Always wanted one of these and finally found one in local gun store, s/n S 937xx. Can someone please provide the shipping date? Thanks in advance.

Your .38/44 OD has an estimated 'production' date of late 1952. The ship (sales, official birth) date is only found with a letter of authenticity from the SWHF. Really popular guns shipped soon after being made and less popular more slowly, and the factory never shipped in numeric order.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

The used-to-be my post-war Outdoorsman #S93429 shipped April 14, 1953.

Ralph Tremaine

What about prewar 41,4xx? No S!
Thanks

A reasonable inquiry, but know this is generally worthless information. My pre-war Outdoorsman (59378) went out the door June 7, 1940. Know also this serial number as well as yours is within the series applicable to ALL N frames from the nineteen aughts to WWII.

Switching gears to something worth knowing, the EXACT ship date can be had with a letter from the S&W Historical Foundation. The close ship date can be had by SWCA members in the private section of this forum---close ship date equals month and year.

Getting set up for a discount on letters is had by joining SWCA. Getting set up for a FAT discount is had by SWCA members by becoming a member of the Historical Foundation---as in some's good, and more's better.

As an aside, I for one never gave a rat about ship dates---but I was more than interested in to whom the gun was shipped----never mind most were/are shipped to distributors----and that's why I lettered every single gun I had---the day I got it.


Then, one day, yet another letter arrived. It said this gun had been given to the fellow who S&W credits with the development of the 357 Magnum cartridge---and shipped to his home in Maine. Can you spell HAPPY CAMPER?

There's more-------------the fellow I'd bought the gun from had owned it for TEN YEARS--and never lettered it. He made a very accurate comment when he learned of its history----"I guess that'll teach me!"

The moral of this story goes like this: Some folks got it, and some folks ain't. It gets worse--the difference between the two is a matter of choice.

Choose!

Ralph Tremaine

Ralph, I've seen you post those exact words often enough to realize the value of that advice...I now have 27 guns lettered, and yesterday I sent a request for three more...Several have borne fruit......Ben

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Cogito, ergo BOOM!...

Like I said, "Some's good, more's better"-------and it goes on-------"and too much is just right!"

Ralph Tremaine

As an aside, when I decided to leave behind a pile of money rather than a pile of guns, and liquidated my collection, I had all the letters copied--and kept them. There's not many days when I don't come up with a reason to refer to them.