I just started getting back into collecting S&W again after a long time of not owning any, not since Bangor-Punta days.
My research shows next was Lear, followed by Tomkins, Saf-T-Hammer/S&W Holding Co. I heard that they were sold twice more. Who owns them now?

It is a public company that trades on NASDAQ under the symbol SWHC.

__________________
Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

OK.... had heard that Taurus bought them out and then Karr

Nope, Saf-T-Hammer changed names to Smith & Wesson Holding Corp, still with them....

OT, but I always liked the blue S&W boxes that said Lear on them. Kinda felt like I was holding a Lear jet.

That may be true, but insiders own only 2%, institutions and mutual funds 78% so it's fair to say it's public and has no identifiable corporate owner.

SWHC Major Holders | Smith & Wesson Holding Corporat Stock - Yahoo! Finance

Speaking of Blue Boxes.... Does having a box really add value to the pistol as a collectable? I'm taking 1978 model 41 with a correct Bangor-Punta box that does not match serial number on the pistol....

Yes, to varying degrees to different people. Most see the highest value in the original box and original contents, including paper and tools. Some see value in a correct if unoriginal box.

I am sometimes amazed how much a non-original box for a fairly recently made gun sells for, so there is value there.

The holding company, however, is the former Saf-T-Hammer entity. Smith & Wesson itself is a wholly owned subsidiary of Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. You can research it to see what else the holding company owns.

The individual large shareholders are:

Major Direct Holders (Forms 3 & 4)
Holder Shares Reported
GOLDEN MICHAEL F 287,073 Dec 11, 2015
DEBNEY P. JAMES 262,196 Dec 11, 2015
BUCHANAN JEFFREY D 97,789 Dec 17, 2015
SCOTT ROBERT L 64,336 Jan 5, 2016
SALTZ MITCHELL A 3,802 Dec 11, 2015

Management is:

Directors and Officers
DIRECTORS
Barry M. Monheit
Robert L. Scott
Michael F. Golden
P. James Debney
Robert H. Brust
John B. Furman
Gregory J. Gluchowski, Jr.
Mitchell A. Saltz
I. Marie Wadecki

OFFICERS
P. James Debney
President and Chief Executive Officer
Jeffrey D. Buchanan
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, and Treasurer
Robert J. Cicero
Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and Secretary
Mark P. Smith
VP Manufacturing and Supply Chain Management

That's the public company. S&W Management probably differs from that.

If you have the correct box for the gun but that little paper label doesn't have a SN that matches, you can take a little time and peel it off. Then you clean that end of the box with lighter fluid. Zap. . .you have a box for the gun that will definitely increase its value. I really like the boxes that have the model of the gun embossed into the end of the box opposite the label end. Oh yeah, I never use the reproduction labels. . .tacky.

__________________
Dr. B

Thanks for all the replies about the box question. Appreciate your input.

I have yet to shoot a box. But that's just me.

__________________
Fight socialism. Never stop.

Having the original box WITH the original, legible and intact end label absolutely increases the gun's value here in the real world populated by actual buyers and sellers regardless of what the box haters wish to think. It's not about opinion -- it is the very simple demonstrated reality. Emotion can and should be checked at the door if what you seek is the answer.

A box that is not original to the gun or with no end label or a non-matching end label certainly does have some value and putting a number on that value is difficult but (also demonstrated fact), it certainly does help the sales appeal and simply put -- there is value to that. Anyone who visits gun shows that are populated both with actual DEALERS and many, many people with money in their pocket expressly for BUYING will often hear "...does it have the original box and papers?!" because it gets tossed out there with MOST every discussion on older, long out of production handguns.

You cannot shoot a box but you can make enough money from them to finance a another gun..so they absolutely have value.I have sold several boxes for over $250. I have seen boxes go for over $1,000.00 on the Big Auction site. So they have actual $ value in and of themselves. That means that sold with a gun it increases the value of the gun by about what the box is worth..maybe a little more as they make a complete set. AS a rule the newer the gun the less the box has any inherent value. However when buying newer guns people have come to expect (I have for sure) that you will have the original box as it is pretty well known that in time the box will increase the value of the package.

__________________
John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

"...box haters"? Good for nothing stupid plastic & cardboard..why I'd give you more money for the gun without the box......

Sorry, the mental picture was hilarious.