just pick up a model 17-3 serail 5k101xx

and a 19-3 serail 2k440xx

looking for a little help with there birth dates

Around 1973 and then 1971.

Remember that any dates quoted are not manufacturing dates because Smith & Wesson only tracks shipping dates. They are usually close but keep in mind that some less popular models may have been in inventory for months before shipping.



Bruce

+1

The date in the book is only a go by. They are when the frame was serialized. The actual build date could be anywhere from shortly thereafter, to several years after. There are many here who have guns that shipped several years after the book says they were stamped. I have a couple like that myself. Another possibility is that the gun was actualy made shortly after getting the serial number stamped on the frame, but sat in inventory for a while before being ordered up, due to lack of popularity/sales .