Went to a local gun show and found a 2 1/2" S&W 19-2 from the late '60s in about 90% condition for $250, the biggest blemish on it being the property stamp from a county sheriff dept. They also had a 4" nickel 29-3 from '83 w/ box and papers for $475 that looks to be almost NIB with only a slight powder stain on one chamber mouth and a very faint cylinder turn line. Figured they were fair enough prices it was worth bringing them home.

nn

You do find some bargains up in y'r country. mdnbx

The property marking on the M19 is a bonus to some people, and hardly a blem to any sensible person.

I have quite a few dept marked guns. I like the thought that someone carried that gun daily to defend themselves and others with the gun. A lot of times they were carried a lot and shot little. Just show holster wear etc. but on the other hand you can be in the middle of qualifying with a 686 and when you open the cylinder to reload the whole thing falls apart to the ground. Plus anything outside 10 feet is safe!!! That has happen to me.

Just had to see how it would do. When purchased, it had some Pachmayer 'Gripper' grips on it, which I switched out for some old Roger's finger-grooved grips that had been laying around for years. It does not appear to have been shot very much with virtually no wear on the hand or pawls and just a slight drag line on the cylinder. Shot it at 10 yards since did not know where the sights were set for.

The first cylinder was fired double action with some 158 gr SWC loaded over 5 gr Unique in 38 Sp cases and lit by Wolf primers. It printed about 3" high and the group strung out about 2 3/4", I assume mostly due to oil remaining in the bore and cylinders.

The second cylinder full was 158 gr HP Win 357 ammo which printed about 1" high and grouped into 2" fired double action. It hung up on two rounds though, with the trigger building up quite a bit of pressure like it was stuck, then releasing suddenly. Will have to look into that to see if it is ammo, or gun-related.

The third, and final group of the day, was the same 38 Sp reloads as the first group, but fired slowly, single action. This group was about 3 1/2" high and measured 1 1/4," with four of the shots making one ragged hole that measured 9/16" at its widest point. When emptying the cylinder, noticed one of the old cases had split about 2/3 it's length upon firing.

I think this popper shows real promise and with just a slight bit of tuning, could be a real super all-around carry piece.

The comment about the property markings being a 'blemish' was just my poor attempt at a little humor. I have a couple firearms that previously belonged to government agencies and they are highly treasured. This is the first one with a property stamp though.

There were several other good buys there, just could not afford them all. One of the best shows for prices I have seen in a long while. I almost never buy guns at shows and don't think I've ever bought two, must be getting weak minded in my older age. Hope no super deals show up soon, am tapped out of discretionary cash now.

This is my first dept marked gun, but have a couple others that came from depts, including a Colt Police Positive Special in 32 WCF that came from a very small town in northern Michigan where it was issued to new hires until they could purchase their own sidearm. It was not treated very kindly over the years and was pretty rusty when I purchased it, but cleaned up reasonably well and shoots great.

nm

Both those guns would run much higher than that around here. I'd-a done it too!