New used Model 19 and questions about forcing cone/frame stress

[scarymike23]

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?

[sheepdog]

I've shot the snot out of my Model 66, the stainless version of the Model 19. I only use 158 gr 357s. Leave the faster 125 grain magnums to the 686s. I've seen pictures of what a constant diet of 125 grain 357s will do to a K frame magnum. It ain't pretty.

This is similar to shooting early 1903s. Some think it's BS but I'd hate to find out the hard way.

[xtriggerman]

The 19's are fine guns but Sheepdog is right, hold it to 38's up to the plus P's and you will probably will never have any burn out. A few mags on rare occasion is fine also but that's about it. The first thing to look for is heat pitting at the forcing cone in the cylinder side of the barrel. Repeated flash temperatures of the magnum can actually surface melt the steel where the rifling and bore begin in the forcing cone. Secondly, a typical boo boo on any of the S&W magnums is barrel bulge in the barrel where the barrel sits just inside the front of the frame. Reason for this issue is there is a hollow spot in the barrel frame joint. Its there because S&W stops the barrel threads short by about an 8th of an inch in front of the barrel shoulder that tightens up on the front of the frame. Magnum pressure simply expands the barrel outward to the frame where the missing threads are. I bought a new M29 back in 1982 and it has the bulge after about 7 or 800 rounds of magnum rds and Iv seen several 357's over the years with it in there. The guns will still shoot OK but Iv always wondered about that occasional flyer......

[Dannyboy53]

I  know I'm a "Johnny-come-lately" on this one but just had to throw in my .02 cents worth. This is my mod 19 that I carried on duty for close to ten years. I had an L frame Mod 586, a Dan Wesson and a Colt .45 ACP that I carried on duty but this 19 was my favorite! With a Bullseye spring kit it was a silky smooth shooter. It ate a steady diet of 125 gr Winchester HP and 140 grain Black Talons (before they were renamed) with never a hiccup of any sort, maybe I was just lucky with it. Of all the S&W pistols the 19 is damned hard to beat in my opinion.



Yes that was me nearly twenty years ago with the Rapides Parish Sheriff's Department in central Louisiana!

Scareymike I envy you, that piece is a class act!