smith wesson m19 sheriff 65?

[Daves-got-guns]

hi i got a old smith wesson m19-3 that i more or less inherited from my grandpa. It says sheriff 65 on the side and i was wondering if thats rare? don't know awhole lot about the piece, it was bought in the early 80s secondhand from a friend, and has had mostly 38 special +p ammo thru it, before i got it and i've fired off maybe 300 round's thru it, bout half of those being .357 mag's. It is in alrite condition, and i don't want to sell it i just want info on it please. Thank you all.

 

[RJay]

The Model 19 was produced from 1955 to 1999. It was the premier law enforcement revolver, used by most of the police agencies across the US including the FBI and most of the State police. The -3 indicates that your Model 19 dates to between 1967 and 1977. I really don't know what the markings Sheriff 65 mean. I can't find any such variation in the S&W book. The model 19 is a .357 build on a K frame. It is a solid firearm, however it was designed for practicing with the 38 Special ammo and duty carried with .357 magnum . I have a Model 19-3 and I shoot about 80 percent .38 Special and the rest .357. I've put many hundreds ( perhaps a couple of thousand) of rounds through it and it is still very tight and accurate.

 

[James K]

Does the "sheriff" marking look like it was factory, or could it have been put on by some Sheriff's department. Ex-police Model 19's are very common as they were traded in when police went to auto pistols. Usually the marking will be an abbreviation, like SDPD for San Diego Police Department, and a gun number, but maybe some department figured "Sheriff 65" was enough of a mark to establish ownership if the gun strayed.

Jim

 

[Daves-got-guns]

alrite alrite this is all good info. I never really thought about it being a aftermarket stamp of some sort, could it be they did it at the factory just for a certain police force? Yeah i think that the guy that sold him the gun told him to shoot mostly .38 and keep .357s for general hunting or something. Ive fired maybe a few hundred .357's thru it and a box and a half of .38's. It has scene quite abit of shooting though, as i got the side pannel off and there was all sorts of gunk in there, after i got that cleaned and lightly lubed up it probaly cut a pound-pound and a half off the double action trigger pull. Very acurrate gun though, i can place a 125 grain jsp right between the eyes at about 20 yards off hand. But i will definitely run .38 ammo thru it for the most part.