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SCSW5, p. 167, col. 1, near bottom: "The serial number range 525670 - 536684..." Both numbers are incorrect, though they originated in serious studies that are basic research tools for S&W collectors. 525670 is a .22/32 Heavy Frame Target shipped in June of 1931 to Buenos Aires, the sole .22/32...

SCSW5, Model 696, page382, second column, line 3: "The introduction serial prefix is CBS2xxx." I keep notes on this model, and many specimens of the 696 no dash have lower serial numbers with CBH, CBN, CBP and CBR prefixes. The lowest dated serial numbers known to me are CBH9385 and CBH9484...

In pensive moments I think about forum members from years ago who no longer post, and I sometimes try to resolve their status. I just confirmed that Richard Wayne "Dick" Stover, whose handle here was diamonback68, moved on ahead back in August 2018. He last posted just a few months earlier...

I'm helping a neighbor value some firearms she wishes to sell. I am out of my depth on this revolver and hope that better-informed forum members can offer some thoughts. Model 25-3, 4-inch barrel, in the uncommon .45 Colt chambering. Serial number N903xxx. I know that in top condition these can...

Can someone tell me (or point me to) productions statistics for the 696, 696-1 and 696-2? My hunch is that total production never got out of the low five digit zone, assuming it even got out of the high fours. Thanks for any guidance anyone can offer.

This prewar Kit Gun is made a little more interesting than the usual versions by its special order McGivern Bead front sight and deep "U" rear notch, a combination only rarely observed on KGs. Before this one came to my attention, I was aware of only two other specimens with a McGivern gold bead...

Against all expectation, a K-32 First Model has at long last taken up residence in my safe: 675702, shipped May 24, 1939 to the Old Dawley Gun Store in Montpelier, Vermont. The order was placed on behalf of the Washington County Sheriff's Department, though an individual is not named in known...

Until I saw this gun on the consignment shelf of my LGS, I had no idea the model even existed. There is little detailed history that I can find on the Internet. This one, with serial number 2088, was likely manufactured before WWI, perhaps around 1913-1915. The basic model itself may have come...

Prewar .38 M&P conversion for Target Shooting -- with new-found link to old thread EDITED TO ADD THIS LINK: http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/85268-just-dont-see-em-everyday.html?highlight=755556 (Some the features as described in that old thread don't exactly fit what I...

This six-inch M&P was probably shipped in April or May of 1946. [UPDATE: I am informed by the S&W Historian that the revolver was shipped sometime in June of that year.] The serial number, S820116, is within the first 10,000 shipped after the retirement of the V from the late war and immediate...

I recently acquired this early .38 Hand Ejector (SN 66842, shipped September 20, 1905). I already had a 1902 first change (round butt) with a four-inch barrel and a 1905 first change (square butt) with a 6 1/2 inch barrel, so this gun represents the intervening state in the engineering...

I went to my usual range/LGS today to arrange a shipment and was blinded by this brilliant shorter-barrel (3 1/4") .38 SA 2nd Model on the Used Gun shelf. I looked it over, noted the click-snap tightness of the action and latch, found only the shallowest tiny scratches in the nickel, thought the...

So a couple of days ago my cell phone went off. I looked to see who was calling, but there was no caller ID other than the phone number. That number was 202-648-9999, which I recognized as a District of Columbia area code, so I rejected the call. Then a day later I saw that the number had called...

Do the Historical Foundation records include copies of contracts under which larger quantities of firearms were delivered to foreign governments or resellers? At the moment I am specifically curious about postwar contracts under which M&Ps in .38 S&W (the Pre-11 and dash varieties of the Model...

You know you're getting old when you find a gun in the safe that you didn't know you had. With a little memory ransacking and paperwork inspection I realized that I had bought this one a few years back from the range where I usually shoot. The A-prefix serial number dates it to the late...

I'd like to ask any Alaskan members of this forum to report in about the recent earthquake. I am particularly concerned about forum member JP@AK, who lives in or near Palmer--reportedly the epicenter of the quake. So far it seems like this one didn't do anywhere near the destruction of the...

I have been informed by private correspondence that K-38 K4568 is also a LERK specimen.There is supporting photographic evidence. I have encouraged the owner to post the revolver in its own thread because of its inherent interest. In the meantime he has given me permission to go public with the...

Well, unusual in the US, at any rate. They are all over sub-Saharan Africa. This is a Pin-tailed Whydah. These birds have been seen in Orange County, CA in the last few years. Presumably they represent an expansion population whose founders escaped from a private aviary or were deliberately...

Kind of concerned about the tornado damage in and around Georgia. Can you Georgians and people in adjacent states please check in and report your status?

I just realized that forum member GLL, who has a reputation as a serious collector and cataloger of .38/44 Outdoorsman revolvers, has not posted for over a year. According to his profile he has not logged in to the forum since February. I always worry when a well-known forum member begins...