5 screw M&P

[Stumpnokker]

I got a call last week from a 93 year old lady who lives out of state. In 1972 I cleaned up a bloody 4" M&P for her that her husband used to kill himself. The old lady told me she was sending me the gun by a friend. I got it yesterday. Still in the original gold colored box with cleaning rod. Mint condition other than a dime sized blemish where the blood was on the cylinder. Tight lockup and mint bore, cylinder has no drag marks on it.
The serial number is 9488XX. Any idea what the manufacture date is without calling S&W ?
Thanks

 

[Stumpnokker]

I got a call last week from a 93 year old lady who lives out of state. In 1972 I cleaned up a bloody 4" M&P for her that her husband used to kill himself. The old lady told me she was sending me the gun by a friend. I got it yesterday. Still in the original gold colored box with cleaning rod. Mint condition other than a dime sized blemish where the blood was on the cylinder. Tight lockup and mint bore, cylinder has no drag marks on it.
The serial number is 9488XX. Any idea what the manufacture date is without calling S&W ?
Thanks

 

[Lee Barner]

since you said gold box, i guess there is probably a "S" in front of those numbers. if so, probably late 47, early 48. interesting keepsake for sure. lee

 

[Stumpnokker]

Lee
You are right. I forgot to put he S in front of the number
Thanks

 

[MikeH1]

I have s/n S 9785xx and my LOA said it was shipped 3/1/1948.

 

[Stumpnokker]

Thanks Lee and Mike. That narrows it down a lot

Bob

 

[Combat]

Gabob...I know who you are,guess who I am.I need to sight in a couple of deer rifles before season starts and I want to show you some pistols I got recently.I'll call you first to be sure your there so you can see them.Welcome to the forum.

 

[Stumpnokker]

Hi Jeff
Be sure to sight the deer rifles before Robbie closes the range for deer season. He leaves it open during bow season and closes it for gun season.

The M&P that I was talking about is the one that the druggist "Strick" shot himself with. I fired it this AM. Very accurate

 

[Allen-frame]

I would think it would be kind of spooky to hold or shoot a revolver that someone shot and killed themself with. Was the druggist Strick ill? Insane? Any story behind this? Best,,AL

 

[Stumpnokker]

Allen
Strick was a nice guy. It is a long story but basically a family squabble. He had the type personality to take it out on himself instead of going upside of the other fellows head.
I also have a Colt Cobra that my uncle used to kill himself(I found the body still holding the gun) Haven't fired the Cobra.

 

[feralmerril]

I have had several "blood" guns that I knew of for sure. It really didnt bother me. I have one right now. This HDM killed a service station owner in colorado in the 50s. I changed the grips to a set of old fancy carved ivory I found. They have a mountain lion on one side and a flying goose on the other.
I had a old friend that I worked with many years ago. He was a sheriffs deputy in colorado. They got a hot call where a guy killed a service station owner in a robbery. They caught the guy right after but couldnt find the gun. Frank finally climbed the roof on top the station and found it. After the trial the judge gave frank the gun! Not like in todays world! I later traded frank out of the gun. He had regrets later on trading me. By that time he was my captain on a different job. I once found a identical unfired gun and told him where to buy it and I would trade him back. He was too cheap to take me up on it but ragged on me forever!

 

[Stumpnokker]

I have another revolver that I don't have any history on that probably is a "Blood gun". Many years ago a friend from across state brought a couple of revolvers to me to fix. One was some type of S&W that just needed a good cleaning but the other was a rusty mess. It was a old Colt Pocket Positive with a missing firing pin nose. When I started to clean it up the bore was packed with grease. Mint bore and tight lockup. The firing pin nose had been removed and the pin reinstalled. When they break off normally the rearmost portion stays in the hammer on the pin. About this stage was when I noticed the notch sawed into the grips. I traded the fellow out of it and made a firing pin nose. The notch appeared to have been sawed in with a hand saw. Magnification shows teeth marks of the saw blade. The gun had been found in an old house's bathroom wrapped in an old towel which caused the surface rust. My thoughts are that someone was killed with it back in the 1920s and the gun disabled to appear inoperable then hidden. Who Knows??????