First,I'd like to introduce myself.My name is Steve,and I'm new to the S&W Forum.This is my first post.Now,on to my question.I have a 38-44 Heavy-Duty with the pre-war long action,yet,it has the internal hammer safety of the later models.Its' ser. # is: S 639xx.There is a long space between the "S" and the rest of the ser.#.I remember reading somewhere that the long action and the "S" prefix mark my revolver as early post-war.Can anyone help with its' year of manufacture and any other pertinent info?Thanks,fellow Smith lovers

According to the catalog it was born in 1946. Those are great revolvers and a lot of us on here really enjoy them. Welcome to the forum.

Yes, welcome. That's a great revolver to mention in your first post. The postwar transitional Heavy Duty revolvers are some of the most sought after N-frames around. The company seems to have pushed a lot of copies of the Heavy Duty out the door in July of 1946, and your serial number is in the vicinity of others that left at that time. How long is the barrel on yours? Four, five, and 6.5 inch versions are known.

If you don't know this web site, you should.

38-44heavyduty.com

Can you post a picture of your HD? There are many HD fans on this forum. I have a transitional HD numbered about 3000 higher than yours but which shipped in July 1946.

The thing about S&W serial numbers is that the company did not make it a practice to ship in serial number order. They just took completed units out of inventory as the orders rolled in, and sometimes this meant that a gun with an earlier serial number would languish on the shelf for months (and occasionally years) after higher-numbered guns had gone out.

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David Wilson

In response to DC WILSON;barrel length is 5 inches.Not only am I new to the forum,I'm also new to computers!I'll post a picture as soon as I figure out how to do it.

Do what I do, find the nearest 12 year old to do it for you.

Two options on the photos.

Simplest: note that when you are composing a post to the forum, down below the composition box in the Additional Options pane is a button that says "manage attachments." If you click on that and then find the photos on your computer that you want to show, they will be uploaded when you click the "submit reply" button for your message. This way they will appear as thumbnails.

Only a little more complex: Use an image hosting service like PhotoBucket. Here's how:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-w...ew-format.html

This way the photos show up as embedded full size images in your post.

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David Wilson

Welcome to the Forum. I recently bought my 1st .38/44 HD also, and I'm going to have some fun working up some loads for it.
Bill

Welcome to the Forum Steve!

How about some pics of the HD and your 29?

Steve,
Your gun was most likely shipped in July 1946. S&W shipped a lot of guns that month as they were getting back into the swing of things after the war. You didn't mention what kind of grips are on the HD and if they are serial numbered to the gun. I sent you a note.
Can't wait for the pics.
Bill

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38-44heavyduty.com

Bill,I never would have guessed that my old HD would generate such interest.The grips that came on the revolver are checkered diamond magnas,very worn-dinged,scratched, etc.,currently not on the gun(put away).I'd have to find them to check for ser #s, as I've moved several times since then.The revolver was purchased at a South Florida gun store where a local collector had it on consignment, about 15 yrs. ago.It is a great shooter,and is used regularly-very,very smooth double action.BTW,great website!-spending alot of time there learning about HDs.
Steve

Steve,
There are a lot of us that love the HDs! The "High Horned" grips that came on the transition HDs are near impossible to find and the original ones increase the value of your gun. I hope you find them. I built the website for all and need to update it-seems work gets in the way sometime!
Bill

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38-44heavyduty.com