Joe S.
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,517
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PPC Smith
Jun 7, 2019 23:31:42 GMT -5
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Post by Joe S. on Jun 7, 2019 23:31:42 GMT -5
My dad found a S&W Model 19-4 in a shop yesterday. He asked me to go today to take a look. It has a big ol bull barrel, about 1.25” diameter, with the adjustable front and rear sight built into the rib. Not sure when it was made but it is pretty nice. The trigger is as smooth as butter.
It has a “Bill Davis” signature on the rib. I feel like it is not a Bill Davis revolver, but rather a Bill Davis rib. Is there any way to tell?
Sorry. Dont have pics. It is a blued gun and rib, stainless barrel.
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Post by croesus on Jun 10, 2019 13:55:57 GMT -5
Well, this is certainly not definitive...but, I have an original Bill Davis Windmaster from back when I was shooting a lot of PPC matches. As I recall, the Bill Davis signature is on the side of the barrel. I believe he signed most of his work. I'm sure someone else more knowledgeable will chime in eventually. Old PPC revolvers can be a lot of fun. I certainly spent many hours filling up buckets with .38 Special brass.
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shorty500
.327 Meteor
too many dirty harry movies created me!
Posts: 905
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Post by shorty500 on Jun 10, 2019 18:44:23 GMT -5
Many PPC guns were built using the ribs and pre- machined barrels sold by Brownells. Many never had the chromemoly Power supplied barrel blued also. 30 years ago I traded into such a model 19, no name for smith who put it together, did an excellent job right down to the ball-detent in crane and sweet DA only trigger job
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Joe S.
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,517
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PPC Smith
Jun 10, 2019 18:50:14 GMT -5
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Post by Joe S. on Jun 10, 2019 18:50:14 GMT -5
If Dad gets it we will have to try some cold blue on it. He would rather it be all blued.
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Post by bradshaw on Jun 10, 2019 22:08:50 GMT -5
My dad found a S&W Model 19-4 in a shop yesterday. He asked me to go today to take a look. It has a big ol bull barrel, about 1.25” diameter, with the adjustable front and rear sight built into the rib. Not sure when it was made but it is pretty nice. The trigger is as smooth as butter. It has a “Bill Davis” signature on the rib. I feel like it is not a Bill Davis revolver, but rather a Bill Davis rib. Is there any way to tell? Sorry. Dont have pics. It is a blued gun and rib, stainless barrel. ***** Joe.... cold blue won’t do diddly to a stainless barrel. Might as well whip out a can of flat black.... Revolvers chambered for Practical Pigeon Cartridges usually chambered the .38 Special. Which I reckon your Model 19 was fed. Created to promote marksmanship with service revolvers, PPC evolved to double action sharpshooting with bull pipe barrels and melted butter triggers. Perhaps you’ll post a photo of your father shooting it, David Bradshaw
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Joe S.
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,517
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PPC Smith
Jun 10, 2019 23:01:40 GMT -5
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Post by Joe S. on Jun 10, 2019 23:01:40 GMT -5
I sure will if it works out that he gets it.
I will try the cold blue in case it was a case of the barrel being left in the white instead of actually being stainless. I hope thats the case.
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Joe S.
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,517
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Post by Joe S. on Jun 12, 2019 22:47:57 GMT -5
Well, it now has a new home. Man it’s nice!! We thought the barrel was stainless but i decided to rub a little cold blue on it and it took, so i gave it a couple treatments. Looks much better, and man it shoots good. Paper target is 10 yards, off hand. I moved the front sight to 50, and took it to 50 yards and hit the dirt 3 times, so i changed it back to 25 and fired the last three in the bottom pic. That’s pretty good group IMO for 50 yards, with forearms rested on the table. For me anyway. All shots fired double action. First 6 shots. Love at first shot!
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Post by squawberryman on Jun 13, 2019 5:47:30 GMT -5
Joe that's a great photo of a neat gun
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Post by AxeHandle on Jun 13, 2019 6:23:40 GMT -5
"... Practical Pigeon Cartridges..." Gun reminds me of Jim Collins' revolver that hangs in the NRA museum along side Phillip Hemphill's Big Boy. FWIW The guys that look down their noses at the Practical Pigeon Cartridge shooters generally display the same level of respect for Pocket Pool shooters. FWIW Collins and Hemphill both shot clean PPC 1500 matches in their PPC career and were both PPC Nation Champion multiple times. Shoot one of these things at 50 yards and see what you think. Both of these guys evolved into High Master pocket pool shooters.. Hemphill has been NRA Precision Pistol Nation Champion twice.
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Post by bradshaw on Jun 13, 2019 7:20:03 GMT -5
Joe.... would like to see a photo of the Bill Davis front sight, which appears too have some sort of wedge arrangement to instantly adjust from 7 to 25 to 50 yards. I am familiar with the Bo-Mar, which front sight is not adjustable. Ron Power and Wichita’s Nolan Jackson made PPC ribbed sights which incorporate front sights with preset distance adjustment. Memory says both used a horizontal wheel under the blade. S&W adopted the horizontal wheel for it’s ill-fated silhouette 10-5/8” Model 29.
PPC was a big game, albeit exclusive to law enforcement, a last hurrah for the revolver in law enforcement before mass migration to auto in 9mm Luger, the European round shortly abandoned in favor of the .40 S&W. A reckon-by-fire mentality accompanied the mass exodus from sixshooters.... yes, that’s what it amounted to, although popularly referred to as “spray and pray.” Civilian defensive pistol craft held no allegiance to issued hardware, and it is primarily civilian shooters who apply classical marksmanship with revolvers.
A good PPC revolver is an instrument for precise double action fire and the skill is transferable. The hunter and big bore hand gunner may have no use for, or next to no use for, double action. Yet, the long stroke coaches UNIFORM SQUEEZE straight back, with FOLLOW THROUGH, exactly to key to sharpshooting. Thus, Joe, as you apply your new prize to the target, all your marksmanship stands to gain. David Bradshaw
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Joe S.
.401 Bobcat
Posts: 2,517
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PPC Smith
Jun 13, 2019 8:16:57 GMT -5
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Post by Joe S. on Jun 13, 2019 8:16:57 GMT -5
Thanks for the post Mr. Bradshaw.
I am out of town for a couple days but will get you pics on return.
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awp101
.401 Bobcat
TANSTAAFL
Posts: 2,632
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Post by awp101 on Jun 13, 2019 10:03:23 GMT -5
*awp101 wanders off to GB to add PPC to his saved searches...*
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Post by ezekiel38 on Jun 13, 2019 11:34:50 GMT -5
Good shooting Joe I never got to shoot one, but forked over lots of entry fees to buy other guys trophies. L frame evened the playing field considerably. Went to IPSC competition about this time. Single stack 45s.
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Post by bradshaw on Jun 13, 2019 12:17:17 GMT -5
"I never got to shoot one, but forked over lots of entry fees to buy other guys trophies. L frame evened the playing field considerably.” -----ezekiel38
*****
Did you find yourself on the firing line with a pencil barrel, surrounded by a heard of bull-pipes?
I don’t understand how an L-frame .38 Special outperforms a K-frame Model 10 or K-38 fitted with a bull barrel. Of course, were one shooting .357’s, the L-frame wins, leastwise in the long haul. David Bradshaw
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Post by jfs on Jun 13, 2019 13:32:09 GMT -5
Always wanted one of them... a beauty in her own right...
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