There has been much discussion on the fact that service and Magna grips are numbered to a specific gun, while targets and cokes rarely are.

Some light may be shed on this (hopefully Roy will chime in) in Roy's commentary on the manufacturing process.

In his commentary a raw frame is fitted with a yoke and sideplate and sent to the stocking department. If I read correctly once stocked the frame and grips are numbered and sent off for the next stage of production (built to a specific model?).

The question is were all guns stocked with a numbered pair of grips, but when the finished product was ordered or spec'ed to have target grips were the numbered grips discarded or when a surplus built up put on guns with different numbers?

In a couple of ways this would make sense. #1 is each frame size shares a block of numbers amongst the models within that frame size. At the time of yoke/stock/sideplate fitting the gun is just a frame size and not a model yet.
#2 we all know of guns that are apparently unmolested, yet have grips that number somewhat off from the gun. In some models like the 520...that is the rule, while others it goes outside the norm. I think we get complacent with thinking that some owner changed the grips at some point.
Here the question bares asking...why would some owner replace what came from the factory with the exact same grip with a different number. I know it happens now when we acquire a gun with the wrong grips (usually aftermarket), but is that same explanation true of guns acquired closer to when they were new?

Is there floating out there somewhere sets of Magna grips that number to my Pre-29's??

Thanks for answering a question that I was wondering about in my pre 29 thread.

Curtis,

Interesting train of thought. My guess would be that special orders for Target grips were filled at the start of that process - before grips were numbered to a specific gun. Otherwise we'd see a lot of mis-numbered magnas. And we know S&W didn't like wasting money.

Hopefully, some who actually KNOWS the answer to your question will chime in.

Regards,

Jerry

As for changing grips out with another exactly alike set , that is something I would do, if I found a set that was much nicer looking, even in the magnas which are pretty boring as far as the grain in the walnut.

Magna stocks were numbered to the specific grip frame because they were fitted to it and to be reassembled to it when after final finishing. If a Model 27, for example, was ordered with target stocks, the Magnas numbered to it would be removed, but I am not sure what S&W's policy was concerning these stocks. Might be a good question for Roy on the S&WCA section. I doubt if S&W threw them away, as they tried to keep and sell most everything.

Target stocks that are numbered are generally found on the very early 1955 Target 45s and very early Combat Magnums. I believe it was S&W's intention to fit target stocks to these guns, but later decided it was not necessary. You often find target stocks that are numbered on these early guns; some match the serial number and some do not (but are in the ballpark). Take a look at my Expert Commentary on the Cased Combat Magnum for an example of this.

In the 1970s, I think S&W became less concerned about matching numbers and tended to use stocks from a common source, and that is why you find guns with Magnas that are close in number, but not the actual serial number. I don't think its because the stocks have been replaced by the owner.

The Model 19, 29, 53, and 57 were standard with target stocks so no Magna stock would have ever been fitted to the frame of one of these guns. Models were made in "production runs" and I am sure the production order specified the entire process, including if fitting a Magna stock to the frame was to be included.

Bill