A reasonable inquiry, but know this is generally worthless information. My pre-war Outdoorsman (59378) went out the door June 7, 1940. Know also this serial number as well as yours is within the series applicable to ALL N frames from the nineteen aughts to WWII.

Switching gears to something worth knowing, the EXACT ship date can be had with a letter from the S&W Historical Foundation. The close ship date can be had by SWCA members in the private section of this forum---close ship date equals month and year.

Getting set up for a discount on letters is had by joining SWCA. Getting set up for a FAT discount is had by SWCA members by becoming a member of the Historical Foundation---as in some's good, and more's better.

As an aside, I for one never gave a rat about ship dates---but I was more than interested in to whom the gun was shipped----never mind most were/are shipped to distributors----and that's why I lettered every single gun I had---the day I got it.


Then, one day, yet another letter arrived. It said this gun had been given to the fellow who S&W credits with the development of the 357 Magnum cartridge---and shipped to his home in Maine. Can you spell HAPPY CAMPER?

There's more-------------the fellow I'd bought the gun from had owned it for TEN YEARS--and never lettered it. He made a very accurate comment when he learned of its history----"I guess that'll teach me!"

The moral of this story goes like this: Some folks got it, and some folks ain't. It gets worse--the difference between the two is a matter of choice.

Choose!

Ralph Tremaine