1948 Transitional Heavy Duty, Box First

[Gun Relics]

My first true "Heavy Duty" though I also have a transitional Outdoorsman (with a lucky letter - more on that to follow). The serial number, low S72,000, puts it at the last run of long throw hammers and triggers post-war, made around 1948.

I like to have the original box and will go to great (or decidedly stupid) lengths to find one. To make my life easier, I acquired the gold box first (serial numbers were similar) then went looking for the gun. After much ado, it came in - nice shape and all matching including the grips.

The gun salesman asked "I don't get why anybody would want such a heavy .38 special" I can kind of see his point being this revolver is 40 ounces. I just said "because this will stand up to a great deal of use."

 

[JP@AK]

The gun salesman asked "I don't get why anybody would want such a heavy .38 special" I can kind of see his point being this is revolver 40 ounces. I just said "because this will stand up to a great deal of use."

We can be thankful they were made. Phil Sharpe used one for a testbed when he was developing the .357 Magnum cartridge in the early 1930s. They were designed to easily handle the .38/44 cartridge, a more heavily loaded .38 Special.

Besides that, they were popular police sidearms in many departments for a long time. The Missouri State Highway Patrol is one example.

 

[paplinker]

Is the close serial number on the box above or below your gun?
Trying to learn how many trans guns shipped with gold boxes. If you gold box is below the gun it likely had a trans gun in it.

I have a Trans 1917 Army model in 45 but unsure of the correct box color.

 

[Muley Gil]

That would make a swell .44 Special.

 

[BillyMagg]

Yes

That would make a swell .44 Special.

Yes it would, LOL!

It's sad once 44 Special settles between your ears, nothing else is quite that special...

Even sadder when you realize that 44 Hand Ejector has also settled in there, with an apostrophe "Triple Lock"

 

[BillyMagg]

That is just gorgeous

My first true "Heavy Duty" though I also have a transitional Outdoorsman (with a lucky letter - more on that to follow). The serial number, low S72,000, puts it at the last run of long throw hammers and triggers post-war, made around 1948.

I like to have the original box and will go to great (or decidedly stupid) lengths to find one. To make my life easier, I acquired the gold box first (serial numbers were similar) then went looking for the gun. After much ado, it came in - nice shape and all matching including the grips.

The gun salesman asked "I don't get why anybody would want such a heavy .38 special" I can kind of see his point being this revolver is 40 ounces. I just said "because this will stand up to a great deal of use."

I'm following a similar path, thanks to "goatsnguns", I have a gorgeous pair of walnut service grips, with "gold medallions",, now all I've got to do is sell a couple of really nice round but N frames, to get that triple lock!!!

 

[BillyMagg]

Congratulations!

My first true "Heavy Duty" though I also have a transitional Outdoorsman (with a lucky letter - more on that to follow). The serial number, low S72,000, puts it at the last run of long throw hammers and triggers post-war, made around 1948.

I like to have the original box and will go to great (or decidedly stupid) lengths to find one. To make my life easier, I acquired the gold box first (serial numbers were similar) then went looking for the gun. After much ado, it came in - nice shape and all matching including the grips.

The gun salesman asked "I don't get why anybody would want such a heavy .38 special" I can kind of see his point being this revolver is 40 ounces. I just said "because this will stand up to a great deal of use."

and well done sir, but don't forget to take that to the range! this all went crazy for me when I realized I had a couple of decent old rifles, that hadn't seen the range in so long, that I couldn't shoot worth a kwap.. so I started taking them on truck rides to the farm, which they enjoyed, as did I. I built a couple of "sporting rifles" which also enjoyed those trips to the farm?? then I dug my old 4" 29-2 out of bottom of the pile, and loaded that up with 44 specials, "which it absolutely adored", now I'm hooked...

 

[Rodan]

Very nice Transitional!

I have S646xx, lettered to 1946, which I was fortunate enough to find right here on the forum, though no box. It came with Magnas that were correct to my 1955 HD, so I moved them over, and put on a set of Ken's Elk stags. I'm casually looking for a correct set of stocks for it, and maybe a box if I trip over one.

 

[lestert357]

On the subject of boxes, I’m wondering if any of the early Transitional HD’s were shipped in pre-war blue HD picture boxes. I know for certain that some of the Transitional .357 Magnums were shipped in pre-war blue picture boxes - for example the Transitional .357 Magnum that was presented to President Truman in January 1948.

 

[Gun Relics]

Is the close serial number on the box above or below your gun?
Trying to learn how many trans guns shipped with gold boxes. If you gold box is below the gun it likely had a trans gun in it.

I have a Trans 1917 Army model in 45 but unsure of the correct box color.

I would also like to know. This seems to be model specific for whatever batch they had printed up.

The box serial number was 75100 series, so I figured the box shipped with the earliest 1950 model. This is a really low serial number for a HD gold box. I'm not sure when my HD was actually shipped yet but I am going to order the letter. My gun is 72,2XX so it's borderline. If I had to guess, it probably shipped with the maroon box, green label.

In the Smith and Wesson Magnum Edition by Bill Cross, he shows a 74,000 HD (1949 date) with a maroon box but I don't know if that's original to the gun, then he shows several 1950's with gold boxes with none of them as early as my box serial number. There are pre-27's from the 1940's with gold boxes, but again, I'm not sure what is original. I have an Outdoorsman with a maroon box that's labeled 69.8XX.

If I run across a maroon box, I will snag it - but they don't come up very often and are pretty expensive when they do. I paid $350 for the Outdoorsman maroon box in excellent original condition after a lot of negotiation.

 

[lestert357]

Just wanted to post these pictures from Ed Cornett’s Journal article to support my comments in post #9 above…..

 

[Muley Gil]

Truman's post WW I Army career, taken from Wiki:

Truman was honorably discharged from the Army as a captain on May 6, 1919.[61] In 1920, he was appointed a major in the Officers Reserve Corps.[62] He became a lieutenant colonel in 1925 and a colonel in 1932.[63] In the 1920s and 1930s he commanded 1st Battalion, 379th Field Artillery Regiment, 102nd Infantry Division.[64] After promotion to colonel, Truman advanced to command of the regiment.[65]

After his election to the U.S. Senate, Truman was transferred to the General Assignments Group, a holding unit for less active officers, although he had not been consulted in advance.[66] Truman protested his reassignment, which led to his resumption of regimental command.[66] He remained an active reservist until the early 1940s.[67] Truman volunteered for active military service during World War II, but was not accepted, partly because of age, and partly because President Franklin D. Roosevelt desired that senators and congressmen who belonged to the military reserves support the war effort by remaining in Congress, or by ending their active duty service and resuming their congressional seats.[68] He was an inactive reservist from the early 1940s until retiring as a colonel in the then redesignated U.S. Army Reserve on January 20, 1953.[69]