A few months back I picked up a Pre 19 Combat Magnum... unusual for me since I have this thing for N frames.

Serial is K2624xx which Mr. Jinks says shipped in July, 1956. I have read that Bill Jordan's Combat Magnum shipped in Nov. 1955, but I cannot find a serial number for it.

In fact I have been able to find very little info about the Pre 19's: serials, quantities, what agencies adopted, etc. Can anyone provide more info on the early Combat Magnums? Thanks...

Shown with a period HH Heiser FBI style holster.

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Randy
Provenance nerd

Very few were produced in 1955, just as very few 44 magnums were produced in 1955.

FWIW, your gun would have originally shipped with diamond target grips unless perhaps special ordered with magnas? 4in blue was standard configuration with nickel finish optional at that time. Different barrel lengths arrived later.

Someone else who knows much more will be along. Nice revolver!

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}-----Jim----->
~SWCA #2732~

Good looking old Combat Magnum. Nice catch.

The run started at #K260001 with a block of 5000 serial numbers ending with #K 265000. The first pre M-19 or "The .357 Combat Magnum" was completed on November 15, 1955 with serial #K260003. (From my Factory letter)

I have been lead to believe that the first gun was gifted to Bill Jordan. I'm sure someone here knows what happened to the first two guns.

I have CM #K 260026 and my factory letter states it shipped on June 1, 1956 to their West Coast Sales Rep. Mine has a very early serial but wasn't shipped until more than half a year after the first guns shipped. Why? I have not been able to ascertain.

FN in MT

Very nice Quinn! Very nice. Are the grips numbered to the CM?

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S&WCA #3012

The grips do not match. Their serial is 256821. So, now, I guess I start the hunt for non-relieved K SB target stocks. I have a spare set of N non-relieved that had been refinished but my K stock inventory is pretty slim. My CM does not have target hammer or trigger, so I wonder why they shipped with target stocks... recoil in the smaller frame?

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Randy
Provenance nerd

Target grips were standard with the Combat Magnum.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

The first Combat Magnum, K260003, was completed on December 15, 1955 and kept in the factory collection. Only one Combat Magnum was completed in 1955. At the request of S&W, it was engraved and inlaid with gold in 1962 and was to be presented to President John F. Kennedy, but the presentation was never made. K260001, the Combat Magnum with the lowest serial number was completed in early January 1956 and shipped to Bill Jordan on January 5, 1956. K260002 was shipped to H. L. Dickerson, Brooklyn, NY on January 26, 1956. K260004 was shipped to MG Julian Hatcher on January 20, 1956.

S&W manufactured and shipped between three and four thousand Combat Magnums in 1956.

K260003 is currently on display at the Wood Museum of Springfield History in Springfield, Massachusetts. It is shown in the photo below. Click on the photo for a better look.

Bill

Do you know who engraved the Combat Magnum?

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S&WCA #3012

That book by Gaylord ought to be required reading for serious handgunners. It was in there that I learned the advantages of J-frame revolvers with three-inch barrels.

The cadaver photos are unique; most authors either never had access to such things or were too timid to publish them.

The book usually isn't too expensive and is well worth seeking out. I've had my copy since it was in bookstores.

K260003 was engraved and inlaid by Alvin White who also made the ivory stocks. The revolver was also featured in an article and on the cover of the spring 2013 S&WCA Journal.

Bill

Thank you.

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S&WCA #3012

I think you should be looking for relieved target stocks, if you want the correct style.
Is that right guys?

That's my understanding too...... Mine has "football" cut relief and is correct as per my letter. Also, my Target Grip is walnut wood, but not numbered to the revolver....which is also correct to my understanding.

The early All Model Circulars show the Combat Magnum with non-relieved target stocks and I believe this is where some of the confusion comes from. Possibly, the first two or three had stocks like this, but S&W used target stocks with the relieved area on the left panel when production really got going in March/April 1956. A few of the early stocks were also stamped with a serial number that may or may not match the serial number of the revolver.

The switch from walnut to Goncalo alves was made in 1959 and shown in the All Model Circular dated January 1, 1960.

Bill

Thanks all for an abosolutely fascinating thread. Here is ".357 Combat Magnum" K2642**. I thought it was an early gun but certainly did not know the specifics.

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Possum—The other white meat!