I picked this up about a year and a half ago. I found it interesting with the paper work from the original owner.
Sadly the owner passed away Dec., 2016. It would have been an honor to talk to him. The family was more than gracious to connect me with his son who was also gracious enough to talk to me on the phone for an hour. My thanks to the family again.

https://postimg.cc/gallery/15d2jepyo/
Click pics to enlarge.
The documents are hard to read due to being copies. Here is a brief description of them. Notice the rubber stamp dates in the lid of the box. They seem to be when the gun went back to the factory. Also the other grease pencil serial numbers on the outside of the box.
#1 Aug. 14, 1952 Letter from S&W about production of 1950 .44 Targets.
#2 March 11,1953 Letter from S&W that they are now in production.
#3 March 16, 1953 Letter from Harvan Sporting Goods that customer wants 2 guns. I don't know if the owner ever got 2.
#4 March 23,1953 Letter from S&W to Harvan that they will ship when available.
#5 April 4, 1953 Response from Elmer Keith to owner 1950 .44 specials. The owner was aware of the Associates per his son and hand loaded and cast his own bullets.
#6 June 20 1955 Letter from S&W to owner about work to be done. Front sight .048 higher, clean, oil, and test both single and double action. Owner was an engineer with a major corp.
#7 April 4, 1958 Letter from S&W about cutting barrel to 4 inches. Owner must have asked about putting a .44 Magnum 4 inch barrel on it.
#8 S&W Historical copy of shipment to Harvan's. Then it looks like it went to Army's Sporting Goods, Pittsburg,PA.
#9 Factory letter from 2006 that the dealer I bought the gun from obtained. I believe this was in his private collection.
I hope you enjoyed this journey as much as I have .
Thanks for looking.

Wow. That's a complete history. Thanks for posting!

I wonder how many Mod 1950's were made in .44 Spl as opposed to .45 acp? ( I just got one in .45 )

According to the SCSW 3rd, 5050 1950s in .44 Special and 2768 1950s in .45 ACP/.45 Auto Rim.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

That's a very nice revolver and an interesting story of its history. Of those 5050 or so 44s I wonder how many were subsequently cut to four inches? That seemed to be a popular length so have to wonder why S&W built so many more in 6.5 inches? Don't think I've ever seen a pre-26 cut to four inches although that has probably been done too. Congratulations on a great gun and supporting documentation. Always a bonus when we have some personal history of the owner as well as the gun.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

wetdog,

Great catch and super documentation.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Jeff,

Here's my 1950 Target .45 ACP/AR, Pre Mod 26 #S 96911, 4 ¼” likely shipped July 1953. Bought it already cut. Excellent work but not by the factory:

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Jim
S&WCA #819

I forgot to mention that there are no date stamps on the frame for the returns to the factory.

On a related question, do new (modern) .45 full moon clips fit these?

Yes they do. Any clips that ft the 1917 can be used on the 1950 models.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Wow, the lettering seems curiously perfectly spaced despite cutting. I guess I don't know where it is on a 6.5"er.

That's a fantastic gun and find Gary. Having the original and paperwork makes that a very nice package. Thank you for sharing!

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Rick
SWCA #2727 , SWHF #435

4" n frames are really nice.

I've got a 1950 Army in .45ACP, but I can only dream about finding a 1950 Target. Never seen but a couple of them and that was years ago.

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Retired Dep Sheriff & Armorer

It is clear to me that after the handgun was shipped on April 9, 1953, it was returned to the factory and a 4 inch 44 Special barrel installed, some time after April of 1958.


This scenario is implied by a close reading of the relevant documentation provided by Wetdog. Namely the letter from the factory dated April 4, 1958 (Wetdog's Document # 7) and the letter from Roy Jinks dated June 29, 2006 (Document #9).



I have also compared the photos of both sides of the barrel markings of S99486 with two other examples of Model of 1950 .44 Targets, both with 4 inch barrels. The lettering of one, S147xxx, is very similar to Wetdog's, the words SMITH & WESSON starting 19mm from the muzzle. On the other, S140xxx, those words begin only 9mm from the muzzle, indicative of a barrel shortened to 4 inches.

Hondo44
Do you happen to know the original uncut length of your 4 1/4 " barrel?

Sorry I do not.

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Jim
S&WCA #819