This Smith & Wesson Model 19 Combat Magnum was manufactured in 1982 according to the company records. it is a six shot revolver that is chambered for the .357 Magnum cartridge, but it can also easily accept the .38 special round. The Model 19 is built on S&W's medium "K" frame platform which is smaller and lighter than the "N" frame. The Model 19 is constructed of carbon steel and has a beautiful blued finish. It is a double action revolver with a barrel length of 2 1/2 inches and an unloaded weight of 30 1/2 ounces. The revolver utilizes a serrated ramp front sight and a square notch rear sight that is adjustable for both windage and elevation. The black rubberized grip panel is not original to the firearm and is made by Pachmayr. It is their model Gripper Decelerator grip. The Model 19 was manufactured from 1955 to November 1999.

The Smith & Wesson company first began assigning model numbers in 1957. The version shown here is the Model 19-5.  The model number of this Smith & Wesson revolver can by revealed by opening the cylinder, the model number will then be found stamped on the inside of the yoke. The model of this S&W revolver is 19-5. The number 5 at the end of the model number indicates the fifth round of engineering changes that were built into this revolver when compared with the original Model 19 design. This system was also used to indicate special configurations of a particular model. In 1982, the 19-5 version of the Model 19 was introduced which eliminated the cylinder counterbore. In handgun terminology, a counterbored cylinder would indicate that the cylinder is recessed around the case head so that the rimmed cartridges fit flush with the cylinder.

This Model 19 has been with me a long time and I have carried it through many miles of adventures in the outdoors. It was with me to end an auto theft, and then a decade later it was stolen, which took the courts and a Judge to order its safe return across state lines. The Model 19 as a service handgun today is used by the Bundesnachrichtendienst or Federal Intelligence Service of the German government, South Australian Police, State Police agencies in the United States and the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service just to name a few.

The .357 Magnum round is the worlds oldest handgun "magnum" cartridge. Smith & Wesson played a major part in the development and success of the .357 magnum cartridge.  it is Philip Sharpe, whom at the time was a firearms author and experimenter who is credited for the development of the round in the 1930s. In his book "Complete Guide to Handloading", Phillip Sharpe summarizes his extensive testing in the development of the .357 Magnum. Elmer Keith also played a large role in the development of the .357 magnum due in part to his testing of the .38 Special cartridge and loading it to far beyond normally accepted limits. Many police agencies at this time were using such cartridges as the .32 or .38 special and were asking for a more powerful round. S&W's Vice President Major Douglas B. Wesson agreed to design a new revolver that would handle "high-intensity" .38 Special loads if Winchester would develop a new cartridge for it. Winchester went to work and a short while later introduced the .357 Magnum, which is dimensionally identical to the .38 Special except for having a .125 inch longer case then that of the .38 special. On April 8, 1935 the first revolvers known as the .357 Magnum Models were then introduced by S&W. The classic Model 19, is one of the original S&W .357's.

The history of the Smith & Wesson company began in 1852 when Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson formed the Volcanic Repeating Arms Company. to manufacture a lever action pistol called the Volcanic pistol. A short while later the company came under financial difficulties and was sold to Oliver Winchester who at the time was a shirt manufacturer. In 1866, using the original lever action design created by Smith & Wesson, Winchester’s company emerged as the famous Winchester Repeating Arms Company.

In 1856 Smith & Wesson formed a second partnership to produce a small revolver designed to fire the rimfire cartridge that they had patented in August of 1854. This revolver became the first successful fully self-contained cartridge revolver available in the world. Smith & Wesson secured the patents for the revolver which legally prevented other manufacturers from copying it. That patent along with the Civil war gave the young company a very lucrative business. The partners realized that the patent rights would not last forever so they went back to the drawing board and designed the Model 3 American in 1869. The Model 3 revolver was the first large caliber cartridge revolver and the success of this firearm established S&W as a leader in handgun manufacturing. The two most important customers for the new revolver were the United States Cavalry, which purchased 1,000 units for use on the Western Frontier, and the Russian Imperial Government that purchased 20,000 revolvers and paid S&W in advance with gold.

Horace Smith retired from the company at the age of 65 and sold all of his shares to  Douglas B. Wesson in 1875. The company went on to introduced a number of hammerless revolvers in the late 1800's that are still being manufactured today. S&W then introduced the Model 10 or as it was know then, the .38 Military & Police revolver which has been in continued production ever since. The Model 10 has been used by just about every police agency or military force in the world. In 1935 they came out with the worlds first magnum revolver.  In 1955 the Model 39 was introduced which was the first American made double action auto-loading pistol.  In 1955, the Model 29 which was chambered in .44 magnum was introduced. You might recall this revolver from the movie "Dirty Harry" with the actor Clint Eastwood. In 1965 the Model 60 was introduced that was the world’s first stainless steel revolver.

In 1964, the company passed from the Wesson family control, and subsequently several conglomerates took control of it. Then from 1987 to 2001 a British company, Tomkins PLC, purchased Smith & Wesson for 112 million U.S. dollars.

