I have been helping a local collector sell some of his collection and could not resist purchasing a few of them for myself. Although it took some doing to get him to part with this one.

This one is amazing, I have never owned one with a better single/double action trigger as this one has.

Roy tells me that it was indeed a custom order that shipped June of 1980 and so I have sent off for a letter on it.

It features a 6" barrel with McGivern front sight and although it is a blue finish gun it appears to have high polished stainless steel internal parts.

The target trigger has a smooth face.

Besides the front sight, the gun has obviously had factory trigger/action work done.....the letter will hopefully tell the story!

The trigger breaks like glass, I am very much looking forward to shooting this one.

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

I wouldn't mind tapping into that local collector mine myself, but after closely checking I am the the local collector......Ben

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Cogito, ergo BOOM!...

I can see why you might not want to turn it loose. Very interesting.

I am looking forward to the letter and possibly copies of invoices on this one.....I also wonder any of the stamping on the grip frame are any indication of custom work?

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

That is an AWESOME revolver. I really like the front sight.

I have a 4” 29-2 with custom action work, but not by the factory. Mine was done by Ron Power.

Dan

Hopefully, the letter from Don Mundell will provide the desired information. Based on how the McGivern sight is installed with the single pin polished flush to the rib, I believe it is original to the 29-2. Usually, if a sight blade was replaced, the new pin was left proud. R-B 6 81 stamped on the grip frame indicates the 29-2 was sent into the factory from the Customer Service Department in June 1981 perhaps for the installation of stainless parts and an action job. If this is the case, the record of the return for service may be impossible to locate and verify, but you never know until you look .

Bill

Bill,

I saw that R-B 6 81 and figured it might be a date.

I suspect you are correct that the gun may have been sent back for action work.

Roy was kind enough to look up the S/N and do a preliminary search for me and here is his response.....of course I expect more to be in the actual letter.

""Tom, I am doing well. It appears that revolver N740214 was as special order and was a single unit shipment on  June 27, 1980 to Munson Sporting Goods Inc., Costa Masa, CA, Since I can't get to view the invoice it would be my opinion that the gold bead is correct.  I hope that this helps. Roy""

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

However it turns out, Tom, I think it's an outstanding find......Ben

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Cogito, ergo BOOM!...

Tom,
Be sure to call me about this one when you decide to post it....
Terry

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Terry
SWCA, SWHS, IWLA, NRA

Does r b mean reblue?

I have a 6.5 inch29-2 that has a patridge sight with the most beautiful finish. It is stamped with a date in 1978 on the grip frame and was apparently factory refinished at that time with the addition of the front sight(I don’t think patridge sights were standard ?). I got it 8 or 10 years ago apparently unfired since 1978. (That changed) .i noticed factory refinished guns from that era often have serial numbers placed on the different parts like the barrel shroud and under the ejector presumably
To ovoid parts mix ups.

R-B may have multiple meanings, but one is the revolver was sent into the factory for some type of work by the Customer Service Department.

Bill

Polished stainless steel action or just polished steel action parts?

Curiosity got the better of me and I check the grip frame of my 29-2
It is marked R-Bi with a date of 11 78. I know it was refinished because it was originally a nickel gun with a large N on the grip frame and the cylinder. I will bet a nickel that the original posters 29 was refinished blue at the factory in 6/81 along with any other custom work. Beautiful gun and I suspect the factory refinished guns have a better polish than the original finish. Hard to beat a 29-2 and I would have snatched that one up!

Had to dig out my Outdoorsman.
The story (price and condition were excellent, the story is just a story) went that the original owner, upon hearing that the non-magnum N frames were being discontinued, all but the heavy M25, that he dashed out and bought this as the last tapered barrel N Target he could find.

Then he sent it in for red and white sights like his Magnums. I figure it got the target hammer and stocks then, too.

The grip frame is marked "R B" and "8T" but no date code.

Other oddity: SN S 140694 ca 1955-56 Five screw, but only on butt, no number on barrel or cylinder. Or back of the extractor that I could see. Geez, was it converted from .44 or .45 to .38 and not just a sight change?

Couple of observations.....Mine has the serial number stamped on the barrel inside of the ejector housing as well as on the cylinder under the ejector.
It also has what appears to be gold fill in the stamping on the frame and barrel which may have been added by a previous owner.

Not sure if the internals are polished stainless or not.....a magnet grabs on firmly when tested.

Since Roy has confirmed that this gun is a custom order in 1980, it seems odd that it would have been refinished on it's trip back to the factory a year later in 1981.

Hopefully a letter and possibly copies of invoices will shed some light on this one.

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Tom Graham SWCA #2303

It will be interesting to see the letter,. I suspect that if they did custom work and fitted a new sight that would refinish the gun to make everything match up and look good. Those serial numbers where you list are identical to 2 factory refinished N frames that I have. No others in my collection from that era or later have such markings. Again my factory refinished 29-2 has the best blue of any in my collection except maybe a prewar. Mine is a keeper and so is yours. Just enjoy shooting it. I plan to shoot mine later today!

I have a 1950 Army serial number in the S156xxx range that has the serial number only on the butt. It letters that way. Per the letter, it sat around the factory in an unfinished state during the time the factory quit doing the soft fitting and so it did not get the serial number stamped everywhere. It is an oddity. Considering that the Outdoorsman was also rapidly becoming forgotten by customers because of the two N-frame .357's, yours may have sat there in the same unfinished state. I'd consider lettering it, and sending pictures.

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S&WCA 1729

Not all stainless alloys are non-magnetic. I know the alloy used for a S&W Stainless revolver is magmetic; I assume the same for the internals.

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Sceva
OGCA SWCA NRA

If the 29-2 was refinished in June 1981, the new, liquid penetrating blue process (not carbona blue) would have most likely been used. This process results in a slightly blacker finish than the carbona blue process. Also, if the McGivern sight, action job, etc. were all done in June 1981, the 29-2 would not have been a special order. We will see what the letter says.

Bill