Hi Again - I can't narrow down when my model 36 5092XX was made other than 1961-1966. I have the original blue box that doesn't have Bangor-Punta which purchased Smith and Wesson in 1965. Also, the 36-1 started in 1967. So I am guessing my 36 was made in 1965 or 1966. Can anyone narrow the date down for me. Thank You!

The Model 36-1 is the 3" heavy barrel version. They were built concurrently with the Model 36, which had standard barrel profile in both 2 & 3 inch lengths. The 36 no dash was in production well into the 1980s. My guess is your 36 no dash is around 1966/7 timeframe. Closest gun I have to yours is 3583xx which shipped Dec. 1965.
Hope this helps.

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Tim
SWCA #2697

Serial numbers and ship dates don't always correlate very well. This is clearly the case on the Model 36 during the period under consideration here.

As an example, #353801 shipped in September, 1964. Compare that to Kansasgunner's #3583xx shipping in December, 1965, more than a year later. Anyone who reads a serial number of a particular gun, compares it with a number nearby and comes up with a year, let alone a month and a year, and gives that as a definitive ship date estimate, is kidding himself and the person to whom he is offering his opinion.

During some periods on some models, we can be a little bit more confident. For example, in the immediate postwar period revolvers were moving out of the vault at a pretty good pace because of high demand right after the war ended. In those cases, we see strong indicators of consistency between serial numbers and ship dates. But (and it is a big but) there are even fliers in that bunch. I've found early postwar M&P revolvers with very nearby serial numbers that shipped months, even years, apart. When I draw tentative shipping conclusions from my large database of postwar M&Ps to suggest a possible ship date for people here on the Forum, I always qualify my answer with words like "likely" or "probably" because you just cannot be sure without a search of the actual shipping logs.

A few other thoughts relative to the original question in this thread:

As Kansasgunner pointed out the Model 36-1 introduction is irrelevant because it wasn't a replacement for the Model 36 like, say, the Model 10-7 was a replacement for the Model 10-5.

The original non-Bangor Punta box isn't necessarily an indicator either. There were, no doubt, plain boxes left over after B-P bought the company. They would have been used up over time and some B-P guns could easily have shipped in non-B-P boxes.

One very helpful potential indicator for your revolver would be the cylinder release (thumb-piece). If it is a flat latch (third style) the gun was likely assembled before about April of 1966. After about the spring of that year, the conventional latch was used.

Regards,

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318