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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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  #1  
Old 10-03-2008, 04:00 PM
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I found this S&W Model 638 (No Dash) at a gun shop in Concord, NC a few weeks ago and passed on it…luckily it was still there this afternoon . It came with no box or papers and a hideous large rubber Pachmayr grip which I immediately replaced with classic stocks and a Tyler T-Grip.

According to the S&W book, this gun was only made for a brief time in 1989 before replacement by the 638-1 (wider sight ramp). It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but it has a clear anodized aluminum frame and not the frosted / matte finish of the later 638-2 and forward.

I read another post stating that approximately 500 Model 638 (no dash) were made. I do not know if this is accurate. Does anybody have information about this first run of 638s? I ran 70 rounds through it this afternoon and it works great. It will assume its place in the pocket rotation.







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Old 10-03-2008, 04:00 PM
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[PICS] Model 638 (no dash) snubby ... [PICS] Model 638 (no dash) snubby ... [PICS] Model 638 (no dash) snubby ... [PICS] Model 638 (no dash) snubby ... [PICS] Model 638 (no dash) snubby ...  
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I found this S&W Model 638 (No Dash) at a gun shop in Concord, NC a few weeks ago and passed on it…luckily it was still there this afternoon . It came with no box or papers and a hideous large rubber Pachmayr grip which I immediately replaced with classic stocks and a Tyler T-Grip.

According to the S&W book, this gun was only made for a brief time in 1989 before replacement by the 638-1 (wider sight ramp). It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but it has a clear anodized aluminum frame and not the frosted / matte finish of the later 638-2 and forward.

I read another post stating that approximately 500 Model 638 (no dash) were made. I do not know if this is accurate. Does anybody have information about this first run of 638s? I ran 70 rounds through it this afternoon and it works great. It will assume its place in the pocket rotation.







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  #3  
Old 10-03-2008, 04:27 PM
WJR WJR is offline
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Congratulations, that is nice one!!

Smithnut will probably be able to tell you more about your particular 638. He has a wealth of knowledge about them.

WJR
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Old 10-03-2008, 04:46 PM
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[PICS] Model 638 (no dash) snubby ... [PICS] Model 638 (no dash) snubby ... [PICS] Model 638 (no dash) snubby ... [PICS] Model 638 (no dash) snubby ... [PICS] Model 638 (no dash) snubby ...  
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That's great. I hope he shares his thoughts. It's hard to find information online and the Standard Catalog of S&W has limited info.
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Old 10-03-2008, 08:52 PM
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I can't answer your question...but I think that 638 is the cat's meow!
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Old 10-04-2008, 11:00 AM
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NCBeagle,
Congrats on finding a fantastic example of a very hard to find Bodyguard. Some years ago (1996) Roy Jinks published a "Special Products List" for members of the S&WCA, in which the M638 was shown to have been first produced for Ellot Brothers in 1989 with 500 units made. Rick Nahas also has confirmed this number (he's a dedicated Airweight collector) when we discussed this model several years back. Interesting also is that Rick (at that time) had a much harder time locating a M638-1 for his collection, that variation was made in a larger volume (1200). Both of these are scarce, so you found a real needle-in-a-haystack revolver!
Bodyguards have been pretty special to me over the years and, while I've changed directions somewhat the M638 and M638-1 are two of the last guns I'd ever part with - they are the complete package IMO.
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Old 10-05-2008, 10:57 AM
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Smithnut,

Thanks for the reply. That sure is a nice looking collection of 638s. I notice that the early models are wearing smooth stocks. Is that original? I assume so. Maybe I'll try to find a set of proper stocks for mine. I just tossed on an extra set of textured wood.
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airweight, bodyguard, jinks, pachmayr

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