testtest

THE COMBAT MAGNUM

Snake45 said:
Your M15 above, near as I can tell, has the standard "pencil" barrel. Very familiar with that gun, I shot them by the dozens in USAF. The one in the pic I reposted has a heavy barrel like a M19, but doesn't have the ejector rod shroud. The cylinder might also be shorter than the M19 in the pic, hard to tell from the photo. :confused:
Click to expand...
Yes I carried the Model 15 as an SP and as an OSI agent until they issued the Model 36
 
HansGruber said:
Could be an older K38 Combat Masterpiece…not sure if there was a HB option with them, though.
Click to expand...
I dug out my dial caliper and measured the cylinders on the two guns in the pic. The left gun's cylinder is definitely shorter than the right gun's. So it's not a .357 Mag.

I have heard of the occasional 4" K38 (Model 14) but I haven't seen many if any of them. This pic might in fact be the first. Pretty cool old gun, if so. ;)
 
I bought this one in 1975. It is used but not abused.

S & W Model 19-3.JPG

Model 19-3.JPG
 
Sld1959 said:
Personal opinion, the Combat Magnum was perhaps the finest double action 357 magnum revolver design extant. Why? Because of its perfect size and balance it has ability to be a hunting revolver, service/defensive revolver, and concealed carry revolver all very successfully, and this last is very important, and did it all at a price point that the working police officer and man on the street could afford. Not saying it was cheap but it was well within reach of the average Joe.

There are .357 magnum frames which handle great quantities of hot magnums better, there are .357 magnums which conceal better, there are cheaper but excelkant revolvers, but I think the model 19 was the best at it all. There is a reason that Taurus and other companies copied it so closely.

I put it right up there with the Colt SAA design.

I do not currently own a genuine combat magnum but I will. I do own the first model 80s Taurus clone 6 inch and have used it for 40 years. The big reason for the clone when I said the 19 price point was affordable? Well when I bought, I was not even your average working joe on the street, I was a poor married college student who worked on the side and needed a revolver for home defense and hunting and the model 19 design was the obvious choice for me.
Click to expand...
Agree with your assessment completely, which is why a 4" M19 was my very first revolver (and only my second handgun, after a 1911) around 1973. My Dad had to get it for me, as I wouldn't be 21 until 1975.

Around 1976 I added a 2.5" M19 to my modest battery. Still have it, but I lusted after the 3" M19 pictured on the back of the Mustang Grips catalog of the time. I've never seen one of these; my understanding is that Smith did a very limited run of them in 1965 or '66 just before they introduced/standardized the 2.5" barreled version. Later, around 1985, Smith did a limited run of 3" M66s (Combat Magnum in stainless) and of course I HAD to have one.

The 3" 66 is in many ways the best of both worlds. It will do ALMOST anything the 4" will ballistically, and with its round butt it's just as concealable as the 2.5" but with full-length extraction/ejection. It's a truly lovely gun. ;)(y)
 
HayesGreener said:
Here are a few of my S&W's for comparison. Starting at 12 O'clock is an M&P in .38 S&W. It was a lend-lease gun from WWII. Going clockwise next is an original .357 magnum, pre-model 27. Then is a Model 15 Combat Masterpiece, .38 spl. Next is a model 27 5-inch, and then a Model 19 Combat Magnum. Then is a model 36, 3 inch heavy barrel, followed by a Model 19 2.5 inch. Then is a model 64 heavy barrel, .38 spl. Next a Model 629 Classic, .44 mag, and last is a Model 17, .22. I carried all of them except the M17, the M&P, and the 629 for duty at one time or another
Click to expand...
Thanks now here is drool all over my phone
 
HansGruber said:
So…Combat Magnums.

Personally, I agree with Colt when they named the (original) 3” Python the “Combat Python”—or when S&W made the original 27’s (the Registered Magnum) with a 3.5” barrel option.

Here’s my personal version of the “Combat Magnum”-the S&W 65-3, 3”.View attachment 38135

However…the 2.5-2.75” versions are also pretty dang handy.
View attachment 38136
(Clockwise from top left: 686+, 627 Performance Center, 640 Pro, 66)

3” is slightly better, though, because you get a full-length ejector rod that will fully extract magnum cases.
Click to expand...
That a pizza box, if so which pizza place, i'm dern sure ordering one. lol
 
HansGruber said:
So…Combat Magnums.

Personally, I agree with Colt when they named the (original) 3” Python the “Combat Python”—or when S&W made the original 27’s (the Registered Magnum) with a 3.5” barrel option.

Here’s my personal version of the “Combat Magnum”-the S&W 65-3, 3”.View attachment 38135

However…the 2.5-2.75” versions are also pretty dang handy.
View attachment 38136
(Clockwise from top left: 686+, 627 Performance Center, 640 Pro, 66)

3” is slightly better, though, because you get a full-length ejector rod that will fully extract magnum cases.
Click to expand...
Damn those are sweet, got a huge soft spot for a three inch revolver, that 65 is so choice.
 
Snake45 said:
Here's my old 2.5" M19 with a new acquisition, a Crosman SNR 357 CO2/BB, a passable understudy for quiet/cheap/bad weather basement shooting (they are exactly the same weight, 30.5 oz). ;)

View attachment 38145
Click to expand...

Nice. I have seen some carry those c02s around almost like they are the real things in cars. One of my best friends ended up in prison at 16 because he held up a store with one that looked like 1911. Stupid, he could have made the guy have a heart attack or gotten shot if he was armed.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top