In March of 2000, Smith & Wesson signed an agreement with the Clinton Administration. The company agreed to numerous safety and design standards, as well as limits on the sale and distribution of their firearms. Numerous gun rights groups and individuals whom were already angry with such things as the assault weapons ban, responded to this agreement by initiating large scale boycotts of Smith & Wesson products.

On May 11, 2001, Saf-T-Hammer Corporation acquired Smith & Wesson from Tomkins PLC for $15 million U.S. dollars, plus took on the $30 million dollar debt that had accumulated for a total purchase price of $45 million U.S. dollars. This was a fraction when compared to the $112 million originally paid by Tomkins PLC. 

Saf-T-Hammer purchased the company with the intention of incorporating its line of security products into all Smith & Wesson firearms in compliance with the 2000 agreement. The acquisition of Smith & Wesson was chiefly brokered by Saf-T-Hammer President Bob Scott, who had left Smith & Wesson in 1999 because of a disagreement with Tomkins’ policies. After the purchase, Scott became the president of Smith & Wesson to guide the 157-year-old company back to its former standing in the market. On February 15, 2002, the name of the newly formed entity between S&W and Saf-T-Hammer was called Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation.    

I have very briefly just touched on the many accomplishments and history of the Smith & Wesson company.  These accomplishments which are so numerous that it would be literally impossible to understand the history of modern handguns without first understanding the history of Smith & Wesson. The description above really does not give S&W the pat on the back that the company so rightfully deserves. I do hope that it will give the reader some idea of what Smith & Wesson has done since becoming an industry leader back in 1852. Today, the company continues to lead the world with innovations that will take it, and the more then 1400 employees, solidly into the 21st century.  

The picture on the left shows the top and bottom of the revolver, while the photograph on the right is of the front and back of this S&W Model 19-5. The black rubberized grip panel is not original to the firearm and was made by Pachmayr. It is their model Gripper Decelerator grip.

The picture on the left is an inscription that is stamped on the right side of the frame. It reads as follows, "MADE IN U.S.A." and then underneath that is "MARCAS REGISTRADAS" , then below that is "SMITH & WESSON", and then on the bottom is SPRINGFIELD, MASS.". The first line indicates that the revolver was manufactured in the United States of America. The second line is a Spanish word meaning Trademark. The third line identifies the manufacturer as Smith & Wesson, and the bottom line indicates the city and state the company is located in which is Springfield, Massachusetts.

The photograph on the right is of the S&W logo that is located on the left side of the receiver.

The photograph on the left is of the right side of the barrel which is stamped as follows, "S.& W. 357 MAGNUM". This marking indicates the caliber of the revolver. The photograph on the right is of the left side of the barrel which is stamped "SMITH & WESSON". This mark identifies the manufacturer of the revolver.    

Below is a brief description of the frame letters used for Smith & Wesson revolvers.

The I frame was introduced in 1896 with the S&W Model 32 hand eject revolver. The I frame revolvers can be thought of as a typical 6 shot .32 caliber older revolver. 

The I frame was later enlarged slightly to accept the .38 special round and with the introduction of the Chief’s Special in .38 Special caliber it became the J frame in 1950. A typical 5 shot .38 special revolver can be thought of as a J frame. These J frame firearms are  lightweight and easy-to-carry. The S&W Model 34 is a J frame revolver.

The K frame was introduced in 1899 with the .38 Military and Police or Model 10 revolver. A typical 6 shot .38 special revolver can be thought of as a K frame. The K frames are good and popular workhorses for both duty and sporting use. The S&W Model 65 and the S&W Model 19 on this page are K frame revolvers.

The L frame is slightly larger then the K frame. If the K frame can be thought of as a medium size revolver, then the L frame would be thought of as medium-large. S&W lists both the K and L frame revolvers under the same category in the companies sales brochure. The L frame was announced in 1980 with four models, 581, 586, 681, and 686, all of which were chambered in .357 caliber. The idea behind the L frame was to design a handgun that was strong enough to withstand a steady diet of full-power .357 magnum ammunition while still being comfortable to carry for long periods. The K frames were a touch too lite for this while the N frames made carry difficult. The S&W Model 586 is a L frame revolver.

Moving down in the world, the tiny M frame has only been used for the 7 shot .22 caliber Ladysmith revolver introduced in 1902. 

Moving up in the world, the N frame was introduced in 1908 with the Triple lock .44 special revolver. A typical 6 shot revolver in .44 or .45 caliber can be thought of as a N frame. Clint Eastwood used an N frame S&W Model 29 revolver in the movie Dirty Harry. The N frame revolver is often used by hunters and competitive shooters.

When you hear folks speak of a hand cannon they might have be talking about the monster X frame revolver. For ultimate power and velocity there's nothing even close to an X frame. If you see Dirty Harry running the other way then he probably spotted an X frame revolver in the hands of a crook. A typical 5 shot revolver in .460 or .500 caliber can be thought of as a N frame.