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Originally Posted by FirebirdV8
That is a beautiful Model 39. I have one that is 616XX and it was shipped in early 1965. So as others have said, yours could have shipped in 1964 or 1965. Since they didn't ship in serial number order the only way to know for sure is to get it a letter from S&W.
For what its worth, I do shoot mine, just not a lot. These early model 39s are very accurate, as they have a different twist rate to the barrel. It also means they are more ammo picky for that accuracy, but it will still shoot almost anything.
Thanks for sharing your new addition.
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Several of my favorites really only get shot on "special occasions" so to speak. So I would consider that. I think I want to keep this one, but not just as a collector-only.
Interesting remarks on the early 39's accuracy. I would be more than curious to see how it shoots. My last 9 was a cherry '70s era Colt Commander, all steel. The accuracy was just terrible. So that didn't last. The one before that was a beautiful 1969 Colt Super 38. Same deal. Not accurate at all, which was no big surprise on that one. So, yeah, I dared to shoot two beautiful collectable pistols, but they both eventually went, along with their boxes.
I just hate it when I'm practically afraid to pick the dang thing up without museum gloves on. I have all the respect in the world for the "real collectors" out there. I'm more of an accumulater/shooter.