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01-26-2021, 07:19 PM
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History of 360 J
Recently purchase a used S&W 360 J revolver. Serial # CYP9163. Curious to know any history on the hand gun. If only the shipping date is available, that’s ok.
Thanks
Ravgardner
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01-26-2021, 07:54 PM
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Assuming yours looks like this one they were a Davidson's Exclusive offered in 2016 I think.
Jeff
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01-26-2021, 08:20 PM
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It is similar, but mine has a black coated fluted cylinder.
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01-26-2021, 08:21 PM
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My hammer is also black as well as the front blade is a simple black ramp.
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01-26-2021, 08:22 PM
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It’s also a not A 357 mag. 38 sp +P
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01-26-2021, 09:43 PM
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This model is listed as product code 160360, first made in 2008. I think some must have been produced later, as this SN prefix appears to be from 2015 - perhaps as a parts cleanup?
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Alan
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01-26-2021, 11:07 PM
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A good friend and I purchased three with serial numbers close to yours new in 2015. I say we because he picked all three of them up and I paid him back for one and then eventually bought his second one. We paid about $350 each for them through one of the large online vendors. After transfer and TN’s few we were in each one for about $360.
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01-26-2021, 11:10 PM
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Thanks Alan, that’s interesting. One thing I did discover was that this revolver was adopted as the service weapon for Japanese PD. S&W worked to supply them.
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01-27-2021, 12:31 AM
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Here is a not so great pic of my 360J in .38 Special.
I had the cylinder worked by TK Customs so that it can shoot 9mm and use moonclips.
I also had a big dot sight installed on the front and picked up some older Bianchi grips for it.
I believe I picked this up for around $340 or so around 2015.
At the time the story was they had been part of a contract for a PD in Japan and the order was not delivered so they became readily available on the market. There were a a bunch of them available then and the prices were very reasonable.
Under the grip, at the bottom, there is a hole which was for attaching the lanyard loop ring.
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01-27-2021, 03:39 AM
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I'd read about the Japan law enforcement connection on these, but never saw any confirmation any were delivered. A letter of authenticity may shed more light on the matter - not that a gun bought here came back from overseas but information about its background history.
http://www.swhistoricalfoundation.com/swhf_letter.pdf
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01-27-2021, 06:16 PM
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These reply’s have been very helpful. Thank you. One surprise and a disappointment was it seems I paid too much for this revolver, but that is the way I goes.
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01-27-2021, 08:05 PM
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I have one in .38 spl. Not real sure of the history. Mine dates to 2008 & I picked it up from Bud's Gun Shop around that time or a little later. I think it was one of the smarter guns S&W made. Most people won't shoot or carry .357 ammo in the .357 version, so why not make it in .38 spl.?
Interesting to learn about the Japanese connection.
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01-29-2021, 11:21 AM
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Guess it was 2012 time frame when I purchased my 360J. Man time sure flies. The below link is to a previous thread and you can read the information about the Japanese contract.
Kernal Krittendon, may he RIP, was a very knowledgeable member of the Forum and was pretty good at his research. I disagree with him though on these not being overruns from a canceled contract. When this batch surfaced they flooded the market and then were gone in this configuration.
Not sure if the photo will show up but I also had located a model of the Japanese 360J that the Kernal pointed out to be a replica firearm from a Japanese Company that made realistic replica firearms for the Japanese market. I have been unable to locate the photo again and it appears that Tanaka had removed them from the catalog.
I do remember the grips though and they were unique and pretty cool looking. They were a rubber fuller size grip but at the bottom they were cut out to accommodate the lanyard loop.
M360J Grip Frame
Here is also a link to an article from The Truth About Guns where the Japanese 360J Service revolver is covered. Hope the link doesn't violate any rules.
Gun Review: Smith & Wesson 360J Japanese Service Revolver - The Truth About Guns
As you scroll through this article and get to the 360J information you can see a photo of Japanese Police Officers carrying with the lanyard loop attached.
And to round it out I found this old YouTube video of one of the Tanaka Replica 360J's that shows how the grips looked on the Japanese PD versions.
Last edited by 326MOD10; 01-29-2021 at 11:32 AM.
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01-29-2021, 11:52 AM
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I have also had the good fortune to pick up two of these - one with the correct box and one without. Have a CTC laser grip on the older one and can’t heap enough praise on them - a really great little revolver.
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