Quote:
Originally Posted by DocB
It's actually a Shipping Date Letter which (as we all know) can have very little to do with the actual date of manufacture or birthdate of the gun. I have a Smith that shipped nearly 30 years after it was manufactured. Guns that laid around for a decade or more before shipping are quite common. . .especially in the 1930's.
|
Doc
It's impossible to tell the date of manufacture. A frame doesn't get a serial number until it's nearly completed. It would be different if it was given a number as soon as it came out of the forge. I'd like to hear about your Smith that shipped 30 years after it was manufactured and tell me how you know when it was manufactured.