22/32 Heavy Frame Frankenstein update.

Mbrgr1 · #1 08-13-2022, 07:41 PM

This one was a subject of much debate/questions here.

Confused on my new to me 22/32? Update!

I got the letter and the repair info from the gang in the fortress of solitude! Thanks.

It was shipped on 6/4/21 to Walter G Clark Co in Omaha, a do it all sports store, then it got interesting in 1940!

Rather than type what it all says, I'll just post the pics and repair info.

Thanks for checking it out....

Mbrgr1 · #2 08-13-2022, 07:51 PM

For whatever reason, the left grip frame was stamped 9/49 which makes no sense from the info, but who knows!

The replacement barrel and cylinder are numbered to the gun as well and It appears to have been shot very little since the repair. The hidden info in these guns is fascinating to me..

Model46 · #3 08-13-2022, 09:03 PM

Very cool. I love the documentation here; so interesting! Nice gun too.

StrawHat · #4 08-14-2022, 07:10 AM

The serial number on the grip strap appears to be a second strike, over a previous number. Or am I imagining things?

Kevin

mtgianni · #5 08-14-2022, 10:24 AM

I love the "We will give you a used barrel if the repairs are done". Can you imagine a manufacturer in any genre giving a repair order, a free used part in the last 30 years?

Mbrgr1 · #6 08-14-2022, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StrawHat

The serial number on the grip strap appears to be a second strike, over a previous number. Or am I imagining things?

Kevin

Yes, I can't tell if it is the same number, but I would say no. There is also a faint star? as well, making it obvious why there are no other repair records because it was a different frame. Did S&W throw in a frame they had lying around?

The other unknown is what in the H happened in the previous 20 years to beat up a slim .22 target gun to the point it needed so much.???

Click image for a closer look.

Muley Gil · #7 08-14-2022, 10:49 AM

Is it possible that the factory employee picked up a "9" stamp instead of the "0" stamp"? I guess we'll never know.

Mbrgr1 · #8 08-14-2022, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muley Gil

Is it possible that the factory employee picked up a "9" stamp instead of the "0" stamp"? I guess we'll never know.

My thoughts as well, but he sent it in on 11/1940 and didn't pay until 12/1940.

Maybe they mistook a 9 for a 12?

DGNY · #9 08-14-2022, 11:18 AM

Remarkable glimpses into bygone era. The civility and down to earth business methods, including factory dealing with civilians in such a simple and straightforward way.

Sadly, this is a reminder that more than just years have passed.

Mbrgr1 · #10 08-14-2022, 12:31 PM

SR McBath Jr was 24 yrs old, had a wife and two kids under 14 and was working 60 hrs a week as a clerk in a grocery store.

He would spend $260.30 in today's dollars to have this gun repaired. I wonder if it was his fathers? (listed also)

I found Samuel, Samuel Jr, Samuel III and Samuel IV listed in or around Knoxville, but have had no luck contacting the family.

Interesting!

Truckman · #11 08-15-2022, 09:28 PM

Fascinating history!...

...Ben

Hondo44 · #12 08-16-2022, 03:51 PM

Very interesting!

The date anomaly makes it even more puzzling. Also the incorrect math total jotted on the receipt being short a nickel.

I'm surprised the replaced cylinder chambers are not recessed. HFT chambers were recessed since 1931 due to a change order.

But it did get 1930's era stocks with flat silver medallions.

Mbrgr1 · #13 08-16-2022, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hondo44

Very interesting!

The date anomaly makes it even more puzzling. Also the incorrect math total jotted on the receipt being short a nickel.

I'm surprised the replaced cylinder chambers are not recessed. HFT chambers were recessed since 1931 due to a change order.

But it did get 1930's era stocks with flat silver medallions.

Makes me wonder what stock of 20yr old parts they had laying around in 1940?

Hondo44 · #14 08-17-2022, 02:00 PM

Maybe a lot. Gun sales were dismal during the decade of the depression.

handejector · #15 08-17-2022, 03:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mbrgr1

Makes me wonder what stock of 20yr old parts they had laying around in 1940?

They had a lot of parts. Bill Orr bought what was, as far as I know, the first big parts dump in the 70s. There were parts going back into the 1800s. He had to rent a large truck to move them from the Factory to his store in GA. He told me it was the best deal he ever made.

handejector · #16 08-17-2022, 03:15 PM

Possibilities here-
They might have replaced the frame. Maybe it was leftover from a previous warranty replacement. If so, they might not have put a date on it, but they renumbered it and starred it again and numbered the barrel and cyl to match. I see no evidence of a previous number on that "used" barrel.
The frame is very early 20s with the rebated backstrap. They did not do that long with the 22/32, probably because the public did not like the small grips on a target gun, and they soon returned to the regular RB frame with the two screw target grips.
It is a funny conglomeration of parts from different eras.

Maybe the gun was returned again in 9-49 for another reblue!

Hondo44 · #17 08-17-2022, 05:03 PM

Yes, very real possibilities.

The .22/32 Kit Guns were introduced in 1935. We see some Kit Guns with rebated backstrap, Regulation Police sq butt stocks and serial number being on the forestrap. Also the .32 Regulation Police Target models with rebated back straps were in production into the early 1940's. Both used the same I frame of the HFT.

So I agree, even though the HFT with rebated back strap was discontinued a decade before, the rebated frames were still around and the company could have easily repurposed one for your gun.

Mbrgr1 · #18 08-17-2022, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hondo44

Yes, very real possibilities.

The .22/32 Kit Guns were introduced in 1935. We see some Kit Guns with rebated backstrap, Regulation Police sq butt stocks and serial number being on the forestrap. Also the .32 Regulation Police Target models with rebated back straps were in production into the early 1940's. Both used the same I frame of the HFT.

So I agree, even though the HFT with rebated back strap was discontinued a decade before, the rebated frames were still around and the company could have easily repurposed one for your gun.

So a frame repaired on 9/49 (or if the 9 was an accident and it should have been 9/40) ends up on a gun repaired on 12/40 and there are no records? If it were miss-stamped and was a 9/40 repaired frame, it would have only been there for 3 months. I'm having a hard time with the math! (Nothing new

)

Hondo44 · #19 08-17-2022, 06:45 PM

I think Lee is on the right track. I wouldn't try to interpret the date as 9/40.

It may not have been date stamped for the 12/40 repairs. And went back in 9/49 for something else. I would go back to the SWHF and see if there are any more records for the 9/49 date.

Mbrgr1 · #20 08-17-2022, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hondo44

I think Lee is on the right track. I wouldn't try to interpret the date as 9/40.

It may not have been date stamped for the 12/40 repairs. And went back in 9/49 for something else. I would go back the SWHF and see if there are any more records for the 9/49 date.

Thanks, they said "no other records" I did ask...

It's OK, it has a fun history even if it cannot be completely delineated, I think about all the revolvers I have that I know nothing about, this one delivered comparatively.

On to the next mystery!

CAJUNLAWYER · #21 08-17-2022, 07:10 PM

Absolutely a fascinating glimpse into history