Las Vegas Find Transition 38 2 inch.

[bmg60]

Hi
Here is pictures of the M&P Transition 2 inch I bought in Vegas, Nice clean gun about 97%
Just a couple small spots on the side plate.
The 2 inch Transition do not show up very often. Serial Number is S-943913 Late 47 Gun.
Jim

 

[VM]

I'm sorry Jim, what is "transition" M&P.
Is it different than a post war M&P?

 

[DWalt]

Two words with essentially the same meaning. I think the idea behind "Transition" is that it means the period during which S&W was transitioning from wartime production to civilian production. If so, I don't understand why revolvers made after WWI aren't also called transitions. For that reason, I feel that "Postwar" (meaning post-WWII) is a much better descriptive adjective when referring to 1946-48 production. There were really no engineering "transitions" between early 1945 and early 1948, when the long action was replaced by the short action. Otherwise, just minor cosmetic changes, such as extractor rod knob and barrel stampings, were made. Starting in 1948 was when the major changes were made.

Almost all of the postwar .38 M&P snubbies I have seen were shipped in the late 1947-early 1948 period.

 

[paplinker]

I think having the pre war long action on the post war frame is what most people identify as being transitional.

 

[VM]

Great post Dwalt - thanks!
I own a similar snubby and just always thought of it as a post war gun and nothing special.
I also came to this because of all the threads on the topic:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/searchresults.php?cx=partner-pub-2376253589436827%3Asiodb9lchnk&cof=FORID%3A9&q=post+war+M%26P&sa=Go

 

[bmg60]

Hi
The differences between the revolvers made between 1945 and 1947 is the factory was using up prewar frames ( Long Action ) the frames are different and the internal parts are different. they were also in they own serial number range using a S prefix which referred to the addition of a hammer block. they were all numbered in the Pre war number system except for the adding of the S.

I hope this helps a little.

all the postwar short actions M & Ps started with a C prefix in 1948.
Jim Fisher

I agree with Dewalt about calling them postwar but you have to add the word LONG ACTION after post war.
they are different guns.

 

[DWalt]

There were also some commercially-finished guns in the SV series, basically those made up from wartime Victory military frames made in 1945 which remained in inventory after the war's end. Those also had the long action, and there was not a large number of them sold. The changeover to the new short action with the "High-Speed" hammer happened at around SN S990000, so there were a few S-series M&Ps (about 10,000) made using the short action. Therefore the "postwar" M&Ps would consist of some relatively small number of SV-series revolvers made up for commercial sale (I have no idea of how many - perhaps 30,000) plus about 180,000 of the S-series having the long action, ending in early 1948. Therefore, S990000 is the approximate dividing line at which post-war M&P production ceased. I don't believe many recognize the relative scarcity of the postwar SV- and S-series K-frames.

 

[VM]

Thanks Jim for the explanation - here's mine with later serial number.
I've been trying to put it in a pretty gold box to match but no dice (yet )

 

[DWalt]

I also have one of the late 1947 snubbies, pretty much as shown above, and it's one of my favorites. I was fortunate enough to buy it from someone who didn't know much about M&Ps, or care, for that matter. I didn't even negotiate.

 

[JayCeeNC]

Very nice, Jim.
Here's a nickeled verson from September, 1947, with numbered grips:

 

[crsides]

S960XXX. Long action, smooth as silk. Dec 47



Charlie

John ... I hit the like button, but really I LOVE that nickel one.

 

[handejector]

Actually, the short action appeared in the last 10,000 S numbers, above S 990000

 

[JP@AK]

Serial Number is S-943913 Late 47 Gun.

Jim
This one likely shipped in September, 1947. Nearby serial numbers did.
Nice example.

 

[JP@AK]

they were all numbered in the Pre war number system except for the adding of the S.

That actually is not the case. All the S numbered guns were in the continuation of the V series. Beginning in January, 1945, the prefix on the Victory models changed to SV, due to the inauguration of the sliding hammer block safety. This happened at approximately serial number V760000, although I have identified one example in the SV732xxx range. Roy says that one shipped to the Navy in June, 1945. The first simple S prefix was assigned to S811120, although some revolvers with higher numbers had the SV prefix. The highest one I've located is SV813132.

After the war, some revolvers with the SV prefix were sold to civilian markets and at around 811xxx the V was dropped and the rest of the Victory serial numbers were used up in the S prefix series, ending at S999999. That one shipped in 1948 to a distributor in Minneapolis.

As is well-known around here, I've been developing a tracking database on the S prefix M&P revolvers to identify the point at which various features changed on these guns. There were several minor changes that took place during this period, some of which are quite subtle. So if any of you have an S prefix revolver that you have not reported to me, I would greatly appreciate it if you would contact me via PM about it.

Thanks!

 

[1blindref]

Nice find Jim.

Here's #S970590 that shipped in February 1948

 

[linde]

. . . all the postwar short actions M & Ps started with a C prefix in 1948 . . .

. . . except for the last 8,000 to 10,000 in the S-prefix which were short action.

The conventional wisdom is the short action started at S990184 on April 7, 1948. That may very well have been when the change was approved but the few that I've seen didn't start until around S992XXX.

Russ

edit to add: I see several others have pounced on those S-prefix with short actions observation. We rarely get the opportunity to correct anything from Jim so we gotta take advantage of the chance!

 

[JP@AK]

. . . except for the last 8,000 to 10,000 in the S-prefix which were short action.
The conventional wisdom is the short action started at S990184 on April 7, 1948. That may very well have been when the change was approved but the few that I've seen didn't start until around S992XXX.
Russ

The lowest serial number with the high-speed hammer that I have in my database is S990806. Also, there are long action guns scattered throughout the last 10,000 serial numbers, with the highest one I've found being S998587. That one is a .32, possibly a special order.
And, as Russ said, the high-speed hammers don't seem to show up consistently until around S992xxx.

 

[bullmack]

I have S935583 and its box. Shipped 9/4/1947 to Warshall Sporting Goods, Seattle. Snagged it 3 years ago at a LGS for $500.

 

[Dosgatos]

This #S930020 shipped in August 1947.

 

[quinn]

Jim: here's mine: SN: S970684 shipped in Jan. 1948, also with the one line address. Aren't they great?