Having never seen a S&W 1940 in person I have to ask

[walnutred]

I know they are rare but are they REALLY in the $8K range?

 

[AlanDavid]

Last time I saw one for sale, 2-3 years ago it was $5K. I take it that one has sold or is for sale at $8K now?

Regards


AlanD
Sydney

 

[walnutred]

There was a pair offered, a MkI and a MkII, on an internet site last week. The asking price was $8K each. I understand they are rare but the asking price kind of surprised me.

 

[opoefc]

$8K is probably a good asking price, if all the accessories are with the gun, as were provided when they were sold to S&W collectors in the 70s. Asking doesn't mean it will bring that, of course. Most recent sales I have noted were in the $5K to $6K range, with the Mark 1s being the $5Ks and the Mark 2s the $6K. Remember, they ain't making anymore of these! Ed.

 

[walnutred]

Thanks for the info. I was just curious what the price range was for these.

 

[125JHP]

For us uninitiated.... What is it, a pre-war gun made in 1940 released in the 70's _or_ a rare "Model-19/40" (40 cal M-19 ??)... produced in the 70's or ...?


Ugh.. ok, ok Search is my friend - I found out something new... essentially, that around the time of WW-II, S&W developed a 9mm Light Rifle for the British and that it was a flop and that some remaining stock were sold off to the SWCA members back in th 70's.

 

[opoefc]

The S&W Model 1940 Light Rifle is an interesting bump in the road in S&W's history. Too much to fully cover here, however in a nut shell = The Brits needed an assault type weapon for their Commandos and came to S&W to manufacture one, based on some loose specifications regarding the cartridge the Brits wanted, a 9 mm Luger style round. S&W made the finest revolvers in the world but had never made rifles ( The gun is actually a repeating pistol, as it only has a 9 in. barrel) , so S&W designed a semi-automatic weapon and made it like one of their usual fine handguns, to fire the 9mm Luger round. 9mm Luger, that is, as known to American shooters, that is. Unfortunately the Brits version of a 9mm Luger was more powerful, and they forgot to tell S&W, so the Brits soon had problems with the gun's functioning with the higher power rounds. The Brits then cancelled the contract and wanted their money back. S&W was broke and about to fail financially, so no way they could refund the $1,000,000 paid them. A deal was worked out to pay off the refund with shipments of S&W handguns, and the Brits tossed their Model 1940 Light Rifles in the English Channel. A few survived in the attic at the S&W plant and later in the 1970s they became the Honey Hole for S&W Collectors, due to Roy Jinks convincing S&W management not to destroy them, but sell them only to members of the S&WCA. The nomenclature of "Light Rifle" was invented by the Brits and "Light" refers to the caliber, not the weight, as 9mm is considered a light round as compared to other military rounds in the Brit's arsenals. The gun is very heavy for it's size, weighing close to ten lbs, with a full magazine. I occasionally shoot mine and it's a real attention getter at the range. Hope that helps. Ed.

 

[samandglove1]

A friend of mine just saw two in a shop in Penn. One was pn sale for $8K and the other was selling for $9K.

 

[HKSmith]

Another interesting fact about these guns is that they have been exempted from the NFA regulations for short barreled rifles, along with many other weapons of collector or historical interest (see the BATFE website for the complete list).

Does anyone know if S&W obtained this exemption prior to selling the guns, or were they sold as SBR's with payment of the $200 transfer tax and other NFA requirements?

 

[JSR III]

A few years ago the S&W distributor that had purchased the remaining guns from the factory placed several for sale on GB. At that time they were around $2,500 IIRC and I almost pulled the trigger (pardon the pun). Now I wish I had. I also remember seeing model 76's for at least half of what they are selling for now. Didn't have a Class 3 so let them go too.

Hind sight is 20/20.