Can anyone zero me in a bit closer on the production date of a pristine Model 34 I have? I bough the gun as a gift for my now-deceased dad about 30 years ago, going a bit over my budget and spending, as I recall, $225 for it. The yoke stamp is MOD-34. It has a 4" barrel, flat cylinder latch, round butt with diamond checkered grips, and a serial number in the 52xxx range. I-frame. I assume it was made somewhere in the 1957-1960 range, but any help in getting me closer would be appreciated.

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Pisgah

Hi
Based on serial numbers I have recorded, I believe 1959 is a likely ship year for your Kit Gun.
Hondo44 is our resident expert on I frame revolvers, so he might be able to nail this down a bit tighter.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

These shipped later than would be intuitive and in fact many shipped after the introduction of the Mod 34-1 J frames in Oct. 1960.

Yours most likely shipped Nov. 1961 based on the trend in my database. Of course we know S&Ws never shipped in serial # order.

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Jim
S&WCA #819