[Photos for this post were lost in the Photobucket meltdown a few years ago. I will try to restore them by the end of the month (April 2022).]

See post 15 for a newly surfaced Virtual Mexican, and posts 16ff. for a newly reported original Model of 1946 Target.


ORIGINAL POST BEGINS HERE.

This is NOT what it appears to be at first glance.

It is however something almost as rarely seen as the Model of 1946 ("Mexican") that it resembles: a prewar .38 M&P Target Revolver that was modified after the war to take the larger micro-click rear sight. The higher rear sight required a taller front sight, which certainly gives the gun a distinctive profile and makes you realize that esthetics would be one of the reasons that postwar target revolvers had ribbed barrels.






The revolver is no. 633646. A .38 M&P Target with a nearby serial number is known to have shipped in late summer of 1931.




There are no factory stamps that indicate the work was done at the factory, but the installation and the associated refinish are both up to factory standards. The ribbed foot of the rear sight, well known from the postwar Masterpiece revolvers, was carefully cut and polished at the front end to match the contours of the prewar frame. The edges of the postwar foot stand a little proud of the frame top.






A close-up of that reach-for-the-sky front sight made famous by the Mexican model.




The refinish is excellent. The hammer stud appears to have an unflattened dome and the trigger return spring stud, barely flattened at the tip, remains proud of the frame surface. The logo and other rollmarks remain deep and crisp.



But there is no doubt the gun was refinished. Though the bevel of the ejector rod knob is in the white (nice attention to detail by the refinisher), the rear faces of the ratchet are blued.





The gun came in a proper patent box (fairly good condition, but with reparable busted corners) that may not be its original box. There is no serial number on the bottom of the box, but there is the abbreviation "Targ" and a lightly penciled number that looks like a K with three or four following digits. The label is pale yellow, which I believe is correct for the early 1930s. Written on the label is the price "36.50" (or possible "33.50") which seems too high a price for a prewar gun and perhaps too low for one sold in the immediate postwar era. The price seems to be written in faded ballpoint pen, which suggests postwar labeling, but I don't really know how to interpret this marking.






The stocks are postwar magnas that were originally on another gun, either C or K 127981.





One can speculate how this gun (and the very few similar specimens that have been seen) came to exist in this configuration. Certainly the shooting community knew that revised target models were on S&W's schedule for production soon after the end of WWII. The company talked in their ads about new models that would appear in 1946. The K-22 finally began distribution for real at the beginning of 1947, but the new short-action K-38 didn't really start leaving the factory until a year later.

Shooters knew from the scant prewar production of the K-22 Second Model that the company was moving to a click-adjustable rear sight and had every reason to think that was the sight of the future for the company's commercial production. Some shooters might have been too impatient to wait for the new target .38s to appear and might have sent in their old M&P .38s to have the upgraded sights fitted to them. Or, in light of the expense of completely replacing a revolver, they might have elected to have an old gun improved and spruced up to get a functionally modern target .38 at minimum cost.

Either way, the window for that kind of conversion was probably pretty small -- perhaps calendar 1947 was about the extent of it. Once the existence of the Mexican model became known, it was clear that S&W had the tools to cut old frames for the new sights, and that might have triggered some interest. The argument from economy might have been grounds for conversion of old frames into the early 1950s, but I would guess not so much after that.

There may have been no more than a few dozen guns that were modified into this configuration. I have not gone searching for them, but I remember running across references to only two others aside from this one. At least one of those was considered to be a counterfeited Mexican, but I wonder if that wasn't an overly suspicious response to an innocently converted firearm. Certainly a true counterfeit would need a proper sight foot, stocks, and serial number in all the usual places on the frame and parts. Seems to me that would be tough to bring off.

This is the same gun that was discussed in a couple of threads here about 10 weeks back. It was offered in an auction whose catalog misreported the serial number and was additionally vague in describing the gun, leading some of us to think it was an actual Mexican. The atypical bidding on the gun apparently drove the auctioneer to pull it from the auction. It recently went up again with a revised and clearer description, and in the interim I had the chance to look at it in person and figure out what it was. I was lucky enough to be the winning bidder at a decidedly non-Mexican price.

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David Wilson

David:

Very cool gun and a great conversion and contouring on the rear sight! Interestingly, I recently picked up a pre-war M&P Target (SN 667243 - probably shipped in 1938 or 1939) that has a standard pre-war rear sight, but front sight similar to the one on your gun.







BTW: The patent box with the yellow label appears to be the same as one of my boxes for a pre-war 1930's M&P Target.

Thanks,

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

That's interesting. I understand that competition shooters of old used to cut backslants into their front sights to keep them dark for outside shooting on bright days. For the same reason some rear sights were arranged so that the notch-carrying blades canted back, decreasing illumination and increasing contrast.

