Early pre-28

[samandglove1]

Here's an early Highway Patrolman, S130XXX. Everything looks great except the yoke has a shiny blue finish instead of the matte finish, like normal Highway Patrolmans. I'm thinking a model 27 yoke was swapped into the revolver for some reason. Any other thoughts?

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Look through the cylinder chambers for the serial number on the back of the yoke arm to see if it matches the butt. Also check the serials on the back of the extractor star and cylinder.

 

[JP@AK]

Here's an early Highway Patrolman, S130XXX.
Any other thoughts?

The first Highway Patrolman carried serial number S103500. It shipped in April 1954. HP #S127112 shipped in March 1956.

 

[samandglove1]

Look through the cylinder chambers for the serial number on the back of the yoke arm to see if it matches the butt. Also check the serials on the back of the extractor star and cylinder.

All the numbers match. I'm thinking the yoke got scratched or damaged somehow and someone swapped it out with a different yoke.

 

[Fullmetaljacket]

I'm confused. If the number on the back of the yoke in your pic matches the number on the butt it's the original part, not a replacement. The mystery is why the high polish?

 

[weatherby]

That the unrelieved DT'S would bump it up some for me.

 

[hkcavalier]

I'm confused. If the number on the back of the yoke in your pic matches the number on the butt it's the original part, not a replacement. The mystery is why the high polish?

The yoke isn't serialized, but the frame underneath it is. Very easy to swap a yoke. Frame...not so much.

I've never heard of a yoke being damaged and the rest of the gun fine, but I guess anything's possible.

 

[AudieMurphy]

check the number on the side plate (have to remove)...it should match the number on the yoke

 

[scout II]

I don't know if is just your pictures or not, but that part doesn't even look like it fits very well. I would guess it is from another gun for sure, and maybe not a 27 either.

 

[Wiregrassguy]

The yoke isn't serialized, but the frame underneath it is.

Up until 1958, the rear arm of the yoke was serialized along with the cylinder, butt, back of the extractor star and back of the right grip panel. If the yoke serial is the same as the butt, as Ash says, it is original to the gun. Only a couple of ways I can figure that that finish happened:


1. It was finished that way during manufacturing.
2. It was refinished at some point after manufacturing.


Since I'm guessing, I'll take #2.

 

[A10]

My guess is it got rusty or damaged and someone polished it a bunch before refinishing it.

 

[desi2358]

Looking at the pictures it appears to me that there are some small marks or pits in the outer surface of the yoke. If those are pits and they are blued then it would seem likely that something happened to the yoke (maybe a sweaty thumb print on a holstered gun?) and the owner had the yoke polished and reblued.

 

[Gun Relics]

Here's an early Highway Patrolman, S130XXX. Everything looks great except the yoke has a shiny blue finish instead of the matte finish, like normal Highway Patrolmans. I'm thinking a model 27 yoke was swapped into the revolver for some reason. Any other thoughts?

As others have noted, likely someone was removing a mar in the finish and erroneously polished it to a high shine. There are other marks on the yoke and frame there as well, could have been pitting or dropped in rocks or something like that.

You can cosmetically fix that if you want to. The part is easy to remove, one screw. Then it involves a dremel tool with several stages of buff grit then Perma Blue or Super Blue. It's much easier to match a satin finish than it is to match a highly polished finish. If you don't have a dremel tool, sandpaper works too. The trick is to select the correct grit.

 

[weatherby]

I think someone had an oopsie and dropped the gun on its left side.

There are marks on the frame where the barrel threads in.
There are also marks on the cylinder in one spot.

 

[RKmesa]

The yoke isn't serialized, ...

Yes it is ON S&W REVOLVERS of the "Soft Fitting" era. The yoke from the S130XXX period (1955-1956ish) would have the Serial Number stamped on the small flat of the yoke that would be adjacent to the front of the cylinder so that if you are looking down the open cylinder from the rear and you had a good light (and it was cleaned) you would see the SN through charging holes in cylinder (without the "S"). Here is a photo of the yoke from my earliest HP (note the SN "126972" without the "S"):



If your early HP does NOT have the SN in that place on the yoke, the yoke has been replaced (which is what I think has happened).

Fun gun regardless.

 

[bananaman]

I don't get to post here because only 1 left from this time frame. 28 no dash shipped in 1960. S serial #2011xx. My 1st ever online purchase (of many) 1st 2 pics are as received. Next are newer. Bob

 

[hkcavalier]

Guess I forgot about the S/N on the side of the yoke --- usually we're debating the # visible when the cylinder is released.

I should have remembered it though, having a few oldies in the collection