S&W Model 19-4

G

GRyder

New member
Ok silly question but I'm really new to revolvers so here it goes.

I was at Gander Mt to look around. Went over to look at their used gun case. The usual Taurus revolvers and semi when I spotted a gun labeled S&W model 19-4 .357 magnum 4" barrel. It was in excellent shape. Maybe a safe queen because seems like it wasn't shot much. So I put it on layaway as it would go nice with my 686-2 I bought last month. Gander was asking $750 for it.

After I got home. Realized I didn't know too much about this revolver so my questions are:

1. Is this gun worth the asking price ($750)?
2. Couldn't take a picture but it looked stainless. Or maybe plated. It wasn't blued. So does the 19 come in stainless steel? And how can I tell the difference between plated and ss?
3. What yr was the 19-2 made.

Any further info would be appreciated. If this turns out to be over priced then maybe I'll put my $ towards something else.
 
If it's not blued, it's going to be nickel plated as a Model 19 was not offered in stainless. (the stainless version of the same revolver is a Model 66)

If it's a Model 19-4 it was likely made between 1977 and 1982 and would most likely be a "pinned and recessed" revolver, having the pinned barrel and the recessed chambers, both of which were phased out for the dash-5 around 1982. These are not necessarily better features, but they do hold a particular value over the guns that followed their demise. So it's fair to say that a "P&R" (pinned and recessed) Model 19 is more sought after, or perhaps more "valuable."

Perhaps a typo in your post -- you also ask "what year was a 19-2 made". As said, the 19-4 ran from 1977 to 1982, and the dash-2 variant ran from 1961 to 1966.

The asking price of $750 isn't what I would call a steal, but contrary to what I usually expect from a Gander Mountain, it certainly is not a horrendous price. We must remember that local prices mean a lot on guns of this age & type and what might not be a really inspiring price where I live might actually be a pretty darn good one in your market. I find a lot of opportunities at similar Smith & Wesson revolvers in my circles, I wouldn't be pouncing at that price, but I also can't say it's a really bad price either.

What I would say is that if it's in fine exterior and perfect functional condition, I don't see much chance that you'll regret the purchase! ;) These are terrific handguns.

And to mate up with your 686-2, the Model 19 is a slightly smaller framed revolver. It's a K-frame (the 686 is the slightly larger L-frame) but if you are the average guy, you will LOVE the fit and feel of the Model 19 in your hands. But expect that with warm .357 Magnum loads, the 686 will be a little more comfortable to shoot. With nice .38 Special ammo, you may love the Model 19 even more than your 686.
 
Thanks sevens

You seem to be a learned man and very much appreciated about the info. Yea I meant to say 19-4. Ok so I guess it must be plated then. At first I thought it was stainless steel.

How does plated finish hold up?
Are there any don'ts when cleaning this gun as it's plated finish?

I have medium size hands and the 19 seems a better fit but I do like my 686 too. I'll post up pic as soon as I bring her home.
 
Actually, I've learned a lot about them from this forum and one fantastic book, but my love for 'em started when I got my 1st S&W revolver in 1988. I've added many since then and I still have much to learn about them.

I've got three in nickel, but only one of those is modern. The other two are over 90 years old, so my perception of the durability of those nickel plated ones isn't relevant. My modern one is a 1983 Model 10 and I think the durability of it's finish has been fantastic. Even still, I prefer a stainless gun to a nickel plated one -- most of the stainless ones tend to have a matte finish that I prefer over the bright/mirror of the nickel.

As for "don't", I have heard that some solvents can find their way under the plating and corrupt it, but we'll have to hear from someone else with better information -- I haven't had a problem with my modern one.
 
I had a Nickel Model 19-4 several years ago. You've got a great gun. Around here I wouldn't be at all surprised to see one tagged at $750.00, maybe even higher. It would probably sell at that price too. I forget what I got for the one I sold, because it was part of a three gun trade/sale.

I've heard for years not to use amonia based solvents (Hoppes) to clean a nickel gun. The story was that to get the nickel to stick to the gun, the gun first had to be coated in copper, then nickeled. Any crack in the nickel would allow the amonia to get to the copper, and the copper would be damaged, thereby causing the nickel to peel off.

But I also heard, from sources I respect, that Smith & Wesson never used the copper plating method, so it shouldn't be a problem with Smith & Wesson guns, at least not modern ones.

So what to do. The decision was easy for me. I just didn't use Hoppes on the nickel gun I had. Problem solved. There are plenty of other solvents out there.

The 686 and the Model 19 have the same size grip. The 686 is a slightly bigger gun, but they share the same grip.
 
Finally

Took her home today! Comparing it to my 686, I noticed how much bigger the hammer is. The cylinders also has groves/crown so the cartridges rim sits in. Why did s&w stopped this feature?

Trigger is not as light as my 686 but that revolver has trigger work done. But otherwise it's smooth and consistent.

Can anybody tell me more about this gun?
Serial number is:70k71xx

P.s how do u upload pictures so it shows instead of a link?
 

