I see in the SCSW on page 257 of the 3rd edition that there was a run of 8,000 3 inch guns for Lew Horton. On page 258(same book) there is a listing for 5,000 Md 629-1's in the SN range of ANC were also made for Lew Horton. My questions are: Were there two different Horton 3 inch guns made and what were the differences between them. I am looking at a 3 inch Md 629-1 with the SN of AJPxxx. Would this fit into either of these Horton guns?

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Jim
SWCA #2246

I see in the SCSW on page 257 of the 3rd edition that there was a run of 8,000 3 inch guns for Lew Horton. On page 258(same book) there is a listing for 5,000 Md 629-1's in the SN range of ANC were also made for Lew Horton. My questions are: Were there two different Horton 3 inch guns made and what were the differences between them. I am looking at a 3 inch Md 629-1 with the SN of AJPxxx. Would this fit into either of these Horton guns?

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Jim
SWCA #2246

bravastar1 - I can't answer your question but this might help for your comparison. Here is LH 629-1 ANC prefix.
Hope this helps

And here's a 624, AHT prefix, purchased at Lew Horton's former storefront in Framingham, MA, in 1985.



As far as I can tell, apart from the obvious barrel stamping, the only differences are the length of the cylinder (shorter) and of the forcing cone's intrusion into the frame opening (longer).

EDIT: Oops, I realize now that you were only interested in two different 629's. Sorry!

Another 629-1 Horton with ANC serial number



Mike
SWCA 1975

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Sure you did

very cool Mike!

Email Lew Horton at:
[email protected]

I did this on my 624 3" and LH confirmed that my 624 was distributed by Lew Horton. See below question & LH's responce.

Good luck,

Bruce



Dear Bruce,
The gun you are inquiring about is indeed a Lew Horton's Special. It was made for us by Smith & Wesson in July of 1985.

----- Original Message -----
From: bruce vining To: [email protected]
Sent: Monday, July 14, 2008 1:39 PMSubject: S&W 624

Good morning,
I purchased a 3" Smith & Wesson Model 624 no dash, ser # ALV097X.
I understand Lew Horton Distributing requested this variation built to your specification, though few others were distributed else where.
May I ask if this particular .44 Special was distributed by your Company?
Thank you very much in advance,

Bruce Vining
Santa Cruz, Ca.

I am still not sure about what guns were made for Horton and which were not. Here are two more with different serial number ranges. Am I correct in assuming that ALL 3 inch 629-1's are NOT Horton guns? The SCSW may not have all of them listed. Sorry if I am beating a dead horse but I am curious.

BAF--serial number range


AJP--serial number range

They all look the same to me. Any ideas?

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Jim
SWCA #2246

It is my understanding that Lew Horton did NOT sell all the 629-1's.
There were some that were sold at regular dealers but believe all the guns to be the same.

Where's SmithNut when you need him.

VM -

I believe you are correct. Someone more knowledgable please step-in here.
I had no idea, when I bought my 624, that it may be a Lew Horton. Confirming it thru LH was just frosting.
My concern, and my reasoning behind confirming my LH, was I had "heard" that some of the 3" 624's were sold by other dealers and not distributed thru Lew Horton. LH keeps track of what was distributed thu them.

Bruce

Mind if I ask.......why??

I'm always intrigued by the seemingly mystic attachment that the name "Lew Horton" brings to some models. The gun is made by S&W and there are many distributors out there that can get it to you, including Lew Horton. Ovbiously, there are some guns that were exclusive to Lew Horton, but there were many more that were not. To me, for those guns that were sold to many distributors, of which Lew Horton was one, there is not a single dollar increase in value to one supplied thru LH Distributing, versus another distributor, IMO.
Don't get me wrong, Lew Horton's has done some great things for all of us by sponsoring unique production runs and, of course, all the early work with the Performance Center models, but frankly I just don't seem to understand what the LH draw is for a gun that could have come from some other distributor.....?

Now, if you just have to know, remember that any 3Alpha4Numeric serial number gun can be investigated/verified/understood with a quick phone call to S&W - 1-800-331-0852, hit selection #7 and ask the nice Customer Service rep to look up your gun by serial number. You can generally get when it shipped (Month/year) and who it shipped to.

S&W sells to distributors rather than individual dealers. Lew Horton, as one the the distributors they sell to, can place a large order for a model with special features. In the case of the 624, LH ordered 5000 with 3" barrels which were then sold thru them and to individual dealers who ordered from them. Thus, all 3" 624's are part of the LH order and therefore a "Lew Horton".

Jim

Yours ain't too shabby either!

Mike
SWCA 1975

__________________
Sure you did

Interesting, but I'm not sure that's right. In the case of the 3" 624s S&W made a good many of these. Many went to Lew Horton but many others never went to Horton, were not meant for Hortons and were sent to other distributors. The only guns that are rightly Lew Horton's are those that went through Horton's or those that were intended for Horton but not shipped to them. A phone call to S&W can tell you where they were shipped to.

tipoc

Won't help answer the original question as some have done very well. But just for giggles this is mine with the ANC prefix and smooth Hogues.

Hmmm, the SCSW shows only 5 product codes for the 624. Two for a 6.5" barrel, one for a 4" and two for a 3". It says both the 3" codes are for the 5000 LH order (one for the first 100). It shows no other 3" 624's being made or offered by S&W.
Of course, this assumes the SCSW is correct. And that I'm reading it right.

Jim

Jim,
You may be right, in a sense they are all Lew Horton's but...
Apparently the order began with 100 engraved guns being ordered from Horton who followed it up with an order for 5,000 non engraved guns to the 3" specs. After the first batch of the 5000 arrived Horton saw that they were selling slowly and before taking receipt of the remaining guns (not all of which had been made yet) they asked S&W to make the rest available to other distributors. This latter took place.

Most of the original LH guns had the ALU and ALW prefixes. Not all the 3" 624s do.

The serial numbers for the 3" 624s were not in sequence.

Some of the 3" 624s are 624 no dashers some are 624-2s.

So LH took in and sold some of the 5000 or so guns made but not all. The guns were made over a period of maybe 4 years and sold by several distributors.

Lew Horton will also tell you if a specific gun was sold by them or not. (800)446-7866

Back in 2004, Oct. 2 actually there was a thread on this very subject. Jack M quoted Roy Jinks on the info above.

So in a sense they are all LHs as LH asked for the guns (Wolf and Klar rule applies I guess)but not all went through LH.

tipoc

Tipoc,

Thanks for the info, I was not aware of that.
My 3" 624 has a ALV prefix.

Jim

I've got a 629-1 3" with a SN prefix of ANF.....can anyone provide additional info on whether its a LH or not?