Inherited a Couple of S&W Revolvers

[CTS]

These came to me by way of some family, which is pretty awesome because I wanted to expand my revolver family a bit.

The blue is a .357 model 19-5 (mid 1970's) and the other is a .38 model 15-3 (early 80's). Dates according to the 3rd edition S&W Catalog. Both are in need of a very thorough cleaning and the .357 seems to be in perfect working order. The .38 though has an issue where on occasion pulling the trigger w/o first cocking it locks up about 1/8th of an inch into the pull, releasing and pulling again will tend to work after 2-3 tries. Most of the time though it's a clean pull. I'm pretty much a noob on these guns, any idea who around Fort Wayne might be able to investigate the issue for me?

 

[Kagnew]

These came to me by way of some family, which is pretty awesome because I wanted to expand my revolver family a bit.

The blue is a .357 model 19-5 (mid 1970's) and the other is a .38 model 15-3 (early 80's). Dates according to the 3rd edition S&W Catalog. Both are in need of a very thorough cleaning and the .357 seems to be in perfect working order. The .38 though has an issue where on occasion pulling the trigger w/o first cocking it locks up about 1/8th of an inch into the pull, releasing and pulling again will tend to work after 2-3 tries. Most of the time though it's a clean pull. I'm pretty much a noob on these guns, any idea who around Fort Wayne might be able to investigate the issue for me?

Jerry Johnson in Churubusco.

 

[gunman41mag]

Nice guns, I'm a SMITH & WESSON fan

 

[CTS]

Jerry Johnson in Churubusco.

Is he out at Tomlinson's or should I just check a phone book? I'm headed up that way tomorrow.

*edit* On further investigation, is this who you're talking about?

https://plus.google.com/107980643915245580002/about?gl=us&hl=en

 

[CTS]

Nice guns, I'm a SMITH & WESSON fan

I would have to say I've enjoyed all of them I've shot so far, though my 2" .38 ultralight tends to leave a mark (and by mark I mean big bruise)

 

[kalboy]

Nice pair of fine Smith's here, congrats!

 

[BE Mike]

I'm a big S&W fan. Those are really nice revolvers to have. Getting yours repaired shouldn't be any problem. One option is to have your local gun dealer ship it off to S&W for repair. Legally, you can ship it, but will have to use Fedex or UPS. Your gun dealer can ship it via the U.S. Postal Service, which is substantially less expensive.

 

[INDY45]

Those are fine looking,Congrats

 

[other dave]

Denny Reichard at Sand Burr Gun Ranch.

Sand Burr Gun Ranch: Home

 

[PGRChaplain]

You have him on the google link.

 

[indysims]

What's the easiest way to find out the date of manufacture and model number. My dad has a S&W .32 L revolver that was his grandpa's and we would like to find out more about it.

 

[CTS]

Well from my understanding, which I happily admit may have some holes in it, you can be a bit more precise with the newer guns (1970+) than you can with the old ones just using the serial number, but the older ones can only be defined with any certainty down to a production era. So in other words serial can get you a nice ballpark. I've got the manual if you want to PM me the first part of your serial and the model and I'll be happy to look it up for you. If there's no model describe it as best you can (Double Action/Hammerless/etc..)

If you want an exact date, you can mail your serial number into:

Factory Historian Roy Jinks
c/o Smith & Wesson
PO Box 2208
Springfield, MA 01102

Include a money order for $30 (per serial number requested) and your return information.

 

[Robert Richardson]

You a lucky man. Nice Smiths.

 

[223 Gunner]

Very nice.

 

[Miles42]

I am a Smith fan, so nice addition. I had a problem like that with a M19-3 but S&W quickly took care of it for me and it has function properly ever since. Don't know who to take it to other wise.

 

[Amishman44]

Congradulations on acquiring a very nice pair of S&W revolvers! Hope you enjoy them for a very long time!

 

[Americanbulldog]

makes me think of the old Detective shows

 

[Colt556]

Nice pair of Smiffs. I would be happy to own either of them. I really like the old S&Ws.

 

[Hookeye]

The problematic one more than likely just needs a good cleaning.
Issue possibly related to trigger rebound slide or cylinder stop.
If they've sat for a long while, depending on what was used to lube the internals, something may have set up/shellacked and is impeding movement and or spring articulation.

A few yrs ago I got a M60 first gen that was dang near glued together due to long term storage with improper lube (think it was WD40). Took two hrs of solid work with Gunscrubber and other to clean it up.

Was perfect after that

 

[SSGSAD]

Nice guns, I'm a SMITH & WESSON fan

^^^^^ THIS ^^^^^ Me Too !!!!!