"There are Lew Horton 624's out there with Square Butts, but they were shortly after the original run of 5000. The reason was is there was to only be 5000 of the 3" Round Butts, thus some Square butts were produced. I'm not sure how many though."
I have never heard this before. My understanding is that when the Model 24-3 was announced, at it's introduction in 1983, S&W said they were only going to make 7,500 of them, and they did, 2,625 4 inch and 4,875 6-1/2 inch, with sqare butt frames and blued finish. These sold as fast as they were made and shipped to dealers and distributors. Lew Horton then ordered 5,000 blued M-24-3's with 3 inch barrels and round butts, and these sold out quickly as well. A couple of shooters on this site have letters from Lew Horton, who stated that there were 6,300 of the blued 3 inchers made.
The production runs weren't big enough for everyone who wanted one or more of the new .44 Specials to have one. People who missed out asked S&W to make more. People who had already bought theirs, sometimes paying more than retail, called foul. They expressed the thought that part of the reason the guns had been bought up for the sometimes premium prices asked was because S&W had announced that production was going to be limited to 12,500 guns (maybe 13,800 guns) of the three barrel lengths. They would be unhappy if S&W reneged on their statement to limit the blued guns to what had already been made, and manufactured more.
One example of just how fast these Model 24-3's were sold was given by Skeeter Skelton, the godfather of the .44 Special's rebirth. He wrote, by the time he found out about the 3 inch guns, they had all been sold and he couldn't buy one unless he found one in the secondary market.
S&W then decided they could keep both camps happy, the camp that said, "Hey, you just said you would keep them limited in numbers, so don't make more!" and the camp that said, "Hey, we still don't have OUR .44 Specials! Are you going to ignore us? Make more!"
Skelton wrote, "The company's solution is worthy of Soloman. Having ceased poduction on the Model 24-3, it is now announcing the Model 624, which is, quite simply, a stainless steel Model 24." He projected the M-624's would be available in early 1985.
Lew Horton then jumped into play again, and signed a contract with S&W to make 5,000 stainless M-624's in the same 3 inch barrel, round butt frame format as the blue M-24-3.
Thus everybody should be happy, with the quick strikers buying up 12,500 (or 13,800 or so) blue Model 24-3's, (the 7,500 4 and 6-1/2 inch guns with their sqare butt frames and the Lew Horton 3 inchers, made in quantity of either 5,000 or 6,300, plus an unknown quantity of the same guns in stainless steel, 4 inch and 6-1/2 inch guns with square butts plus the 5,000 to 6,xxx M-624's 3 inch, round butt made in stainless.
I never saw any word from S&W that they would put strict limits on the numbers of M-624's they would make. They didn't want to get caught short again as they had earlier, with the blue 24-3's being more popular than they had planned for. I never saw any restrictions on S&W's planned production of the stainless 624's. Lew Horton says they ordered 5,000 3 inch round butt guns, but the 4 and 6-1/2 inch square butt guns had no planned limit; here was a big, brawny .44 Special revolver that could be made in numbers needed. They made all the market would bear. I have never seen an authoratative statement from the company as to just how many stainless Model 624's of all three barrel lengths were made from 1985 to 1988.
Personally, I was extremely pleased that I was able to buy at least one of each of the six variations of the .44 Special Target Model of 1950 as they were made and shipped out. I got my 4 inch 24-3, ABZ02XX first, in October 1983. I found my 6-1/2 incher, ABZ40XX, January, 1984. Lew Horton's blue 3 inch gun, AEJ14XX, came home September 1984 Then the stainless steel Model 624's emerged. I got my 4 inch, AHB99XX, September 1986, my Lew Horton 3 inch gun, ALW52XX, February 1988, nd finally my 6-1/2 inc gun, AHB79XX, March 1988.
I have accumulated a few doubles of these great sixshooters over the years, some make great trading stock and are like money in the bank. I have one very smooth-actioned 6-1/2 inch 624 I bought used, which shoots really well, that I plan to send to Hamilton Bowen to be shortened to 5 inches. I have a 5 inch pre-24 made in 1952 that is too pretty to drag around the bushes in a holster, so it sits. A 5 inch 624 will make a delightful woods walking gun.
Everyone who has one or more of these fine guns can cound himself as fortunate.
