I JUST INHERITED THE ABOVE RIFLE. CAN ANYONE PROVIDE A DATE OF MANUFACTURE?

THANKS

I had never heard of that caliber in that gun. You might post pictures. I believe the S&W 1500's are all 1980's era firearms.

HE BOUGHT GUNS FROM THE 50s THRU TO LAST YEAR. HE HAD QUITE A HOARD.
ATTACHED ARE PIC OF CARTON END AND PIC SHOWING MARKINGS ON THE GUN.
CARTON SHOWS AN INHOUSE MODEL # FOR S&W. GUN SHOWS "MADE IN JAPAN", "SMITH AND WESSON", "MODEL 1500", AND CALIBER.

ONCE AGAIN I AM INTERESTED IN THE DOM. I TRIED IT AS A HOWA RIFLE ALSO. STANDARD CATALOG OF S&W 4th EDITION SHOWS THEY WERE IMPORTED FROM 1981-85 BUT, DOESN'T SHOW THE BRENNEKE CALIBER.

You can try contacting the factory, but they may not have shipping records for these.

Are there any other numbers or codes on the label? In this era handguns had a code showing when they were packed and ready to ship.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

THE ENTIRE END LABEL IS SHOWN. i WONDER IF THE NUMBERS IN THE MODEL LINE IS A PRODUCTION CODE??? 16015

It doesn't line up with any known date code format given its age. Someone here might know more, otherwise the factory would be your best possible resource. Good luck in your search.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

If you cant find the information you seek on this end, might try contacting Howa in Japan with the above info. Maybe they have info to share as to when it was built and shipped to S&W?

Larry

It sounds like 72583 is not the serial number. I don’t think S&W used product numbers back in the early 80’s and the box does have a model # listed.

I wonder if 72583 is actually a date (7/25/83) for a special order rifle.

__________________
"I also cook."

It may have been a gunsmith built piece, blank label filled in by builder.
I own a 1500 chambered for 240 WBY magnum, looks SW built but, I know it is not. Just a thought.

Attached Images

SW 1500-0.jpg (89.4 KB, 35 views)

You might contact Roy Jinks and ask if a factory letter would work for this rifle. Interesting rifle thanks for showing us.

The 7x64 was never a S&W cataloged item. I do recall seeing them advertised in Shotgun News from various distributors after S&W dropped their long gun line after 1984.

The 16xxx model/order number was used from 1981-1983, for 1984 the new order numbers were 273xxx for the 1500 Deluxe models.

Your Serial No. PN72583 is higher than the serial numbers of two of my rifles that were introduced in 1984.

Clear as mud, but my best guess for year of manufacture would be 1984.

KO

Thanks for your insight.

I forgot to add, let us know how it shoots. My 1500 is a very accurate rifle, I bet with the right bullet and a good amount of IMR4350 yours will too.