I invented one in my room when I was eight years old, and it worked!...I didn't realize it at the time, but it only worked in the forward position, and it was still switched on when my Mom threw it away...At first the years slowly went by, and now they're going by so fast everything is a blur...Oh my, 86 dollars on a 29 and 56 on a 28 somebody get a time machine !!
Fascinating invoice. Interesting that, among the six .44s (each a 6.5"), serial numbers ranged from 152610 to 179837, range of 7,227. Among the three .357s (each a 6") range is only 474 units. An inference might be drawn that the HPs were in far greater demand, and shipped as quickly as made?
That is interesting, and I suppose a possibility. The SCSW, on the SN page (p488), comments that "Approx. the last half of the N200000 range and most of the N500000 range consists mostly of M28s and M58s....." There are other comments elsewhere that talk about guns not being built in serial order. I wonder if these "groups" of models built in close SN ranges have anything to do with how they are configured, and are grouped together based on the production requirements (such as the less-polished finish and limited options of the M28s and the 4" barrel on the M58, etc).
I'd love to have been a 'fly on the wall' at the S&W factory back in those days, and seen the processes used to produce these guns, and maybe figure out the why's and wherefore's regarding the oddities we see.
AND, when you plug in a time frame to those numbers the spread becomes more amazing! I maintain a data base of serial numbers and follow a particular model number, here is an example of numbers that is difficult to fathom!My math comes up with 27227. This invoice definitely drives home the fact that S&W did n26ot ship in serial number order.
Oh my, 86 dollars on a 29 and 56 on a 28 somebody get a time machine !!
Probably because the Model 28 and 58 were law enforcement guns (primarily) and I'm sure large orders/shipments went to police agencies. The NC State Highway Patrol bought 400 Nickel Model 58's to try out. They decided to move to the .357, but the members that had the 58's carried them until the usual replacement interval when they went exclusively to Model 19's. As an aside they also had about 400 Colt Border Patrol .357 guns that they bought when the US Border Patrol cancelled their order.
Depends on whose it was...Do I get to pick?...But would you like the paycheck from back then![]()