I posted this information in the KCPD Survey thread I am currently working at http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-ha...40-finish-condition-survey.html#post140342565, but I want to try to make sure it is not missed by anyone interested in this topic, so I am giving it this separate thread.
Yesterday I received new information from Mr. Jinks regarding the 9/7/1939 shipment of 250 Magnums to the KCPD. When I got my factory letter on my Reg #5008 it did not list the Hump Back hammer as part of the original configuration. That surprised me because other than that my gun appeared to be completely original as shipped from the factory including barrel length, sight configuration, finish, and grips. In my quest to research this I noticed in archived Forum threads going back over 10 years that this Hump Back hammer issue had been an open question for a long time as there are many KCPD Magnums that have Hump Back hammers today but did not letter as such.
As my above referenced KCPD Survey thread continued to evolve I started to notice what seemed to be a trend in the data, and that was that most of the KCPD Magnums with a Hump Back hammer were from the 9/7/1939 shipment of 250 guns. In fact 8 of the 10 guns from this particular shipment that are pictured in that thread have a Hump Back hammer as does the gun pictured in Timothy Mullin's book "Magnum" which is also from this 9/7/1939 shipment.
Over the last couple of days I have been discussing this issue in some detail with Mr. Jinks in the "SWCA - Questions for Roy Jinks" area of the Forum. Yesterday I received the following response from Mr. Jinks (posted below with his permission) that I believe finally resolves this Hump Back hammer issue at least with regards to the 250 guns that were in the 9/7/1939 shipment:
"Terry, you are correct, with your help I dug a little deeper and found the original order and the original order called for all 250 units to be equipped with the hump back hammers. The problem was the billing invoice did not list the hump back hammers as there was no extra charge for them it just listed the barrel length, finish, type of sight, Magna grips, and the reg. numbers. However, in the original order it did request the Hump back hammer. So this would add another bunch of hump back hammers to the total. Thanks for the help. Roy"
So, if your KCPD Magnum was in the 9/7/1939 shipment of 250 guns, it originally shipped from the factory with a Hump Back hammer!
Now, I can finally say with confidence that with the possible exception of some minor internal components that may have been replaced by the KCPD armorer during its period of service, my Reg #5008 is 100% original!
Yesterday I received new information from Mr. Jinks regarding the 9/7/1939 shipment of 250 Magnums to the KCPD. When I got my factory letter on my Reg #5008 it did not list the Hump Back hammer as part of the original configuration. That surprised me because other than that my gun appeared to be completely original as shipped from the factory including barrel length, sight configuration, finish, and grips. In my quest to research this I noticed in archived Forum threads going back over 10 years that this Hump Back hammer issue had been an open question for a long time as there are many KCPD Magnums that have Hump Back hammers today but did not letter as such.
As my above referenced KCPD Survey thread continued to evolve I started to notice what seemed to be a trend in the data, and that was that most of the KCPD Magnums with a Hump Back hammer were from the 9/7/1939 shipment of 250 guns. In fact 8 of the 10 guns from this particular shipment that are pictured in that thread have a Hump Back hammer as does the gun pictured in Timothy Mullin's book "Magnum" which is also from this 9/7/1939 shipment.
Over the last couple of days I have been discussing this issue in some detail with Mr. Jinks in the "SWCA - Questions for Roy Jinks" area of the Forum. Yesterday I received the following response from Mr. Jinks (posted below with his permission) that I believe finally resolves this Hump Back hammer issue at least with regards to the 250 guns that were in the 9/7/1939 shipment:
"Terry, you are correct, with your help I dug a little deeper and found the original order and the original order called for all 250 units to be equipped with the hump back hammers. The problem was the billing invoice did not list the hump back hammers as there was no extra charge for them it just listed the barrel length, finish, type of sight, Magna grips, and the reg. numbers. However, in the original order it did request the Hump back hammer. So this would add another bunch of hump back hammers to the total. Thanks for the help. Roy"
So, if your KCPD Magnum was in the 9/7/1939 shipment of 250 guns, it originally shipped from the factory with a Hump Back hammer!
Now, I can finally say with confidence that with the possible exception of some minor internal components that may have been replaced by the KCPD armorer during its period of service, my Reg #5008 is 100% original!
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