Henry Rifle Forums

Decided to start a thread with classic Smiths since Dave posted a S&W 1. So lets see them here is 2 of mine.
Top one is a model 14 K-38 masterpiece with the 3 T's as they call it. The bottom one is a 657 power port in 41 mag. There were not many of those made. Its a great shooter.

I have had many S&W hand guns over the years from Model 17's up to the Model 29's with several different barrel lengths in blued, stainless and a few nickel models. Had several Model 57 41 Magnums that were great revolvers and were very accurate. I killed a few deer with the big 8 3/8" barrel 29's and dropped deer like a good rifle does. They all went down the road during some harder times when my wife and I were just getting started and needed money more than the revolvers. I am not really a handgun person anyway but love the looks and feel of the S&W models. This is the only picture I have with my S&W models I have now mixed in with my other handguns.. Model 586 rare satin blued model from 1989. Never fired by me since Dad gave it to me 20 years ago. Model 637 Airweight 38 Special 5 shot unfired since I bought it probably at least 6 years ago. I did say I am not a handgun guy but I would buy a Model 14 if I had a chance.

back in the 60's I purchased 3 S&W revolvers (a 38 Chief Special, a 44 Mag and a 41 Mag ) .... didn't keep any of them long .... the only one I still have belonged to my Grandfather .... he carried it as a backup when hunting black bear and kept it under the counter of the mountain grocery store he owned .... no clue as to actual date of build but suspect it was in or predates the 50's .... I remember seeing it with pearl grips .... replaced the pearls with stock wooden grips, have no clue where the pearls are now .... the barrel is pitted from use of corrosive primers .... way back when I was even dumber (yep, that's a fact) I overloaded it and blew a hole in its cylinder .... replaced it, nothing close to that since .. .. blade front site, small notch cut into the frame for the rear site .... I've always found it best to just point and shoot it .... don't fire it often but its still fully capable .... yes, I fitted it with a trigger shoe that can be seen in the picturesback in the mid 60's, that did wonders for the trigger pull .... it will be passed on after I'm gone

My pair of S&W classics.... 629-2E 44 Mag and the Model 66 from 1976-77. I have another on the way being the Model 25-7 .45 Colt.
First picture the M 66 after install of S&W wood grips.

We've owned a lot of great vintage S&W revolvers, but sold most of them off when prices were good. The only vintage Smith we've kept is our early 70s 28-2, because hubby regards it as "his" gun. Given it is a large frame and given I put on the big custom grips, it does fit his huge paws like a glove. He only shoots 38s with it, so I suspect to will last another 60 plus years.



As for me, no big secret that I much prefer single actions. I won't part with those.

May not qualify as classics but thought I'd post anyway.

2003 S&W 500 Mag
Early 80's S&W model 686 357 Mag ( pre-lock )
Sorry, threw in my newest as well.
Ruger Single Ten.

This isn’t a classic Smith really but it has a great back story so I will share it.

S&W M/19-5 4” blue........

Back in the 80’s I was working for a sporting goods wholesaler and we were a Smith & Wesson distributor. My dad wanted to buy a handgun for a nightstand gun so I sold him this M/19. Fast forward to 2010 which is the year he passed away. He had a few firearms including this Smith when he died and my brother brought them to his home as our Mom didn’t want them in the house. A couple of years later I asked my brother about the Smith and he told me he had it and if I wanted it to come and get it.

So, I get over to his place and he hands me this revolver that appears to be in perfect condition with barely a turn ring except it has the most ugly beat up grips imaginable on it. I’m looking at this albatross in my hands and I’m wondering, WTH? So I get this gun home and pull the grips off and inside the hard plastic grips my is brothers name engraved into them with an electric pencil. Well, then the lightbulb goes off for me.......my brother is a now retired detective with the local Sheriff’s office and these grips must have been on one of his early duty revolvers prior to changing over to Glocks.

