Very special and nice revolver, TOMTOM.
You should enjoy it for many years.
I would suggest not using 357 Magnum ammo a lot, if possible, as the K frame 357’s (like the model 19’s) had a reputation for sometimes cracking the forcing cone (Barrel near the cylinder) as the metal there is rather thin.
Mass State Police?? Only one I can think of that did that large a run. And I think the total was only a bit over 600.
Most agency commemoratives are fairly small runs.
Good idea to keep it pristine. Money in the bank.
FN in MT
Pennsylvania Game Commission 1895-1995 100th Anniversary. Mine is in the safe, will be my son’s someday.
Aah! A quick check of the “Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson” the Bible for we Collectors…shows that run was in fact 2500 units.
FN in MT
Very nice!! My old man used to shoot competitively with a 19-3 and every once-in-a-while he’d let me shoot it. It is so unbelievably smooth. Looking at 19’s always takes me back to my childhood.
Anyway, here are my two 19-4’s!
Some agencies issued 6" 357’s in the 70s. It was more common if they mostly worked traffic, like the various Highway Patrol departments.
In those days, rookies were issued a M-10 or M-13 with small service stocks. If they carried it for a couple of years and didn’t drop it much, they could be issued a Model 19. Lots of officers (and departments) upgraded to target hammers, triggers, and grips thinking that it made the piece more effective in a fight. In the case of the grips, it probably did.
Okie John