I picked up a pretty nice 38 M&P model 1905 4th change today and i was curious about two things... the s/n is 564xxx and I was thinking late 20's to early 30s DOB... can anyone with more knowledge get me a little closer?

Also, S&W book i have says that the Square butt version is "rare".... ??? is this really the case? Mine is a square butt.

The Standard Catalog has it backwards on that assertion; this is a known error in the book. The square butt 1905s are common, round butts not so much.

I have 544932 from 1927. Probably your gun shipped between 1927 and 1929 depending on how much time it spent in inventory.

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David Wilson

Thanks for the clarification