Does that front sight look owner-modified to you? I get the feeling that a standard patridge sight was undercut at home. I don't think I have seen commercially available sights shaped exactly like that.

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David Wilson

David:

I had the same thoughts - not only does it look to be crudely modified in the back slant cut, but look at the top of the sight in the close up (click on it and open it in another window where you can blow it up a bit) and it looks almost like an extra 1/8th of an inch was added to the top before the slant was cut... It's not a pristine specimen, but the price was way right, and I'm a succor for pre-war target sighted .38s and .22s, even if they are modified. You may recall the other modified one (a 4" that used to be 6" gun) that I picked up for cheap - it too had a heavily modified front sight.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

David,

Here is 633616 that shipped in September 1931 to Western Cartridge . . . perhaps it is the M&P Target you reference. It clearly has the pre-war rear adjustable sight and Patridge front blade with ivory bead.



You have a very beautiful and interesting hybrid . . . if I may use that term.

Russ

Indeed you may: a hybrid is exactly what it is.

Your gun is the one I referred to. I like the ivory bead front sight. I had no idea it was in such fine condition. Another beauty!

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David Wilson

David,

Congratulations on finally getting it. You don't usually get a second shot at something you want but miss.

Bob

I do feel lucky on this one. I almost didn't succeed. I was bidding on-line from home and had resolved not to go above the pre-auction bid I had placed. Somebody from the floor placed a bid higher than my max, and I thought, "OK, those are the breaks." Then there was a flurry of red and green colors on the screen, the message "last bid withdrawn," and I was left in high bid position. 10 seconds later the auctioneer hammered it to me.

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David Wilson

I also placed a pre-bid on it based on it being a neat conversion and possibly done at the factory during the early post-war years. I was a bit bothered by the fact that the auction house insisted it had not been refinished, when it obviously had to have been. My max bid was $800 but I was bidding on it sight-unseen. I've mentioned before that I'm putting together a similar look on a pre-model 15 frame. I just have to fabricate a 'sail' front sight and decide on a finish. I've already contoured the rear sight and frame. No one will mistake it for a rear Mexican, though because of the short throw hammer and K serial. It's just a fun meaningless project with some scrap parts.

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Chris
SWCA #2243 SWHF #292

Chris, I'm sorry they didn't have two so that we could each have taken one home.

I'm looking forward to seeing your project when it is ready for its debut.

There is no point in being coy about my bid since the settlement prices will be available on line soon if they aren't already: my winning bid was $950, and the house premium pushed it up to a little over $1100. (And because I am a resident of the state where the auction took place, I got to pay sales tax too.) All of that is a bit much for a refinished gun, even an interesting one, but at least the package included an old box.

BTW, I have confirmed that the box is NOT original to the gun. I managed to recognize a serial number written on the bottom that I have not yet completely deciphered. There is absolutely no graphite in it. The numerals are just shallow depressions in the soft surface of the box bottom, but the digits I can read do not match the ones on this revolver.

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David Wilson

David, et al

This is the end-label for the correct Mexican Model box .



Its a two-piece maroon-color box.

Regards, Mike

Mike, thank you. I had been wondering what kind of box the Mexicans were shipped in. I suspected it might have been a gold M&P box with a pasted-over label, but just didn't know.

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David Wilson

Roy Jinks informs me that 633646 shipped from the factory in June, 1931.

Even if not entirely original, a stylish revolver should have some stylish stocks. Here's the gun wearing some southpaw thumbrest Ropers that I occasionally use when I am trying to teach myself to shoot with my left hand.

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David Wilson

Beautiful guns, gentlemen. If I may be so presumptuous, here is an M&P Target from around 1921.

Attached Images

	newshoes2012_1029(001).jpg (149.6 KB, 97 views)
	newshoes2012_1029.jpg (98.9 KB, 75 views)

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629

Another "virtual Mexican" has surfaced. M&P 383896 was shipped in August 1921 with four inch barrel, blue finish, and fixed sights. It was returned to the factory in 1949 for revisions, from which it emerged with the following changes: five inch barrel, with tall "Mexican"-style front sight to match the new postwar click-adjustable rear sight that was installed on the frame. The foot of the rear sight was not contoured to the top of the frame as seen in the original Mexican, but left standing proud of the frame at its edges.

This revolver was recently sold on Gunbroker.

Attention Required! | Cloudflare

The listing is still available as a completed sale but will disappear eventually. Those interested in the 1946 Mexican and earlier M&Ps that were modified with the installation of the micro-click adjustable sight will find some interesting documentation there.

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David Wilson

Mine is serial 8327xx. It has the S&W logo in the side plate with marca registrada below it. As soon as I can, Ill take some pictures of it and post them here.

