tougher than a K frame but not all that much and the old Trooper about equal, IMO.

I have heard a couple reports (4 I think) of the cracked forcing cones (all but one was the 19-5 which makes me suspicious of this particular model having a heat-treating problem) but I have never seen one. I have two K frame .357s and both are ex-cop guns that have been shot a lot with full-power ammo. No sign of trouble so far.

Both the Trooper and the 19 are good guns and I could live with either (I would prefer the old Colt to the new one). For what it's worth if I had to choose one I would likely go with the Smith.
 
Actually, the Colt Mark III Trooper is considerably stronger than the Smith & Wesson Model 19! We all know how strong the Ruger GP100's are but, Jerry Kuhnhausen(A famous Gunsmith)has stated that the these revolvers along with the Colt Mark V and King Cobra, are about the strongest revolvers of their type(And, even stronger than the Ruger GP100's!)!:eek:
 
My 4" 40 year old Python, bought NIB, used to be the standard I used when comparing the accuracy of a new gun. That was true until I bought a used 6" Trooper Mark III. The Trooper shoots a tighter group than the Python. Maybe it's the extra two inches.

The Trooper also shoots better than my 6" nickel Smith Model 27.

I have a 2 1/5" Model 19 but I don't think it's fair to compare a snub to a 6" barrel,

John
 
I have both of your guns with 4" barrels and it would be very difficult to decide between the two. One reason may be they are both are LNIB, so they will be staying with me for a time.

The prices on 'K' frames has been steadily going up since Smith Wesson discontinued making it. As a person who buys and sells guns online, I bought a 'K' frame M66, 4" three months ago for $330.00. The last M66, 4" I sold was 3 weeks ago and it went for $450.00. Some are now selling for over $500.00. I bought my 19, six months ago for $425.00 and it was worth every penny.

If money were an issue I would go with the Trooper. Why Trooper and Lawman Colts don't bring more than $300.00 is beyond me...:(
 
In the past, I had both a Trooper and a model 19 at one time or another. IMO, the Trooper is a sturdier gun, although not as nice to look at as the model 19.

Model 19s get loose if they are fed a steady diet of magnum loads, but that does not cause functioning or accuracy problems, from all I have seen and heard. A 6" Trooper will probably outshoot a 4" 19, due to the fact that the Trooper has a thick, heavy barrel compared to the 19, and the extra 2" of barrel helps, too.

It's pretty much a choice of Colt or S&W - which do you like best?
 
I owned a 4" barrel MkIII back in the 70's. I shot all sorts of hot 357s through it with no problems. I recently bought a 6" barrel MkIII (kinda as a nostalgia trip) and shot a box of 125gr 357s through it at the range. I agree with other posters about the strength of the Colt. I love the smooth actions. I can't fault the Smiths, though. Like somebody else stated, buy whichever feels best.

Lou
 
I have a 4" Old Model Trooper .357, 2 S&W M-19s, 4" and 6". The Trooper is
somwhat sturdier, a slightly larger frame-a .41 frame it's usually called, S&W
introduced their L-frame to compete with the Trooper and Python and has now discontined the M-19 and M-66. One problem with an older gun is the
difficulty of getting spare parts, specifically barrels. I found a spare barrel for
my Trooper for all of $20.00, but you have to keep looking. Internalt parts are the same as the Python and Official Police.
 
croyance,

On the Colt, it will be on the barrel and on the Smith it will be on the frame. Open the cylinder and you'll see the number on the frame at the lower left front of the frame window. It's concealed by the crane when the cylinder is closed.

John
 
I have both I like the M19 but the Colt does have a little better trigger and is more accurate but then it has a longer barrel.I have only one M19 but also have two M66 and would buy another in a minute if I found one at the right price to me $500 is just a little high.But they are getting harder to find at a descent price, in fact with all my going into gun shops I haven't seen one in sometime:)
 
Are cracked forcing cones visually obvious?
And is the barrel properly cleaned from the muzzle end? I was always told to be careful of damaging the crown of a barrel.
How about supporting the cylinder when cleaning each chamber? Should the gun itself be on a solid surface to reduce strain on the yoke? Or will holding the cylinder in one hand while letting the yoke support the frame be fine?
 
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