Great Firearms: The Smith & Wesson Model 19 .357 Magnum

For the first installment of Great Firearms I bring you the Smith & Wesson Model 19 .357 Magnum revolver:

Before S&W began using a model number system of identifying their firearms, the Model 19 was known as the "Combat Magnum". Smith & Wesson approached famed Border Patrolman and firearms professional Bill Jordan about what features a police officer would like to see in a sidearm. Jordan's knowldege of what worked well for a police officer was invaluable to S&W, who at the time pretty much had the market cornered in police sidearms in the United States. (Colt, while a presence on the police firearms scene, really didn't have the market share that S&W did.) Jordan suggested that the ideal police sidearm should chamber the .357 Magnum cartridge, and should not be overly heavy, so that it was comfortable for the officer to wear all day. At the time, Smith & Wesson's Model 27 was the premier .357 Magnum double-action revolver, but it was built on the large N-frame and was rather bulky and heavy for a sidearm that was to be worn all day and shot very little. Jordan suggested that S&W build their new revolver on their K-frame, which was slightly smaller than the N-frame. Jordan suggested that, while the K-frame would be smaller and therefore not as strong as the N-frame, the .357 Magnum could still be chambered in it; He stated that the new revolver should be "loaded with .38 Special for practice, and .357 Magnum for business purposes." In November 1955, S&W produced the first K-frame "Combat Magnum" which would later come to be known as the Smith & Wesson Model 19.


My own Model 19 is a 19-4, produced in 1977. It is an blued steel model. (The stainless steel model of the Model 19 is called the Model 66. Side Note: Anytime a S&W model number begins with a "6" the gun is a stainless steel version.) My example shows some slight holster wear, from when it was carried by my father when he began his law enforcement career. It is one of the most accurate, smoothest shooting revolvers I have ever fired. I can easily put six shots into one ragged hole at 25 yards, and both the double and single action pull on the gun is simply amazing. The Smith and Wesson Model 19 truly is a Great Firearm, and was the ideal sidearm for the peace officer when revolvers resided in the holsters of our nation's law enforcement.