I bought this off another forum member the serial # falls between the Austin PD guns and the Ohio SP guns S148167 the closest I can narrow down is roughly a 1959 maybe 1960 manufacture date. I sent this out awhile ago it just came back. The grips do number to the gun. I am happy I did it even though I have 900 into the gun.

Enjoy,
Pete

******Correction per SAXONPIG he told me this HD has a 1955 Birthdate*****

Looks like a top shelf job. Who did the rebluing?

Baron Technologies in CT. Very long wait time but obviuosly worth it

Nice gun...............................sweeeeet

Pre-20?

Ya, it's a N-frame with fixed sights ........ but still just a hopped up .38 Special. Not saying they aren't cool guns or I'd turn one down.

I've always categorize/ thought of the .38/44 as a inbred evolutionary dead end.

Replaced by the .357 Magnum as the apex predator of revolvers

That's as purty as a speckled pup.

Enjoy it.

__________________
Eccentric old coot

Your refinish really turned out nice. A long wait makes it much more appreciated when it does arrive. A .38 N frame has been on my wish for a long time. Again beautiful handgun.

Bears a certain resemblance to one of my guns. I think that the length of the .357 Magnum was less a real ballistic improvement than a a safety precaution, although it clearly was some of each.

I could be wrong ...... it happened once before........... and I'm not old enough to have any experience ......

But always thought the 38/44 was what we'd call today a +P+ .38 at 1100-1200 FPS vs the early .357 at +1500fps. .... the issue was 1930's metallurgy and needing a N-frame's strength/size to handle hot .38s.

EDIT:

Well as we say ..... you can learn something new here everyday....... read the 'bible"; SCS&W 4th the Model 20 was offered in 38/44 .... but only a hundred or so over 6/7 years....... I had only heard of the later NYSP guns in .357.

Now wondering if the OP's gun (59/60) is/ should be stamped as a Model 20 ???????????????????

I heard the .38 Super Police propelled a 200 grain bullet at 1200 fps! That is nothing to sneeze at!

That's why they needed to build it on a .44 frame.

A .38 +p these days is just a hopped up .38 special - pushing a 125 grain bullet at 950 fps instead of the usual 850.

I remember my Dad had boxes of the Super Police ammo for his Colt New Service .357....... cus they was .38s....... and as we say today "politically correct"

But if you're a Smith & Wesson revolver guy, you just feel like you gotta have one. I don't, but something inside me says, " buy one, buy one."

__________________
Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

The .38 Special Super Police (a Winchester and Western term) cartridge is simply a standard-pressure .38 Special loading, but using a 200 grain lead bullet. MV is in the neighborhood of 700 ft/sec from a 4" barrel, less from a snubby. Many people seem to think the .38-44 cartridge (no slash, just a dash) and the .38 Special Super Police cartridge are the same, but not so. The .38-44 typically used 150 grain or 158 grain lead or metal capped bullets at a MV around 1100+ ft/sec, but there were also higher velocity .38-44 loads available using metal piercing bullets for automobile body penetration. One of my pet peeves is seeing the two cartridges confused in print. Theory was that the longer 200 grain bullet was less stable than the 158 grain standard bullet and yawed more in body tissue, causing a larger permanent wound channel and increasing "stopping power" (whatever that is). Some believe that the increased yawing principle is sound, and ballistic gelatin tests seem to back that theory up. The .38 Special Super Police cartridge is no longer loaded (at least by the big boys, or at least not the last time I looked) but it's easy enough to roll your own if the idea appeals to you. BTW, the .38 Special +P load replaced the .38-44 load back in the early 1970s. But the .38-44 is a much more powerful load than the +P, and it can be used in virtually any sound .38 Special revolver. It just creates more blast and recoil.