S&W 19-4 357 Combat Magnum

I have a few M19s and they are great guns that I have bought when the prices were below $225 for a decent Combat Magnum. They are good guns but not really made to shoot a lot of powerful .357 Magnum loads, particularly not with light jacketed or semi jacketed bullets.

The S&W 686 is a much more solid gun while still giving the impression of a refined and well balanced gun.

If you have your guns to shoot them and need to choose in between the M19 and the 686, my advice would be to keep the 686. I am glad that I do not have to make that decision!

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Wow, I can't imagine getting rid of a 4" Model 19 - that's a super revolver. Unless I needed the $$$ for food, it would NEVER leave my side!
 
John D said:
I can't imagine getting rid of a 4" Model 19
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While keeping a Governor, too. :confused: That'd governor would be on the block if it were my choice.

A very distant second choice - and it kills me to say - would be the 6" 686. If you want something that'll hit harder than your M19, your SBH .44mag would do it. The 686 is in between the 2, so it's a little redundant.
 
The model 19 is one of my favorites. The 4" is very good for carry, it's light weight, powerful with .357, and a pleasure with 38 specials. I have a 6" 19 that's my favorite revolver. I shoot a 4' 586 in IDPA, recently bought a model 15 and will probably try it in IDPA. All the S&W guns are great, the older ones are nicer than the newer ones from my experience.
 
I have a Model 19-4. Have had it for 25 years or so and it's a great shooter, more accurate than I am.

One of my sons will own it when I can't shoot it anymore. But not until then.
 
I have a 19-3 4in that is really a sweet shooter. the finish is a little rough, but you cant go wrong with the model 19. If I not wrong I think the 19-4 was the last model for pinned and recessed. Even if it was not p@r they are sweet GOOD score:cool:
 
I love my Model 19-4! Great, classic revolver. My Dad was a Sgt in our local PD for 30 years and gave me his first duty gun that he carried for 10 of those years, the 19-4. He also gave me a 2.5" barrel Model 66 that he purchased after attending the "Street Survival" course in the mid-80s. I guess the course promoted the Model 66 as the ultimate off duty gun. It's a little big for summertime carry but both guns are the finest revolvers I've ever owned.
 
Hmm, your wife says no more guns unless you get rid of something??? It doesn't sound like you have that many guns. If it won't break your budget, and if it won't keep her from purchases she wants to make (assuming she isn't the last to make a large discretionary purchase), I don't see the problem. If you get the bulk of the discretionary purchases, or if it will keep you from paying bills, OK I can see her point. Otherwise...how would she like it if you banned her from buying something she really enjoys? I'm not a fan of adults telling other adults what to do without very good cause. Then again, don't listen to me, maybe that is why I'm still single at 42.

Anyway, as for the S&W 19, don't sell it. It is an extremely high demand, collectible and valuable revolver, and for very good reason. They tend to have glass smooth triggers (and if it doesn't, a little work from a good smith will get it there). They are accurate, and they are beautiful. They can't take a constant diet of the highest velocity magnums (unlike your 686), but they are incredibly nice guns.

I've sold quite a few guns over the years and I've regretted several of them. The only one I regret selling more than my 4" S&W 19 was my first year .41mag S&W 57 (actually, it is hard to tell which I more regret selling, selling both were pretty huge mistakes).

I'm a SIG fan. I love my SIG 290RS enough (and miss my 229 that I sold enough) that I recently purchased a .45ACP SIG 250 Compact. I get wanting the 2-sum, but don't sell the S&W 19 for one.
 
I wont put anything but .38's down my 19-1 On the rare occasion that it leaves the house. It's more of a wedding / special occasion carry gun. My mom bought it for my dad in 61 went he went thru the academy. It don't even have a cylinder ring/mark.
 
wife says no more purchases unless I get rid of something.
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Well she didn't say what you had to get rid if did she;), just a thought there.

To sum up what everyone else has posted. The Model 19 is everything you need in a revolver and nothing you don't need. Find a way to keep the M-19.
 
they certainly aren't fragile guns
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As mentioned they did have an issue with cracks developing in the flat side of the forcing cone which most people attribute to the use of higher-powered loads
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Is it not the standard 125-grain .357 round that is reputed to sometimes cause the cracked forcing cone?

And I would guess that would be the reason that S&W started telling people not to shoot that round in that gun, and then stopped making any K-Frame .357 guns.

I want one very much, or maybe the stainless version, but I won't go over .38 +P+ power levels in any S&W .357 K-Frame. Maybe I am too conservative on that but that is my plan.

Bart Noir
 
I went through a ton of information on this topic, as I recently was looking and purchased a similar gun. The general conclusion is that is safe to shoot Magnum loads though it all day long as long as it's a 158 grains cartridges. The lighter ones, like 125 grains may cause this issue and only if they used all the time for thousands of rounds.

So, all pros and advanced amateurs alike say it's perfectly safe to shoot Magnum loads if you follow the guidelines above. Personally I did not try it in mine yet, but only because the range where I go does not have 158 grain Magnums in stock. I will order some over the Internet and will run them through, it should be fun!

I hope this helps.
 
My wife has a Model 66-2, I think her Mom has a Model 19. I personally wouldn't dump a Smith & Wesson anything for a Sig P250, not even a 2Sum. Pretty much just a gimmick to me, that's my opinion. I owned a P250 SC for about 6 months, shot several boxes of ammo through it, and wasn't impressed particularly by the trigger. I dumped it and got a Kel-Tec PF9. I figured if I was going to have a pistol with a crappy trigger I at least wanted it to fit into my pocket. LOL.
 
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