Well, for the first time in seemingly forever I bought another handgun. Not the Judge my wife wants to get her dad for Christmas, nor the 12-2 mentioned in this thread; hell, I didn't even check out the LEO supply stores, pawn shops or glance at a Taurus. The same gunsmith that carried the 12-2 had a few other S&Ws they got from a guy who sold his collection. A Model 10, another .38 and a .22 (didn't pay attention to the models), and a Model 19. The Model 10 was $375 or so, the others were all in the high $300's as well, and of course the 12-2 was $285, with those funky looking Hogue grips on it. Truth be told, I was going to buy it anyway, the cylinder was tight, there was no visible gap and the gunsmith assured me he had checked them all over. Then I took a look at the Model 19 without a price on it. There was a little holster wear at the muzzle, the bore looked great, lockup and timing were fantastic, and the face of the cylinder looked brand new, leading me to believe that the gun saw some carry but very little firing. Suffice to say it sits in front of me as I write this.
So, I am now the proud owner of my first Smith and Wesson revolver, a Model 19-5 with 4" barrel and wood grips. A little wear on the backstrap and muzzle, a small crack in one of the grip panels, and a smooth action that should be great for home defense or carry. Nothing fancy, just a standard service revolver. I need to call S&W to find when it was made but I am pretty certain it was in the late-'80's or early-'90's. Price was $365, not too bad if Gunbroker is any indication, but this damned Louisiana sales tax drove up the price to just shy of $400.
The LEO supply store will be my next stop to find a decent holster, some ammo and a speedloader or two. I should have both a holster and ammo already and speedloaders can wait, but it can't hurt to check.
