Sheriff Jim Wilson

The Cadillac of Snub-Nosed Revolvers

Posted on 31 March 2012

One of my favorite handguns started life as the Smith & Wesson Combat Magnum. Back in the 50′s, Bill Jordan was approached by the wheels at Smith & Wesson and asked to give his thoughts on the perfect revolver for police officers. The result was the Combat Magnum revolver that soon came to be known as the Model 19. It was later produced in stainless steel and called the Model 66. Of course, Bill’s idea was for them to build a 4-inch barreled revolver and that, at first, is exactly what Smith & Wesson did.

However, my favorite Model 19 has always been the 2 1/2” barreled version. It featured a 2 1/2” barrel with the integral ejector-rod shroud and a round butt. Along with that, it incorporated the ramped front sight and adjustable rear sight that was standard to all Model 19s. I’m sure the idea was to build a Model 19 that would be more suitable for criminal investigators to carry concealed. However, we quickly found out that the little sixgun was capable of very fine accuracy and our qualification scores did not drop drastically, if at all, shooting the shorter barrel.

In the above photo, the gun on the right is a Model 19-3 and the one on the left is a Model 19-4. Both have pinned barrels and recessed cylinder chambers. They were made during the heyday of Smith’s revolvers. For your interest, I have compiled a little timeline on the 2 1/2” Model 19.

1955: The Combat Magnum goes into production and the first production model is given to Bill Jordan. This gun ultimately ended up in the collection of Col. Rex Applegate.
1963: A run of 50 Model 19′s are made with the 2 1/2” barrel.
1966: The 2 1/2” Model 19 becomes a standard production item.
1967: The Model 19-3 is produced. The rear sight leaf screw is relocated.
1968: The diamond insert grip is discontinued.
1977: The Model 19-4 is introduced, changing the gas ring from the yoke to the front of the cylinder.
1982: The Model 19-5 is introduced, doing away with the recessed chambers in the cylinder.
2005: The Model 19 & Model 66 are discontinued.

In my view, and that of many others, the glory years for the 2 1/2” Model 19 were 1966 to 1982. From that time on, Smith & Wesson began to cheapen their revolvers and a reduction in performance resulted. Fortunately, these great snub-nose revolvers can still be found at gun shows and in the used counter of many gun shops. Handy little six-guns, if you ask me.

Posted in Guns, Peace Officers, Revolvers | Tagged .357 magnum, bill jordan, col. rex applegate, DA, model 19, model 66, revolvers, S&W, smith and wesson, snub nose | 10 Comments

Classy Gun Rigs

Posted on 28 March 2012

Without trying to take anything away from the big holster companies, some of the best gun rigs have always been made in the smaller shops. Even people like George Lawrence, S.D. Myres, and A.W. Brill, started out in small shops, often building and repairing saddles as well as holsters and cartridge belts.

There is a simple reason for this. The guys who built saddles knew how to select the best leather and they knew how to stitch it together so that the rig would hold up under long usage. In fact, stamping and flower carving was started by the saddle makers as a way to show the customer that they were using only the best leather. These skills were transferred over to the gun rigs that they made for customers who knew and understood quality.

Now, while you may associate good quality, carved holsters with the West and Southwest, I have to tell you that I’ve recently come across a master holster maker in—of all places—Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Of course, I’m talking about Mike Barranti, of the Barranti Leather Company.

Mike’s holstermaking skills go back to his childhood when he decided to build his own rigs for his cap guns. He’s been hooked on holster making ever since. Mike cites Skeeter Skelton and Elmer Keith as two of his early influences, with their preference for good guns and good leather gear.

The two holsters that I have pictured above are copies of the popular A.W. Brill holsters that were made for Texas Rangers, and other Southwestern lawmen, back in the 30′s, 40′s, & 50′s. Mike has not only made a faithful reproduction of this popular holster, but he has carefully fit each holster to hold my 2 1/2” Model 19 and my Colt .45 Commander. He used good, thick leather and proper stitching to build holsters that will last for years. The basket stamping, done at my request, just gives them a classy, old-time look that I enjoy.

You’ll have to visit Mike’s website to see all of the various styles of holsters that he makes. And you have to understand that his is a small shop, so expect to wait a bit for your holster to get finished. The wait will be worth it.

Posted in Gear | Tagged .45 colt, colt, commander, elmer keith, holsters, leather, model 19, skeeter skelton, smith and wesson | 2 Comments

The Mossberg Maverick

Posted on 23 March 2012

As I write this, I have just completed a writers’ seminar with Mossberg. We shot their Flex System shotguns and their ARs and had a ball. I may very well be writing about some of those in the weeks to come. But, right now, I want to tell you about the gun that was the hit of the session. It was the Mossberg Maverick Tactical Over & Under.

This shotgun comes with 18 1/2-inch barrels, an attractive matte black finish, a fiber-optic front sight, and a short tactical rail rear sight. The Maverick has a single trigger and a tang-mounted safety that allows you to select which barrel fires first. The internal hammers are cocked mechanically, instead of being inertia driven. And you can select a model with cylinder-bored barrels or one with screw-in chokes. The entire shotgun is only 36 1/2-inches long, which is about 4 inches shorter than a pump shotgun with the same barrel length.

This is a very useful shotgun for home & personal defense. Its short length, over all, makes it perfect for negotiating tight corners in the home. The barrel selector allows you to load each barrel with a different cartridge, depending upon your needs, and select which barrel you need to fire in a given situation. The Maverick is light, handy, and easy to shoot. You wouldn’t believe what we were doing with slugs at 50 and 100 yards on steel targets.

Naturally, we noticed a few things that needed changing. For instance the guns we shot had extractors instead of ejectors. We recommended that be changed so that the gun would throw the empties out and reduce reloading time. We also recommended that the tactical rail be moved from the top of the gun to the bottom of the lower barrel so that a tactical light could be mounted. Something like the XS Express sights should be on top, with a Big Dot on the front ramp.

One thing I like about working with people like the folks at Mossberg is that Linda Powell listened to our suggestions and immediately got on the phone with her boss and relayed the message. As I write this, Mossberg will be incorporating some, or all, of our suggestions into the Maverick shotgun.

We had three Gunsite instructors handling range duties for our seminar and the three of them have already ordered four of the Maverick Tactical Over & Under shotguns. That’s how cool this shotgun really is. So you might want to check it out when you get a chance. Right now, the gun is so new that you won’t find it on the Mossberg web site, but it is included in their catalog. I don’t, yet, have an MSRP on the Maverick but wouldn’t be surprised if you could buy it for around $500, maybe less.