Smith & Wesson-itis is proving to be a lot more expensive than Mosin-itis....
I picked up this Model 19-3 from Gunbroker, my first .357. I paid more than I would have liked but something about it spoke to me. I’m wondering if it wasn’t a duty gun at some point. The finish wear looks like what you’d get from a lot of holster time, and it has the “carried much, shot little” look that police trade-ins tend to have. Being a 19-3 it has the pinned barrel and recessed chambers in the cylinder. At present it’s wearing Pachmyer presentation grips. They're okay but I can tell they'll be a little thick for my dainty little mitts.
Being a wood and steel guy I tried out the grips from my Model 10.
I’m a big fan of the plain jane wooden square butt K frame grips and like how this gun feels wearing them but am not sure how well they’ll work when it’s loaded with magnum rounds. At some point soon I may pick up the old school wood K frame target grips and see how those do.
Speaking of magnum loads I’ve been reading up on the dreaded cracked forcing cones and flame cutting of the top strap on K frame magnums. While some of this is probably typical overblown forum talk there does seem to be a bit of first hand experience with these issues, mostly if the gun is fed a diet of hotter 125gr .357 loads. Anyone have experience with these guns and their longevity over time?