Pre-War M&P Snub

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Modified

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This one has certainly seen some use, but the action is fantastic. When I got it some post war grips were on there, I swapped to these post war grips which also don't fit.

Originally this would have shipped with rubber right? I'm thinking those might be hard to find, so I may just go with some incorrect Walnut, if I can find them. Will any pre-war round butt K-frame stocks work?

In any case I'm excited to own it, the action is just so nice, I know it's going to make for a great shooter.

The S/N seems a bit interesting to me. I understand a lot of these guns didn't actually ship until after the war.



At first I thought the finish was just worn, but the more I look at it the more it seems to me that it may have the lower polish satin finish. Am I correct in this line of thinking?
 
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is it 694192? At least that's what it looks like. That would date it to about September 1940 in normal circumstances. I believe the prewar RB snubbies had the black hard rubber grips as standard, but I guess they might also have shipped with the silver medallion wood grips. I suspect that any RB K-frame grips would fit. No good way to determine the actual shipping date without a letter. I remember maybe 5 or 6 months ago a pre-war snubbie owned by some field-grade Army officer brought some serious bucks on Gunbroker.com. I don't remember the knockdown price but far more than anyone expected. I think it had black rubber grips.
 
Both of my Pre War M&P Snubbies have the Bright Blue finish.The Black hard Rubber/Plastic Stocks are indeed tough to find.They are very fragile so a lot of them have pieces broken off.The actions on mine are by far the smoothest K Frame actions I have ever felt,Nothing like a long action DA pull.

EDIT:The font that the serial number on the Cylinder was stamped with looks "off".What do the numbers on the Butt look like?
 
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Awesome! I am currently looking for one of these to compliment an old square butt colt DS.... I love the old snubs!!!
 
DWalt said:
is it 694192? At least that's what it looks like.
Click to expand...

694101 you can keep clicking on the picture and zoom way in if you want.

05CarbonDRZ said:
EDIT:The font that the serial number on the Cylinder was stamped with looks "off".What do the numbers on the Butt look like?
Click to expand...

Good, I can try to get a picture of them. The numbers all seem to match.


wheelgun610 said:
For incorrect period grips on a two inch M&P, nothing looks better to me than those smooth rosewoods. The only other pair of those I've ever seen are in my lumber box waiting for the day when I find a two inch round butt M&P to put 'em on.

Mark
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know what you mean, but they really don't fit on the gun.

I still need to find a model 10 or 10-1 round butt in high condition to put these on.

Shucks darn it, having to buy another round butt snubby? It's a hard life some time.
 
Jimmyjones said:
My grail, they do exist !
Click to expand...

Keep up the search, I've been after them for a long time. They don't pop up much, but they are certainly around. You will find one in due course. Also, they aren't that pricy if the seller doesn't really know what they have. This one was $300, which I'm pretty happy with, despite the surface wear and missing stocks.

05CarbonDRZ said:
The numbers just don't have the "old time" font that pre war Guns have.
Click to expand...

The light came back, so I took some more pictures:





Any idea what these stamps mean?



I keep seeing an S and it makes me wonder if this has the hammer block installed.




I snagged some old stocks off another gun temporarily to make sure they fit. I'll certainly have to find a set of old walnut stocks I think. Anyone have any for sale? :D



 
After seeing the S stampings I think it was assemblied and shipped post war
 
The S means the new hammer block safety. It is easy to tell by the hammer. Pull it back and see if the face below the firing pin is rounded or flat.
 
Thanks for the confirmation guys, I was firmly convinced that's exactly what it was the moment I had it cleaned up a little bit.

The quest for a proper pre-war snub M&P continues!

It's funny, I think (like the early N-Frames) I could have a pile of these snub nosed K-frames and be a perfectly happy camper.
 
Bright side is you have a cool transitional to play with. The Pre War snub will show up in time. I have had a couple of safe queens but recently found a refinished one in an old C.A Hoffman & Sons holster at a pawn shop. It's a fun shooter!

Oh and I tend to agree with you. I have had more fun picking up the early snub noses than just about anything else. They are way too cool!
 
David Carroll and partner (woodlawn boys) just auctioned off Pace 40's collection of pre-war snubs (about a dozen) on gunbroker. David had a mint pre-war snub on his table at the Louisville gun show this weekend for $3995.
Bill
 
05CarbonDRZ said:
I agree,Everything adds up with the matte bluing,"S"stamps and the post war numbers.The stamps on the right side are fitters marks and "B" for Blued finish.
Click to expand...

I hate to be the contrarian here but it does not add up for me. Here's why:

1. The S stamps are not in the right places to indicate the sliding hammer block that was introduced in December, 1944. Normally those would be on the rear portion of the sideplate and in front of the V in the serial number. These are on the barrel flat and on the left side of the grip frame. That's not normal at all.
2. 694101 is not a postwar serial number at all. Postwar guns all had S prefix serial numbers higher than S811120 (not counting the "civilian" SV prefix guns). Beginning in the spring of 1948, they had C prefix numbers. A number in the high 600,000 range would be from 1940 or so, hence by definition a prewar gun from the perspective of the United States. That number would be from a completely different serial sequence that dates back to 1899. The S prefix postwar guns were in the V sequence that began in April, 1942.

I tend to think the S stamps on this gun are from the service department, put there either before it left the factory or afterwards on a return. The absence of a date code would suggest it went to the service department before it ever left the factory for the first time. Now, that could have been after the war, but only a factory letter could tell you for sure.
 
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