I recently inherited a 629-4 from an Uncle who has passed. I am interested in when this gun was shipped and to which gun shop. Is this information that would require a full historical letter, or is it something that could be done over the phone or through email?

thanks in advance!

We need to research. We would need to do a full letter.

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Don Mundell

Look at it this way---even if you don't care when or where a gun was shipped, a letter is the frosting on the cake-----a final touch--and a lasting memory.

Having decided it would be best to leave behind a pile of money instead of a pile of guns, I arranged to have my collection sold. It took a little over three years, but they're all gone. But for the copies of the letters on each and every one of them, I'd have nothing to remember them by. As it is, I'm a happy camper---almost as happy as when I had the guns---almost.

Ralph Tremaine

Sumpthin like a Car Fax for guns, or sumpthin?

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"Don't Give Up the Ship"

The factory letter is unlikely to tell you which gun shop for a modern gun like that. You'll probably get the name of the distributor from whom the shop got the gun -- assuming it was normal stock acquired from a large distributor.

If it's all about the when, a factory letter should tell you that however you can either call S&W on the phone with your serial number or you can send them an e-mail and they typically reply within two days.

If you have it's original serial number matching box with intact end label, it may have a date listed on it. That would be under the heading of SPEC ORDR and it's a four digit number, first digit is the year and last three are a julian date.