So I take a closer look and I’m convinced that my dad never shot this gun. Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately) we were unable to find the original box and contents as well as the original grips so I decided to throw any collector value out the window and proceeded to remove it from it’s unfired status. It’s a great shooter as one would expect with a Smith and while I have run a few cylinders of 357 thru it being a K frame mostly I shoot 38’s in it. I picked up the target grips you see on it at a gunshow but kept the grips my brother gave our dad. As my brother was so generous with giving it to me one of these days I’m going to return the favor and give it to his son. I kept the beat up old service grips to include for my nephew.

Thats a classic for sure Mike. Model 19 is a great Smith.

80's could be considered a classic now...enjoy those old Smiths!

Got me some nice Smiths , got me some NIB Smiths but as time moves on I'm liking useable trailworn guns more and more.
Lets see , thinning blue and some scratches , CHECK, some pits ,CHECK , no pricey factory grips ,CHECK .
Great , toss it in some old leather and go for a walk about.
Raggedy ole easy to feed Mod. 28 fits that bill.

That's a nice one!

Dang! You folks have some really nice Smith's! Impressed.

Well okay, you guys are asking for it!

Stepping away from the revolver world here are a couple of 3rd generation steel semi-autos. A 1006 10mm and a 4506-1 45 acp. Love these old school semi’s, DA/SA with a de-cocker. Note both have the adjustable sight on them, possibly the ugliest sight in history. Big, heavy and kinda awkward but they both shoot like a dream. Recoil??? Not with these massive hunks of beautiful steel. Used to have the full line-up including a 9mm and a 40 S&W but parted with those two.

My Simth & Wesson

I don’t have a picture, but I have a Beckert 22 that my dad bought in the 1930s. Great trigger, and it’s a shooter!

If1hitu,

That’s a nice looking 1911. I have wanted ever since S&W brought them out. So far it has eluded me but I may grab one before I’m done.

'98 686+ Not vintage, but at least pre-lock. Love carrying this in the winter. Very impressed with accuracy considering the 2.5" bbl.

Neither are classics; I picked up the M 360 a couple of weeks ago. But, the style is classic. So, I thought I would post. Plus, I like S&W revolvers.

I have a few very nice Smiths. They don't look it, but they are all shooters. Back when I first graduated from the Academy, we were issued Model 64 Revolvers. I was designated as a Firearms Instructor based on my performance on the range in the Academy. They had been in the market for an additional instructor anyway. The officers had been pushing for a switch to Semi-Autos and the Chief called me into his office and asked what I thought about the idea. I like revolvers, so I told him it was up to him... I was good either way, I was shooting both in competition. If he wanted to switch it would be best to set up a protocol and test four or five models and see which worked best for the department. "Make it happen." We cut it down to the Glock Model 22 .40 cal and the Sig P220 .45. The Chief chose the Glock based on initial cost of the Guns and the projected costs of ammunition for training.

When they made the switch we could buy our guns, I bought mine and ONE of the Model 64 2" guns authorized for carry by Sergeants and the Chief.



I had been shooting the 4" Model 64 in competition and winning, and had shot the necessary five trips over the Distinguished Course with the Model 64 to earn that bar for my uniform. Five for Five. 300 Rounds into five targets. The range master had to supervise the course and sign off on each relay. I framed the back target of the five, we had saved the cardboard each time and just added another target. So that back target had 300 shots through it. Dang right I framed it.


The other Smith is the 10-6... but it's not "really" stock. One of the Members of our PPC league was also a member of the Pistolsmith's Guild and built most of our competition guns. He built a LOT of comp guns... for folks all over the US.... This gun is a LOT more accurate than I am capable of. I was blessed to know Jerry, and unfortunately, he passed before he could earn the acclaim he fully deserved.


He built guns that won the Police Nationals several years in a row, and also bullseye and PPC. To me, this gun is priceless. He built my Semi-auto and did other work for me as well.
He was voted Pistolsmith of the Year by the Guild, the year he passed.




I have the 642 Airweight 38 from the 90s that Miss T carries, and a M&P 340 357 as a EDC, and like them a lot. But, of course they aren't really classics as others have already pointed out.

Maybe some to these are not “classics” per the calendar but any gun with a story is a classic!

Thanks for sharing everybody and I’m loving the S&W pics.