Back in 1998 I went to visit a friend of mine that owned a gun shop. He pulled a stainless S&W PC 681 out of the cabinet and said that I should buy the handgun. He also said that this was a Lew Horton designed gun and that limited numbers were made. He gave me a good price and even let me pay in payments. The gun is still with me including the original case.

Can anyone give me a little history of this firearm and its current value. I am not interested in selling as of yet but would like to know what I have.

Welcome to the forum.
The SCSW says "Model 681-4: Lew Horton Special
Caliber: 357 Mag. Features a 3" Quadraport barrel, 7 shot chamfered cylinder, trigger overtravel stop, fixed sights, "LHB0001" starting serial number with serial prefix "LHB." Approximately 300 manufactured in 1996. Product code 170080. Suggested retail price was $699.95."
Does that sound like your's? You can probably up that price by at least a couple of hundred dollars if it's in good shape and it would get snapped up.

MHO and someone with more knowledge of these may give you better info.

If it is like new you can get $800 to a 1000 out of it easy. They also made a four inch to.

Thanks for the info. The 3inch is the exact one I have. The markings on the weapon and box are just as you described. Except the serial # is a little higher than 300, which makes me curious about how the factory assigns them. Do they skip #'s or manufacture more than they reportz?

Pics?......

Take off the grips (if necessary) and verify the serial number is exactly the same, as I had one that was mis-stamped, and the LHB was LBH. It had original box and correctly numbered under the topstrap, but the grip stamp is what matters. I had a very good outcome to this, as eventually S&W was extremely good to me. They said what do you want, and agreed before I sent it in. About a month later, I received a replacement gun sent to my FFL, but they did send me what I wanted. Thank You S&W !

There were several PC "runs" of 3" M681's... It does sound like yours is one of the original Lew Horton guns by the s/n prefix.
Later on, the factory did some for Camfour (both 3" and 4") with the quad port on the barrel located differently (vertically, on a flat surface milled next to the front sight).
In addition, there was a production run for RSR with Green/Black T two toned finish. These RSR guns were not ported.





These are all neat guns, but the Lew Horton versions are my personal favorite.


Enjoy

__________________
.............SmithNut

I think they made a few more than 300. My wife has one with the LHB prefix. It is over 300. I do love the gun.

A 3" is one I would love to have. I have never even seen one (in person.) But, I'll bet they are sweet. I'd settle for a 3" 686 CS-1 But, I haven't ran across one yet.

ETA: I just realized this is an old thread.