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S&W Revolvers: 1961 to 1980 3-Screw PINNED Barrel SWING-OUT Cylinder Hand Ejectors WITH Model Numbers


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Old 07-16-2018, 03:29 PM
BigMuddy BigMuddy is offline
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My neighbor showed me a Model 640 today with a marking I had never seen before. Inside the frame at the bottom of the cylinder window it is marked "Tested for +P+". He said he was told it was rare and asked me about it. Not knowing myself I thought I'd check with the experts.

Thanks

Dan
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Old 07-16-2018, 03:45 PM
Ozark Marine Ozark Marine is offline
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Checked the S&W Bible and it states:

Some Model 640 are found "TESTED FOR +P+" laser marked in the cylinder window.
CEN5338 was our example.

That's it word for word.
No mention of added value or rareness.
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Old 07-16-2018, 07:41 PM
kthom kthom is offline
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Your neighbor's M-640 should have a serial number that begins with "CEN". I also have one of these models. The SCSW book also states that "Early production guns reported with s/n's prefixed CEN0000". All of these would be early productions within the "no dash" models that were produced between sometime in 1989 and 1996. Best I can tell, mine was produced in 1990 with the last four digits of 06XX. I have no idea how many were made with this prefix before the letter prefix was changed. The stamping in the cylinder window indicating "Tested for +P+" apparently ceased at the same time the prefix was changed from "CEN".

His gun is not what I would call rare, but probably a relatively small number of M-640's were produced with this serial number prefix and stamping inside the cylinder window. Perhaps someone else can shed more light on this matter! I'd welcome that.
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Old 07-17-2018, 09:05 AM
Hapworth Hapworth is offline
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Ozark Marine and kthom are on it; I'll just add that there are no known mechanical or performance difference between the early +P+ marked 640 no-dashes and the later no-dashes without the marking, and their value on the used market are essentially equal. The +P+, though uncommon, hasn't made it a collector's item or anything warranting a standout asking price.
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Old 07-17-2018, 01:07 PM
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So, does that mean it can still shoot .357? Or no.. This +p+ marked one....
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Old 07-17-2018, 01:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ABPOS View Post
So, does that mean it can still shoot .357? Or no.. This +p+ marked one....
The no-dash 640s are .38 Special only; the later 640-1s are .357.
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Old 07-18-2018, 12:29 AM
shouldazagged shouldazagged is offline
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I have one of the CEN prefix guns, and I recall reading somewhere that there were only 5,000 of them.

There was one theory that they were made for law enforcement agencies that wanted to avoid the stigma (it was 1990) of the dreaded .357 Magnum, and the +P+ etching was supposed to be a selling point. As I said, it was a theory, and I can't recall where I came across it.
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Old 07-28-2018, 03:55 PM
BigMuddy BigMuddy is offline
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Thank y'all for the information.

Dan
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Old 07-28-2018, 04:22 PM
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Several threads here on the +P+ marked 640s. Seems like this one pops up every year or so around here.Usually sparks a bit of interesting conversation. And is good as any excuse to show off this one.





Model 640 marked for +P+ ammo??

640 +p+ rated
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