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Once you upload them here you can click on them and then use the picture icon about and place the address into the pop up box.

Nice pick up!
 
S&W quit doing both, recessed chambers and pinned barrels as a cost cutting move.

As far as cleaning goes, do avoid soaking the nickel with Hoppes and/or anything else with ammonia. Ammonia can give the nickel a yellow cast.
A rep from Hoppes customer service actually advised me not to use their product on nickel as well as not using it on anything with a soldered joint.

I have an old surplus machine gun oiler can I wanted to fill with Hoppe's and wrap a Hoppes lable on it. I emailed them to beg a lpaper label, which they did send, but, told me not to put #9 in the can because it would eat away the solder joint.
I asked about using #9 on nickel plated guns, and they said avoid soaking them with it, not to not use it. I play it safe and don;'t use it.

I use and recommend Ballistol for nickel guns.
 
Wvsig- still a little confused about the pic but will try to figure it out

Hal- I cleaned it with Hoppes but will avoid that in the future. Thanks for the tip
 
That serial number returns a production date of 1980 according to the SCSW.

The hammer appears bigger because the spur on it is larger -- I guess could we could say the hammer is "bigger" but the hammer itself should be roughly the same size... which is to say, that you could swap the two. (not that you would or I would recommend you do that...) The 686 has a regular combat hammer, your Model 19 has the "target hammer" which often comes as a package with the target trigger (a wide, grooved trigger) and target sights.

Collectors often refer to this as "the three T's" because the box end label denotes "TS, TH, TT"

Nice find!
 
Does all model 19s came with the target components or just some of them?

And not that I'm going to do it but can u switch out the trigger/hammer group with the 686 and vise versa?
 
The nickel-plated finish is pretty, but is (IMHO) somewhat less durable than a good blue, and definitely not as durable as a stainless steel revolver.

However, if you take good care of it, any of them will hold up.

I prefer a stainless revolver for carry. A stainless finish is basicaly maintenance free, and is easy to touch up. A blued revolver is my second choice for maintenance and my first choice for for looks. A nickel-plated revolver...well, honestly, no, I don't have any use for nickel-plated revolvers. I don't find the shine attractive, and I am not crazy about the fact that they are somewhat easily damaged.

But that is my opinion, and we all know about opinions. :)
 
And not that I'm going to do it but can u switch out the trigger/hammer group with the 686 and vise versa?
Click to expand...
Yes. K, L and N-frame guns all used the same size trigger & hammer parts. Obviously, the guns need to be of similar generations -- you can't use a hammer-mounted firing pin hammer with one of the newer frame-mounted firing pin guns.

The best idea is likely to keep a hammer & trigger together as a sent, but I have mixed them. I swapped a trigger from a Model 10-7 in to my Model 28-2 (and the other direction also, of course) and while the double action seems almost unchanged, the single action trigger break DID change. The Model 10-7 became a lighter, shorter single action break, the 28-2 grew a bit heavier, but I do not mind a bit -- double action is my taste.
 
Nice looking Model 19-4.

I love S&W Revolvers. When I had a gun shop I would take guns up to the Smith Plant about once every two months for my customers and I and have Target Hammers, Triggers, White Outlined Target Sights and Target Stock put on any of the revolvers that I had except 2" carry guns.

Still love my 6" Model 17 K-22 Masterpiece. 6" Model 19, 6 1/2" Model 27, 8 3/8 " Model 29 and model 60 2".

Bob
 
Howdy

Rule of thumb with Smith and Wesson Stainless revolvers. They all start with a 6 in the model number. Some are stainless versions of pre-existing models, like the 617 or the 629. Others are new numbers, like the Model 65 or 66. So if it is shiny, and does not have a 6 at the beginning of the model number, it is probably a nickel plated version of a carbon steel gun. Interestingly enough, although modern blue is very robust, in the 19th Century S&W finished more of their revolvers with nickel plating than they did blue. The blueing techniques used at the time were not very robust and a nickel plated finish would resist corrosion better than the blue finishes of the time.

Here is my Model 19-3 that I bought brand, spanky new in 1975. It is wearing the Goncalo-Alves Oversize Target Stocks that it came with. It cost $135 back then, a lot of money for a kid in his twenties. Incidentally, I have not bought a brand new Smith since then.

model19-301_zps8ac05206.jpg


model19-302_zps9caebca8.jpg




I still have the box and all the goodies that came with it.

Model_19-2_zpsdc8c8de7.jpg




Dunno if you would call this a target hammer or not, but the spur is a bit wider than the body of the hammer and the trigger is grooved. However I have a couple of other Smiths that have much wider hammer spurs, and extra wide, grooved triggers.

model19-3targethammer_zpsfb6df76c.jpg




Still lots of color on the hammer.

model19-3targethammer02_zps86cc2641.jpg
 
TT - Target Trigger
TH - Target Hammer
TS - Target Stocks (not target sights) -- All model 19s come with the adjustable sights.

Have fun with the new Model 19. Great revolver.
 
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