649 38 Bodyguard question

[Albee4ty5]

I am curious what dash my 649 is. I had sent an email to S W a couple of months ago inquiring about this pistol and was told according to the serial number the gun was made in 1989. It has the hammer mounted firing pin. Is this a 649-2 or what? Thanks much for all input.

 

[Old cop]

Look inside the yoke, with the cylinder open just under the barrel. There should be a model number stamped there. It might or might not have a dash something depending on when it was made. I own a Model 38 and 442, both with no dash.

 

[Albee4ty5]

Yes, mine just is stamped "model 649" no dash is present.

 

[Hobie]

Yes, mine just is stamped "model 649" no dash is present.

There you go!

 

[Albee4ty5]

So if there is no dash stamped on the gun, then it is not a dash at all. It is just a straight 649 even though it was made in 1989? I did not know that the dashes were stamped in the gun all the time. Thought some were and some were not. Thanks for the input.

 

[photoman]

Interesting. The "no dash" Model 649's were made from 1985 to 1988 according to SCSW. I'm not sure why S&W would tell you it was made in 1989.

 

[Albee4ty5]

Yes that is weird. Also I am going to show my ignorance. On the cylinder frame where it comes out from the main frame of the gun. There is a 5 digit number and a larger "E1" stamped in the metal. What does that "E1" mean?

 

[medxam]

When S&W told you that it was "made" in 1989, they meant that it was shipped in 1989. It was probably "made" earlier and sat in the vault until 1989, when it was shipped. happens all of the time.

medxam

 

[photoman]

Yes that is weird. Also I am going to show my ignorance. On the cylinder frame where it comes out from the main frame of the gun. There is a 5 digit number and a larger "E1" stamped in the metal. What does that "E1" mean?

That's used on the assembly line and doesn't have any meaning.

 

[photoman]

When S&W told you that it was "made" in 1989, they meant that it was shipped in 1989. It was probably "made" earlier and sat in the vault until 1989, when it was shipped. happens all of the time.

medxam

I'm thinking that's not correct. Hopefully, one of the collectors will chime in and let us know for sure.

My understanding is, when the assembly is complete, the gun is boxed and labeled and the label has a coded date. That is the date that is referred to by SCSW. I suppose it is possible that S&W uses a ship date instead of the production date.

 

[Albee4ty5]

Thank you all for your input. Very helpful.

 

[medxam]

According to the S&W company historian, the only dates that are available are the ship dates. I have a post war 38/44 that sat in the vault for 3-5 years before being shipped. The ship date is the only date that is used by the ATF to determine if a gun is eligible for C&R status (over 50 years). You must obtain the ship date to be sure if a gun is eligible. Production dates, if ever available, and I seriously doubt that they are, are not recognized! If you call S&W and give them a serial number, they will give you the ship date!

The other numbers in the yoke are assembly numbers and have no meaning, as was previously posted. I AM A COLLECTOR!

medxam