Confused about Model 63

Tyree1867 · Jul 30, 2018

I have a Model 63 no dash. The SN is BBB3036. The barrel is not pinned.
According to the Standard Catalog [1]The 67 had M prefix SN's; [2] the pinned barrel happened with the 63-1.
I'm hoping someone can clear this up. Thanks!

pharmer · Jul 30, 2018

Model 63 ser # M141xxx pinned, 34-1 ser # M210xxx not pinned. somewhere in between pin went away. Joe

22hipower · Jul 30, 2018

Model 63 no dash,SN 196297, not pinned.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

Tyree1867 · Jul 30, 2018

22hipower said:
Model 63 no dash,SN 196297, not pinned.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

OK- I guess you're saying the pin went away before they used the dash 1. I know that happened sometimes.
When does the does the BBB prefix come along?Can anyone help on this?

Inusuit · Jul 30, 2018

Tyree1867 said:
O
When does the does the BBB prefix come along?Can anyone help on this?

Alpha Numeric serial numbers are difficult to nail down with certainty. The 4th Edition SCSW shows BAS, BBA, BBH, BBN, and BBT as shipping in 1988. So that's a good guess for BBB.

murphydog · Jul 30, 2018

Pinned barrels were pretty much gone by sometime in 1982. The 4" model 63 was made well into the three letter prefix era - the book mentions a 63-1 but I'm not sure I've ever seen one, most of the later 4" guns were -3s.

H Richard · Jul 30, 2018

My 4" is a -1, s/n M155xxx shipped in 1981.

Bastogne71 · Jul 30, 2018

My M63 no dash 4" SN: M154xxx is pinned. The SCSW has 1982 as the end of the pinned barrel with the dash 1 but H Richard's 63 from 1981 is not pinned.

I have seen several M63's that were not pinned but stamped as 63 no dash. I've always assumed that S&W used older frames and didn't restamp them with a dash 1 but maybe they didn't bother to change the 63 stamp to a 63-1.

Tyree1867 · Jul 30, 2018

I appreciate all the info, but think I wasn't clear enough on the reason for my confusion- the SCSW only refers to M prefixes on the 63. The B series gets used around 1988. So How do I have a 63 no dash with a BBB prefix?

murphydog · Jul 30, 2018

Likely an earlier frame that didn't get assembled (and stamped with its SN) until well after it "should" have been made.

Engine49guy · Jul 30, 2018

The deletion of the barrel set pin did not warrant a revision change in the Model 63 since it did not require the use of a new part.
For this reason the model 63 (no dash) can be found with pinned or non pinned barrel.

Tyree1867 · Jul 30, 2018

murphydog said:
Likely an earlier frame that didn't get assembled (and stamped with its SN) until well after it "should" have been made.

OK- makes sense to me. Thanks, Bill

Tyree1867 · Jul 30, 2018

murphydog said:
Likely an earlier frame that didn't get assembled (and stamped with its SN) until well after it "should" have been made.

OK, This makes sense to me. Thanks, Bill

JP@AK · Jul 30, 2018

The explanation offered by Murphydog might be correct. However, there is another possibility.

We don't really know when the Model 63 with no dash actually went out of production. Like Murphydog, I have never laid eyes on a Model 63-1, so far as I can remember. It is entirely possible that Model 63 production continued right up to the time the Model 63-3 was introduced in 1989. Keep in mind that the 63-2 was a Lew Horton special production gun, so it doesn't even count.

So, finding a 63 no-dash with a 1988 serial number on it comes as no surprise to me. I suspect there are lots of Model 63 Kit Guns around from the first 8 years of the 1980s.

The barrel pin went away c. 1982, but this would not necessarily have produced a new dash number. It didn't on some other models. The only indication we have that it did on the Model 63 is an unsubstantiated statement in the SCSW. It would not be the first mistake discovered in that excellent book.

JP@AK · Jul 30, 2018

murphydog said:
an earlier frame that didn't get assembled (and stamped with its SN)

The problem with this reasoning is repeated and definitive statements from Mr. Jinks that serial numbers were applied to frames before they were sent to the assembly line. It wasn't done during the assembly process or at the end of it. I have heard Roy say this and he has written about it more than once.

Engine49guy · Jul 31, 2018

Its been a while since I studied and compared J frame Kit guns,
That being said IIRC the answer may be in comparing the evolution of the Model 34 to the 63 line.

The original Model 34 was built on the I frame,
1960 Model 34-1 change to the J frame,
1982 eliminate pinned barrel (no revision change),
1988 Model 34-2 new yoke retention system/radius stud package.
(note that SB/RB snub 4" blue or nickel kit guns share the same revision changes).

1977 Model 63 intro
(*1982 63-1 delete pinned barrel )
1989 Model 63-2 snub
1989 Model 63-3 New Yoke retention system/radius stud package.

For comparison I have a 4" Model 63 (no dash) AFB 8850 Shipped Jan 1985 3 years into supposed 63-1 production with non pinned barrel and older small yoke retention screw,
My guess is the factory found it unnecessary to stamp - 1 on non pinned Model 63's due to the fact that deleting the barrel pin required no new part ,

Also have a 2" Model 34-2 snub BKD 3963 Shipped May 1991 with new yoke retention screw and my guess is there should be no 34-2 kit guns with the older retention system.

Hondo44 · Aug 1, 2018

You're an assembler at your bench:

The next frame you pick off the frame cart is stamped 63 w/o a -1.
The next barrel you pull from the bin full of barrels is a newer non-pinned barrel.
Older pinned barrels are at the bottom of the bin.
Do you dig down in the bin to find a barrel with a notch in it for a pin?
No. You assemble the non-pinned barrel to the frame and quickly move on to assemble the next gun.

It's not an uncommon scenario. We have also seen a dash # stamped on the frame. But the new part associated with that particular dash # is not in the assembler's bin. You assemble the frame with the old part if possible and move on.
This is not uncommon either.

You're assembling a 63-3 stamped frame. The larger hole in the frame is for the new yoke screw with large head, spring, and plunger. The yoke has the tapered cannalure for the pointy plunger in the new screw.

You reach in the yoke screw bin for a new screw. There's none in the screw bin, only the smaller previous screw. What do you do?
You call the foreman over, albeit presumably you had already called the foreman when the you saw the screw bin getting low.

Welcome to the joys and pitfalls of production.

sarg1c · Aug 1, 2018

H Richard said:
My 4" is a -1, s/n M155xxx shipped in 1981.

I have a nice (my favorite revolver) 63 no dash, no pin, ser# beginning with M starting with 22. Best shooting handgun I have ever owned....Priceless. If limited to one handgun, the .38's , .380's and .45 would have to go.

Muss Muggins · Aug 1, 2018

But the frame still has a hole for the pin?

Hondo44 said:
You're an assembler at your bench:

The next frame you pick off the frame cart is stamped 63 w/o a -1.
The next barrel you pull from the bin full of barrels is a newer non-pinned barrel.
Older pinned barrels are at the bottom of the bin.
Do you dig down in the bin to find a barrel with a notch in it for a pin?
No. You assemble the non-pinned barrel to the frame and quickly move on to assemble the next gun.

Confused about Model 63

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