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09-23-2021, 06:41 PM
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Model 36 Chiefs Special, updated with pics of grip frame
Does anyone happen to know what version(s) or dates of the Model 36 had the serial number stamped on the barrel flat above the extractor? (A small local dealer took it in as part of a lot last weekend)
According to the six digit serial number, 637xxx, the gun dates to sometime between 1962 and 1969, but that is all I can learn from the SCSW.
Thanks in advance!
Last edited by PeteC; 09-26-2021 at 04:10 PM.
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09-23-2021, 07:26 PM
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The serial number is as you say, but probably toward the end of that period.
But here is what is odd. No Model 36 should have the serial number on the barrel flat. That practice was discontinued no later than 1957, so no model marked Chiefs Special should have a serial number in that location.
I'm wondering if you took the stocks off and looked, would there be a date code stamped on the left side of the grip frame, near the toe? It would look like this: x.xx or xx.xx, where x represents a digit. Maybe this thing was reworked by the Service Department and they numbered the barrel for some reason.
Aside from that, I'm at a loss as to the reason that barrel is serialized. Maybe Hondo44 or someone else here has an idea.
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09-23-2021, 07:41 PM
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I had a Chiefs Special s/n 113172, and it did not have the s/n stamped on the barrel or the yoke (still on the cylinder on that one). It shipped in February '58.
The earliest model marked Chiefs Special I've documented is MOD. 37 (CS Airweight) s/n 130774 (no s/n on the barrel, yoke, or cylinder). It shipped in September '58.
There's no usual explanation for the s/n to be on that barrel unless it was added by a "smith" later or a factory rework. Certainly worth checking Jack's idea on the grip frame.
I'd guess that Model 36 shipped in spring '68 -- the lack of a flat latch and diamond grips support that.
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Last edited by two-bit cowboy; 09-23-2021 at 07:50 PM.
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09-23-2021, 08:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JP@AK
...
But here is what is odd. No Model 36 should have the serial number on the barrel flat. That practice was discontinued no later than 1957, so no model marked Chiefs Special should have a serial number in that location...
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I saw that 1957 date too, at the end of Appendix C of the SCSW. I do my best to look things up, so I can mask my ignorance a little, . There are some notes about "small frames" that I don't quite understand... not like I have five other samples to compare (like some people, LOL!)
I will take a close look at the grip frame in a day or so, I don't want to do it in a rush because the grips/stocks are a very tight fit, and I don't want to mess them up. There is an assembly number on the yoke in the same place as newer guns. The model number stamping is in two lines, MOD. over 36.
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09-23-2021, 08:37 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by two-bit cowboy
I'd guess that Model 36 shipped in spring '68 -- the lack of a flat latch and diamond grips support that.
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I agree completely and for the same reason, aside from the serial number.
PeteC
Quote:
I saw that 1957 date too, at the end of Appendix C of the SCSW.
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Yes. Interestingly enough, it seems that some individual revolvers lost the serial on the barrel flat even earlier. I once owned two 4 screw K-38 Masterpiece revolvers; one shipped in November, 1956, the other one in January, 1957 (I still have the former). Neither of them have the serial number on the barrel flat.
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09-23-2021, 08:59 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteC
I don't want to do it in a rush because the grips/stocks are a very tight fit, and I don't want to mess them up.
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You may know this, but just in case you don't, here's a tip.
Never pry on S&W stocks to remove them. Using a properly fitting screwdriver (hollow ground, if possible), loosen the stock screw most of the way. Then, using the handle of your screwdriver or a mallet (not a hammer) tap the head of the screw to loosen the off-side panel. Sometimes even just pushing on the screw head with your thumb will do the trick.
Once the off-side panel is loose, continue to remove the screw. Then you can push off the near panel by reaching through the grip frame with your thumb or finger.
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09-23-2021, 09:12 PM
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The proper way to remove stocks was one of many valuable tips I picked up from the Kuhnhausen book. It has paid for itself many times over.
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09-23-2021, 10:27 PM
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I wish I could remember who on the forum to credit for this idea, but when all else fails, I've used dental floss -- work it beneath one of the grips, and gently slide it down the grip till you "feel" the grip give a bit. Gently, gently, gently. Works like a champ.
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Bob
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09-24-2021, 12:33 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by two-bit cowboy
I wish I could remember who on the forum to credit for this idea, but when all else fails, I've used dental floss -- work it beneath one of the grips, and gently slide it down the grip till you "feel" the grip give a bit. Gently, gently, gently. Works like a champ.
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I like that!
I do know about using the screw, but I simply did not want to work on it when I was pressed for time. I will definitely examine the frame under the grips tomorrow. I tried that already, and a casual tap against the loosened screw head will not work. In the past heating the frame with a hair dryer helped, but we shall see.
I occurred to me that this particular Chiefs Special just might have been part of an order from an agency that requested the serial number on the barrel flat for consistency with earlier orders. I know from the SCSW that S&W often accommodated law enforcement agencies, both domestic and otherwise. Someone might have done that research already, lol.
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09-26-2021, 04:08 PM
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Below is what I see under the grips. A little hard to read the actual numbers, but there are numbers stamped on the left side that MIGHT be what JP@AK was referring to above. It looks like a small-ish "6" stamped over the top of the first digit of a "775", but... You Be The Judge,
In any case, thanks for looking, and for the information, as always!
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09-26-2021, 04:27 PM
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Yes. I believe that is a SD date stamp. June, 1975.
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09-26-2021, 06:30 PM
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SD == Service Department?
You guys are like a Smith & Wesson Encyclopedia, LOL! Any idea if the "R S" in a rectangle relates to the same service? There is a note on page 496 of SCSW about usage of R and S for refinish.
Does that mean it was returned to the factory for service in 1975, and possibly disassembled and reblued at the factory? That would explain the serial number stamp on the barrel flat (if they wanted to br sure to reunite the frame and the barrel). If so, they did an awesome job.
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09-26-2021, 08:51 PM
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Quote:
Any idea if the "R S" in a rectangle relates to the same service? There is a note on page 496 of SCSW about usage of R and S for refinish.
Does that mean it was returned to the factory for service in 1975, and possibly disassembled and reblued at the factory? That would explain the serial number stamp on the barrel flat (if they wanted to br sure to reunite the frame and the barrel).
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Yes, RS means Refinish Standard and may have been the reason for the service date. I can't make out all the stamping on the barrel. Is there a diamond there? But, your reasoning makes sense to keep the barrel with the frame. Is the cylinder also stamped?
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09-26-2021, 09:28 PM
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Yes. Sorry that I forgot to mention the R-S in my previous post. I actually meant to do so. And yes again, SD = Service Department.
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09-26-2021, 09:40 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiregrassguy
Yes, RS means Refinish Standard and may have been the reason for the service date. I can't make out all the stamping on the barrel. Is there a diamond there? But, your reasoning makes sense to keep the barrel with the frame. Is the cylinder also stamped?
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There is something else on the flat of the barrel, a very small two character stamp. I will look more closely in daylight tomorrow. Taking a good pic of the barrel flat is tricky.
Nothing else on the cylinder, I looked as soon as a saw the serial number in an unusual place. I do have one revolver that has the early serial number stamps in all three places and on the back of the extractor, and this one definitely does not. Only on the barrel flat.
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09-27-2021, 05:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiregrassguy
...I can't make out all the stamping on the barrel. Is there a diamond there? ...
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Hard to say what it is. Looks like and "S" and one other character or symbol. I have nothing similar to compare to.
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