S&W M&P .38 Spl. Front Sight Design

[CW3RDL]

In what production year did the half-moon front sight get replaced on the .38 M&P four and five inch barrel revolvers with the ramped front sight?

 

[murphydog]

As I recall it was about 1956, with the usual exceptions about S & W not wasting any perfectly good parts. Someone here can probably date and quote the exact change order.

 

[Wiregrassguy]

1950: Target hammer became available on N frames.

1952: Ramp front sight replaced round sight on the M&P model.

(SCSW 4th Ed., Page 494).

 

[CW3RDL]

I just saw a picture of an M&P supposedly made in 1956 that had the half moon front sight. The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson agrees with you on the 1952 change over. I just wondered if S&W stuck on some barrels that found "in the back" after the date of transition in 1952.

 

[dogngun]

Funny thing...I was looking at a 4" K frame .38 Spl Smith yesterday, half moon front sight and 5 screws...I'm too lazy to find my book...when did the 5 screws become 4 screws? The gun has holster wear, and bone or ivory grips, and is mechanically about perfect...a service revolver, IMO...

 

[murphydog]

Funny thing...I was looking at a 4" K frame .38 Spl Smith yesterday, half moon front sight and 5 screws...I'm too lazy to find my book...when did the 5 screws become 4 screws? The gun has holster wear, and bone or ivory grips, and is mechanically about perfect...a service revolver, IMO...

Again with the usual exceptions, 4 screw frames began about the same time as model stamping, or 1958ish.

 

[glowe]

Half-round front sights ended in the 1950s. Factory quit making them in 1952, but used up old barrels into the late 1950s.

There was one factory change made to the Military & Police before the ramp sight was introduced, but I have no notes on when they started and when they were gone. It involved cutting the rear part of the sight at a straight angle with horizontal serrations.

They overlapped the ramped and ribbed barrels of the early post-WWII era. I do not own one, but borrowed this image from Driftwood Johnson to illustrate the difference between the two not ribbed front sights.

 

[Art Doc]

Round sights are observed up until around 1957. The ramps start appearing in 52 or 53 and were made with round ones for 5 or 6 years. Never knew what you would get when you opened the box on a new M&P between 1952 and 1957.

 

[Absalom]

Ramping a half moon sight was also a very popular "field modification". Gunsmiths did it all the time. Anyone with basic tools and a modicum of skill could make it indistinguishable from the factory original.

So while the "official" change did indeed occur in 1952, it's hard to say how fast it was implemented; any ramped sight from the next couple of years could have started out round.

 

[handejector]

The December, 1951 All Model Circular (AMC henceforth) does not mention the ramp sight.

1952: Ramp front sight replaced round sight on the M&P model.

(SCSW 4th Ed., Page 494).

SCSW is wrong there. The ramp is offered as an OPTION in the 1952 Centennial Catalog. FYI, the 1952 catalog is the first booklet catalog since the 1940 catalog.


Page 16, 1952 catalog:

Page 17, 1952 catalog:

The AMCs for 1953 and 1954 only mention the ramp as being on the Airweight M&Ps.

AMCs 1953 and 1954:

In the Jan, 1955 AMC, they actually show the ramp on the Square Butt, but state the Round Butt in all barrel lengths will have the Service Sight. This continues in the AMCs for 56, 57, and 58 (1st AMC with Model Numbers).

Jan, 1955 AMC:

In 1959, the Service Sight disappears from the AMC:

EXPECT to find guns that don't match the AMCs.

EXPECT to see obsolete pics in S&W catalogs and AMCs.

.

 

[handejector]

Ramping a half moon sight was also a very popular "field modification". Gunsmiths did it all the time. Anyone with basic tools and a modicum of skill could make it indistinguishable from the factory original.

So while the "official" change did indeed occur in 1952, it's hard to say how fast it was implemented; any ramped sight from the next couple of years could have started out round.

I'll argue with the indistinguishable part. I've seen a bunch that were modified. Many were very well done, but If they were indistinguishable,
I would not know I had seen them.

 

[Absalom]

I'll argue with the indistinguishable part. I've seen a bunch that were modified. Many were very well done, but If they were indistinguishable,
I would not know I had seen them.

Lee:
Not to boost your self-esteem too much, but the fact that YOU can tell should probably not make others overly confident that these are easy to identify

 

[Tired Gunsmith]

iT WAS COMMON PRACTICE IN OUR SHOP TO ALTER M&P and Colt OP front sights to the 'ramp' configuration when we Repaired NYCPD revolvers

 

[Muley Gil]

A lot of folks, including me, have modified Patridge front sights, as found on the target models, to a ramp. These are fairly easy to spot.

A Patridge sight really eats up the inside of a leather holster!

 

[Alk8944]

I just saw a picture of an M&P supposedly made in 1956 that had the half moon front sight. The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson agrees with you on the 1952 change over. I just wondered if S&W stuck on some barrels that found "in the back" after the date of transition in 1952.

Didn't read all responses since you posted this so someone else may have mentioned this already. Remember the reported date is the shipping date, not the date the revolver was "put up". Also 1952 is the nominal date for this change, not the date the change was fully implemented. There could have been quite a few barrels still in the pipeline after 1952. And, the revolver may have sat in the warehouse for several months or even a couple of years before it was actually shipped!


Lee's remarks above further explain the delay.