John, thanks for posting the pictures and sharing your knowledge. If memory serves me correctly in the November 1955 American Rifleman HH Harris has a full page ad, showing advertising the CST. I have 2 early 60s (non-target). You've given me insight to check into them further. Further up in this same thread someone mentions what I designate as CST-V2 (chief special target version 2) the 149xxx to 150xxx range. The original production were more of a soft satin blue finish while the CST-V2s are usually all high polish blue). I have one just under 150xxx and one just over 150xxx. Both are not marked for model numbers, although some in this series are marked MODEL 36. I don't see model numbers again until a batch in appx 1966 (or there about) which I designate CST-V3 marked Model 36. I have a few CST-SS (yup, you guessed it Chief Special Target Stainless Steel) that had seem to have been ordered by Lew Horton, nick-named Lew Horton Specials but were actually ordered by Ashand. All marked 60-1. After that the Model 50. I stopped with anything newer than the 60-1 as in the 90s S&W mass produced a 3" version in black and other variants. Naturally, the bug that bit me first is when I read Roy Jink's History of S&W back in the 70s, stating that 114 of the original CSTs were manufacture 1955-57. Question is, exactly how many produced in the 55xxx to 57xxx serial number range, and how many in the 149xxx to 150xxx range ? I have one in the 55xxx range, (55060) and the rest are all in the 57xxx as I've seen various quotes on the production runs over they years. I've never seen one in the 56xxx range. Since I started collecting these many year back I've only passed on one that had been so beaten, rusted and poorly refinished that I just had to pass on it. What I should have done was record that serial number but did not.