.38/44 Outdoorsman Postwar Correct Grips?

[Moon Guns]

Hi, New to the forum and looking for some help...

I purchased this .38/44 Outdoorsman (Postwar) serial#: S69863 decades ago without grips and now it's time to get it ready to sell on GB....So I bought a couple pair of Magna walnut diamond center grips on e-bay with a close # to mine #80234 and #194678. #194678 would not align with the pin correctly. The #80234 fit but, is shy on the butt and back strap !/32+.
Is this the correct type of grip for this Postwar Ser# or should they be the Prewar style with gold disc like my Prewar .38/44 HD's. I checked out the 5 Magna examples in the S&W 4th but to hard to tell the difference if any in dimensions.
Your input/help is appreciated.

 

[murphydog]

Welcome! The prewar and early postwar ("transitional") N frames had grip frames that were 1/8" longer than later production, so it makes sense that stocks in the S 80000 range are slightly short.

As you noted, finding a set of early postwar Magna stocks with close(r) numbers to your gun will probably have a better fit.

 

[lestert357]

Postwar Transitional Magna grips to fit your OD will be numbered under 75000.

 

[DARE]

Terry,
Is his gun a transitional? If so would that make it more valuable? Think he is trying to sell it. That would be good information to have.

 

[smithra_66]

Hi, New to the forum and looking for some help...

I purchased this .38/44 Outdoorsman (Postwar) serial#: S69863 decades ago without grips and now it's time to get it ready to sell on GB....So I bought a couple pair of Magna walnut diamond center grips on e-bay with a close # to mine #80234 and #194678. #194678 would not align with the pin correctly. The #80234 fit but, is shy on the butt and back strap !/32+.
Is this the correct type of grip for this Postwar Ser# or should they be the Prewar style with gold disc like my Prewar .38/44 HD's. I checked out the 5 Magna examples in the S&W 4th but to hard to tell the difference if any in dimensions.
Your input/help is appreciated.

I have the same gun and you need the "transitional" grips. I found mine on eBay but be prepared to PAY!

 

[DWalt]

The closest ODM SN to yours that I have listed is S69847 which shipped in 8/1946. Yours should be close. So the slightly longer grips should be correct. I believe the shorter grip frame began somewhere in the S76xxx range in the later part of 1950 but I don't know the exact SN or shipping date. And finding a correct and high condition pair of factory postwar grips will be difficult and expensive. I will not express my opinion on the use of the term "Transitional."

 

[Kansasgunner]

S71753 is a post war long action with the longer prewar style grip frame. I found this pair of grips that are only 30 numbers off from the gun.

 

[lestert357]

Is his gun a transitional?

Yes, it's a long action Post War Transitional. The reason I mentioned to look for grips serial numbered under 75000 in post #3 above is that the first short action (and shorter frame) .357 Magnum was numbered S75514.

 

[PeteC]

I bought a broken set from an Outdoorsman on Ebay recently. I had a thread asking about what it was here, and then passed the stocks on to another forum member who had a gun with grips that fit:

Damaged Diamond Magnas, Repair/Restore...?

If even I found one, and by accident, they can't be impossible to find!

(I am notoriously impatient looking for stuff on ebay)

 

[Moon Guns]

Thank you all for your info, sounds like grips #d under 75000 are what I need. Had a member PM me on a set, I'll have to check them out and e-bay. No sense to put it up for sale with the wrong grips. What is the selling price of these today with the correct but #d wrong grips?

 

[DARE]

S&W 4th says $1600 for transitional outdoorsman in excellent condition. Of course that info is 7 years old. Says $1500 for the 1950 model and $2800 for the pre-war gun.
Interesting to me that there were approx 2,326 .38/44s and only 142 .357 Magnums. Wonder why the .357 was so unpopular?

 

[Moon Guns]

Thanks, I saw that in the 4th. I take written pricing with a grain of salt old or new as in the real world it's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it at that time. Figured with correct grips $999.99 starting bid on GB and see where it goes.

 

[DARE]

That should work. I think it will bring above $1600. Let us know when you list it. I would be interested in bidding and I'll bet others would as well.

 

[handejector]

serial#: S69863

I bought a broken set from an Outdoorsman on Ebay recently. I had a thread asking about what it was here, and then passed the stocks on to another forum member who had a gun with grips that fit:

Damaged Diamond Magnas, Repair/Restore...?

WOW!
Am I reading that serial number right at 69840?

If so, they are only 23 digits off the OP's gun!!
Even if they read 69640, they are only 223 digits off.
Transitional guns are sometimes notoriously hard to fit grips to.
I have a Transition N frame that I tried 11 pairs of Transition grips on. All were miserable failures. I would guess that being close in number MIGHT help.
I wonder if the member you sold them to could be prevailed upon to sell them to the OP???

 

[DARE]

Lee, in the post the SN is listed as 69540. Still pretty close.

 

[handejector]

Lee, in the post the SN is listed as 69540. Still pretty close.

Duhhhhhh...........
Thanks. I was moving too fast.

 

[PeteC]

Duhhhhhh...........
Thanks. I was moving too fast.

I apologize. You have better eyes online than I do with the grips in front of me. The number is hard to see, and I posted the wrong one. That digit is an "8".

Grips have been my nemesis over the years for more than one reason. When I made that earlier thread, it was partly out of frustration. When I found them on ebay they were mis-identified as K, but correctly pictured as damaged. I noticed they were N-frame once in my hands, but not what they were. Once y'all helped me figure THAT out, I passed them on to another forum member who will have them repaired and fit to his transition gun and grip frame.

A local friend opined that they were most likely from an Outdoorsman based on the s/n, so for my edification (I like to look up big words), I am glad to have that confirmed...

That is the long story, and this time I am sticking with it,

 

[PeteC]

S&W 4th says $1600 for transitional outdoorsman in excellent condition. Of course that info is 7 years old. Says $1500 for the 1950 model and $2800 for the pre-war gun.
Interesting to me that there were approx 2,326 .38/44s and only 142 .357 Magnums. Wonder why the .357 was so unpopular?

I read that some .38 N-frames were converted to .357, so it must have been somewhat popular. Maybe the ammo was unobtainable in the years after WWII? Maybe S&W was busy converting production back to peacetime.
Another factor might be the price. In 1946 dollars, an Outdoorsman was $77 retail, the HD was $64. The .357 Magnum was $100. In any case, an unwanted gun then becomes someone's Holy Grail today... (unless your first name is Lee that is)

This was a 1951-ish example of an Outdoorsman that was for sale for ~$800 in a neighboring state in the Midwest, a little over a year ago (there were no takers for quite a while):

 

[PeteC]

Another factor in what was happening between 1946 and 1949, is that S&W (and a lot of other industries that supported the war effort), did not have the money to retool. High taxes took most of the money they needed to switch back to consumer-oriented production, and they were left to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. S&W was trying to build a new plant and tool back up at the same time. A new plant, was finished in 1949~1950, and new models with a nice finish started showing up.

Limited capacity may be why only about 13,000 N-Frames were made from 1946 to 1950, and most of those were Heavy Duty .38's.

 

[lestert357]

Interesting that the AMC (with prices effective October 5, 1946) shown in post #18 above, and pictured again below, shows the .357 Magnum with the short action hammer configuration…..the first shipment of short action .357 Magnums did not occur until over 3 years later on November 18, 1949 when serial numbers S75514, S75515, S75516, S75517, S75519, and S75520 were shipped from the new Roosevelt Avenue plant to Evaluators LTD, Quantico, VA. The .357 Magnums shipped during that 3 year hiatus are the 142 long action Transitionals shipped from the Stockbridge Street factory.