Help dating S&W .38 Special M&P

suburbanplankton · May 5, 2013, 01:02 AM

My wife inherited a number of guns from her father. Among them a S&W .38 Special that had belonged to her great uncle who had been a Sheriff's deputy; it 's our understanding that it was his service revolver. We had thought it dated from the 30's or 40's, but the serial number (from the bottom of the stock, and on the back of the cylinder) is 263077. From my extensive research (at least an hour on this and a few other forums), it looks like that s/n dates the piece somewhere between 1915 and 1917. Is that correct?

RKG · May 5, 2013, 05:35 PM

According to my copy of the Catalog, a pre-10 M&P with s/n from 241704 through 700000 (4th Change) would date from 1915 through 1942.

James K · May 5, 2013, 08:58 PM

1917 or close to that; number 291xxx dates to 1919.

Jim

Sevens · May 6, 2013, 12:02 AM

Mine is 357xxx and Roy Jinks dated it to 1921, if that helps any.

May 5, 2013, 01:02 AM	#1
suburbanplankton Junior Member Join Date: May 4, 2013 Posts: 1	Help dating S&W .38 Special M&P My wife inherited a number of guns from her father. Among them a S&W .38 Special that had belonged to her great uncle who had been a Sheriff's deputy; it 's our understanding that it was his service revolver. We had thought it dated from the 30's or 40's, but the serial number (from the bottom of the stock, and on the back of the cylinder) is 263077. From my extensive research (at least an hour on this and a few other forums), it looks like that s/n dates the piece somewhere between 1915 and 1917. Is that correct?

May 6, 2013, 12:02 AM	#4
Sevens Senior Member Join Date: July 28, 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 11,775	Mine is 357xxx and Roy Jinks dated it to 1921, if that helps any. __________________ *Attention Brass rats and other reloaders:* I really need .327 Federal Magnum brass, no lot size too small. Tell me what caliber you need and I'll see what I have to swap. PM me and we'll discuss.

May 5, 2013, 05:35 PM	#2
RKG Senior Member Join Date: June 18, 2009 Location: Boston Posts: 569	According to my copy of the Catalog, a pre-10 M&P with s/n from 241704 through 700000 (4th Change) would date from 1915 through 1942.

May 5, 2013, 08:58 PM	#3
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	1917 or close to that; number 291xxx dates to 1919. Jim