Quote:
Originally Posted by kscharlie
I am getting more confused each time I revisit this thread.
SCSW 4th says that 1st change has small monogram on left side of frame. OP gun has large monogram on sideplate. Book says either no patent dates on barrel or if they are present are on top of barrel. OP gun has patent dates on right side of barrel. My 1st change has small monogram on left side and patent dates on top of barrel.
My 1903 1st change has two flat springs in grip frame. (See picture.) OP gun has one spring in grip frame. My serial number is 50606 and left the factory in October, 1906.
With all these differences, how can both the OP gun and mine be 1st Change? Still trying to learn...
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FIRST THING: I screwed up and corrected my original post. Both the OP's serial # and your .32 #50606 are in the 1st Change serial range given in the SCSW.
However, nothing done at the factory is done in serial # order. Although we like when the serial #s can clearly identify the model or change of a gun.
The OP's gun as you so astutely observed is one of those not uncommon situations where we must defer to the design features observed to identify the exact version. The presence of the rebound slide instead of the dual springs in his gun makes it a 2nd Change. Clearly it was built much later than it's serial # indicates.
Many of us on this forum are old farts, and don't type or see well. I certainly am, so a caveat must be to consider the source. We often catch each other in mistakes and typos, and correct them. In this case you identified one of those times. Thank you for your sharp eye.
2ND THING: the serial # ranges for each change are not absolute. It's usually possible to find exceptions. Some features on a particular model may not exactly fit the description in the SCSW.