A small batch of guns came into my local shop last week. I bought this S&W 36 No dash and a very nice Winchester 32-20 that would rate 70 percent. The S&W looks great. It had been fired but just a very few times. The serial number is 417874. Where would that date to? How common are the 3 inch guns as compared to the 2 inch models?

Great looking firearm . Congratulations .

I'm guessing between '57-'66. Someone else will come along and nail it down for you. Older 3 inch RB Nickel Chiefs are not that common either in my experience. Did you pull the frips to see if they matched? Does the box have a serial number and if so does it match?

Box and grips both match the gun.

Nice gun! It probably dates to 1966-67. The 3” Model 36 (no dash) had a standard weight barrel. The 36-1 had a frame that was shaped differently to accommodate a heavy barrel. Both were produced simultaneously, but the heavy barrel wasn’t initially offered.

__________________
"I also cook."

What a beauty! The Chiefs Special is one of my favorites, and that is a fine example. I own a few, including a 1971 3”, fun to shoot too.

Congratulations, nice grab!

__________________
Danny
SWCA #3370 - SWHF #672

Neat find. The Nickel guns were somewhere around 10% of production, the ad in the 3" barrel you get a pretty low percentage. The box itself is pretty scarce.

__________________
Living a dream - S&WCA #2364

I have one that’s a little later than yours that is one of my favorites! Enjoy that beauty!

__________________
Pass it on.
Mark

Wow, yours is much nicer than mine and you have the original box. Mine appears to have made it to annual qualification more than a few times. I know why the officer liked the 3 inch that extra inch of sight distance is a lot of help at 25 yards. Been there done that.

Be still my beating heart !! If I walked up on that at a gun show - let the dickering begin. BUT - It would end up being MINE !!

__________________
Y. B. Ord & A. Ree

Yours has the standard latch and diamond grips which pretty much puts it being shipped in the 1st half of 1967, but no guarantee.

From start of Chiefs production in 1950 to the vintage of yours, the 3" was quite rare; especially rare in the Baby Chiefs era. After yours they became more common in slender and heavy barrel but still a minority of production.

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

Thanks for all the great info. I thought the nickel finish might be quite desirable. I have less the 300 in this one so I was not too worried.

I've never seen a 3" standard barrel, only heavy barrel. Thanks for sharing.

__________________
low speed, high drag