New to this forum and looking for date of manufacture and any other info or comments on a recently purchased model 67. It looks great to my untrained eye and seemed a good buy. It's a round butt, stainless rear sight, nicely polished frame, with Pachmayr grippers. No box or docs with it. Ser. #3K649XX. It's my first S&W revolver. I put a few rounds through it yesterday and think it's a keeper.............lovin' it. Thanx in advance for any input.

Welcome to the Forum.
Looks like it dates to about 1972 according to the Standard Catalog.

Thanx for the welcome and info

Another question re. my model 67. Is the polished stainless finish a factory thing or was that done aftermarket?

All the ones I've seen were a matte stainless. Not highly polished.

Not to nit pick but the actual stainless of a model 67 is the traditional "SATIN STAINLESS" most likely a aftermarket high polish as I look at these frequently and have never seen one with a factory high polish that was noted by the owner.

I was hoping it was a factory option. I'll send pictures if I can figure out how.

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It looks great, but are you sure it's a round butt? According to all I know and have read in 1972 that was strictly a square butt gun. A lot of folks though re-profiled their guns to round butt over the years. That would help explain too the polish job -- after polishing out the metal work on the conversion to round butt, the guy kept going so it would all match. That my best guess.

I'm a Smith novice, but it looks like a round butt to me.......both the front and backstrap are knurled and there's no evidence of rework to my eyes. I'll take a pic with the grips off and send it along for confirmation later this evening.

hopefully my photography is good enough to confirm the grip type ....round butt, I think.

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Yep, that's a round butt. The texturing though on the front and back of the grip frame is not factory. So it appears that a previous owner had the square butt reshaped to round. It looks like a great job.

I would not be too concerned about the modifications to the gun so long as it functions well. These 67s are great shooting guns.

Looks pretty...but not original. Yours has a red insert on the front sight...I don't think they came that way in '72.

Mine is a '72 and is definitely satin stainless, square butt, no insert:

With the Magna Stocks numbered to the frame:


With S&W Smooth Target stocks:

__________________
No good deed goes unpunished.

Thanx for all the input. I think I'm partial to the satin finish stainless, but I'm happy with the gun and wanted, and got' a shooter vs. a "safe queen". I'll be looking at wood stock options.
I paid $350 for the gun, which may be more than I should have for an altered piece. It feels good in my hand though, so not shedding any tears.

In my local market $350 would be a good price. I think you did OK! It is a great looking gun with some nicely done mods.

I would pay 350 any day of the week for that gun.I also love the red insert and round butt k frames.

Welcome to the Forum! You did good. You can find round
butt K frame S&W grips on Ebay.

Thanx for all comments. I'm a bit disappointed that it's not factory stock, but on the other hand I like the red insert and the round butt feels pretty good in my hand and it will be shot. I would like to know some history of the gun............somebody with some skill or some money did some nice work IMHO

Welcome to the FORUM! If the 67 functions well, then the price is right! I would have done it myself. I have a 67 no dash from 1973. They are good shooters! IF you don't like the round butt after shooting, there are round to square conversion grips. Altamont is 1 seller. Enjoy our 67! Bob

The search function is your friend :

http://smith-wessonforum.com/searchr...+history&sa=Go

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

thanx for all comments. I'm very happy with my 67. I'm hoping the previous owner can fill in some blanks as far as it's history, although I know he was not the original owner. If it was modified to round butt as has been suggested it was done very well and the texturing on the front and back straps looks to me like it came from the factory. It's a fine shooter and may become my favorite handgun...........it's definitely a keeper.

You weren't looking for a collectible or a safe queen, so I think you paid a great price for a great shooter.
From a functional standpoint, I like the modifications.

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John

I agree re. the front sight insert and the grip feels fine to me, but i'll probably experiment with some options. Is there an oversize wood grip on the market that would lend itself to DIY customizing?
In other words, something that's inletted to fit the frame, but has a lot of wood to hack it with rasp etc. I'm fine with the rubber grips functionally, but love the look of some nice wood grain.

With that serial number, most likely March/April 1973 time frame.