At what date and serial number range did Smith & Wesson begin heat treating their M&P's cylinders?

What other parts were heat treated?

Is there a printed reference in any of the main S&W books?

There is written reference in Neal / Jinks. Not at the book now though. 1919 and 1933 stand out in my brain for heat treating. Unfortunately, the cells that were supposed to remember what was done, when, apparently no longer work.

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Pace

Model 1905 4th Change @ SN 316648 nominally. This is the SN that has been published in all references since McHenry & Roper in the late 1930s. This was in the 1920-21 timeframe.

If you include the "Winchester Model" .32-20 Hand Ejector the SN was @ # 81287 which translates to the same 1920 or so date.

Thanks, folks!

My understanding it was in the 1925-1926 time frame when the heat treat was upgraded.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

My 1905 4th Change, (38 Special) came out of Smith in June of 1919. The cylinder was not heat treated at this time. Serial# 299xxx. I believe that they started in approx. Nov. of 1919.

Just for the record, heat treating has been changing and improving all along. Trying to compare a heat treated gun from the 1920 and then the 1930s will yield dramatically different strengths. Then comparing them with the metals from the WWII era will show different results. And all that time the metals themselves have been changing.

I'm not sure what we are asking. It sounds good to ask when heat treating started, as if on some magical date the guns became able to handle factory loads of the day. The reality is those guns were up to the task even in the 19-teens. And .38 special loadings (I'm just using that) have been kept down for the entire period so as to not blow up S&Ws fine firearms. I guess, just to be fair, we could say Colts are probably similar in strength. But those really aren't the risk factor. The risk is in the "off brand" and foreign junk. We'll just mention Spanish copies so we don't offend anyone (like that's ever stopped me in the past.)

I'm jumping thru these hoops for a reason. If you're shooting 158 grain round nose standard loads, or the even better (to my way of thinking ) 148 gr wadcutters, guns from the entire period are strong enough. S&W didn't make junk before the above mentioned serial, and then suddenly began making magnum strength firearms on July 1, 1920 (a date I picked out of the air.) They aren't up to magnum loadings then, now or ever. But they will function nicely with SAAMI spec loads. Day after day, year after year.

I have this perception that people think of some magical line that will allow them to begin shooting loads more safely. Don't subject a fine old handgun to +P ammo. It'll probably hold up, but why? If you want a magnum, buy one.

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Dick Burg