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"lets be careful out there"

That is amazing. With the phrase MARCA REGISTRADA on the sideplate, and if the serial number is preceded by the letter S, it is almost certain that your revolver is an original 1946 Target, not a virtual 1946 or, as some say, a clone.

I can't wait to see the photos. I have always suspected that there should be at least a few hundred original 1946 Target models surviving in Mexico, Costa Rica and Uruguay -- the known countries to which shipments were sent. Your revolver may be the first one to surface that actually fulfills my hope.

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David Wilson

Yes it has the S

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"lets be careful out there"

My Daughter just take the pictures, I'll post them in a minute

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"lets be careful out there"

Here it is:

My 1946 Mexican Target. I bought it 15 years ago from a friend (now deceased) who's family used to own a gun shop in Mexico City.

I never shot it, and I think it has been reblued at some point of his 70 year + life. Barrel is pristine for its age, so are the cylinder chambers. My friend told me that his father used it for competition with 148 gr wadcutters (I have the lyman mold his dad used).

Action is smooth, both in double and single action.

I hope you guys like it

Ps: Just for my curiosity. How much do you think it is worth?

Attached Images

	Tadeus 1946 MT 1.jpg (129.6 KB, 123 views)
	Tadeus 1946 MT 2.jpg (83.1 KB, 114 views)
	Tadeus 1946 MT 3.jpg (257.1 KB, 101 views)
	Tadeus 1946 MT 4.jpg (81.2 KB, 95 views)

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"lets be careful out there"

David, I hope my revolver fullfill your hopes!

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"lets be careful out there"

It’s great to see such detailed pictures of the real thing. I have been hoping to run across an unrecognized MM for many years, but never did. I can't make even a guess as to the price that one in original and complete strong condition might bring at a well-attended auction today. At least in the mid-4 figures, but on a good day considerably more would not surprise me.

Tadeus, that is exactly what I hoped it would be. I agree that it has been refinished at some point, but not badly. The hammer and trigger are a little rough, and if the gun were mine, I would disassemble it completely and gently clean up the unblued parts of the action.

It would be interesting to know if the inside of the right grip panel has a stamped number that matches the serial number on the butt and the other parts of the revolver where the serial number can be found (underside of barrel, rear face of cylinder, underside of extractor star, and hidden face of the yoke that is parallel to the face of the cylinder). The serial number should also be found on the underside of the rear sight assembly, but I wouldn't ask anyone to take the sight off this revolver unless they had done it before and knew which screws to turn and which to leave untouched.

If that revolver could be brought to auction in the United States, I would expect that the winning bid would lie between $8000 and $12000 US, or possibly somewhat higher. Two different specimens that have sold recently are unfired and in their original box; one sold for about $25000, and the other for a little more. I have no idea what the expected price for your revolver would be in Mexico, where there are probably other specimens that may change hands from time to time. Demand and availability would drive the price there. The one in my safe (S814910) was originally offered at $15000 about 10 years ago, an amount I could not bring myself to spend. Six months later the owner and I agreed on a reduced (but still significant) price.

You may have seen this thread already, but I will post the link in case you have not:

The .38 M&P Target Model of 1946 (Mexican) -- now with pics

There are other threads about this model in the forum archives, but this is the one in which most of the existing information has been pulled together. Until you mentioned your specimen, I knew of only four actual Model of 1946 Target revolvers. Yours is the fifth.

The man who initially persuaded Smith & Wesson to produce this model for export, Antonio del Conde-Pontones, was still alive and living in Mexico City just a few years ago. If still among us, he would be 96 or 97 by now.

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David Wilson

I was able to see two of these in the same display at the first symposium I attended, 2015 in Columbus Ohio. I knew what they were but was a bit shocked to see one much less two right before my eyes. In that moment I knew I was in the right place !

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kbgrips.com

Getting back to the undercut front sight blades, here is a matched pair of target K-frames, made for Fred Miller who was the head of the service department. One gun is a K-22, and the other is a K-38. The stocks are Ropers with some extra carving.The gun are identical, except for the caliber.







Here is a better picture of the Roper stocks.



This pair was owned by Rex Applegate. The yellowish plate was used by Applegate when he displayed the guns.

Regards, Mike Priwer

Did you make the case Mike?

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.............SmithNut

Those are some neat photos, that case in Mikes photo looks like a Huey case.

Robby

It's a Marvin Huey case.

Regards, Mike

Thanks Mike,

Just thought it was some of your handy work...

Love the pair, very cool!!

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.............SmithNut

The Rock Island Auction Company sold a genuine example of this model back in 2017, and included images of the original box and factory letter in the listing. It didn't go cheap.

See: Mexican S&W 38 M&P Target Revolver with Factory Letter | Rock Island Auction

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SWCA #590
"Colligo ergo sum"

Talk about history to own such classics so well preserved AND have provenance they once belonged to Rex Applegate, impressive