Quote:
Originally Posted by Thom_44
This was a first for the industry, and it didn’t last long. Since there was no SAAMI standard for +P+, and some non-SAAMI manufacturers were actually pushing the boundaries of Proof Loads with their +P+ loadings, a marking like this was the equivalent of writing a blank check. The unique marking quickly disappeared from the Model 640, likely at the bequest of the Legal Department in Springfield, and the gun was thereafter referred to as a .38 +P-
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The "+P+" marked 640 that I once owned had a serial # CEN77XX. So unless S&W skipped past a whole lot of numbers, there were more "+P+" 640s than is generally believed. I've seen one with a CEN78XX serial # listed on GB.
Their legal team had to have cringed at the 1990 catalog that stated the 640 being "Rated For +P+", while the guns were marked "Tested......"