Lew Horton

[Pizza Bob]

With Lew Horton Distributors going away at the end of the year, I'm wondering if their closing down will have an impact on the value of the many Lew Horton Distributor specials that they have sold over the years.

One thing for certain is that we will be losing a valuable resource in Earl Minot and his access to the company records.

What says the collective?

Adios,

Pizza Bob

 

[Erocksmash]

Absoutly, I will be holding every Lew Horton gun I have for some time.... I'm waiting on 2 letters, hopefully I get them
..

 

[Club Gun Fan]

With Lew Horton Distributors going away at the end of the year, I'm wondering if their closing down will have an impact on the value of the many Lew Horton Distributor specials that they have sold over the years.

One thing for certain is that we will be losing a valuable resource in Earl Minot and his access to the company records.

What says the collective?

Adios,

Pizza Bob

Bob
Are you talking about Lew Horton's records? I'm trying to find someone in the Lew Horton Company that I can get the Smith & Wesson records from before they close.

 

[Club Gun Fan]

Absoutly, I will be holding every Lew Horton gun I have for some time.... I'm waiting on 2 letters, hopefully I get them
..

Are you waiting for letters from Lew Horton, or the SWHF? We are two different organizations.

 

[andy52]

I'm waiting on a letter from Lew Horton on my 24-3 I had talked to Earl and paid for the letter, he said it would take some time because he was really behind with all that's going on there. That was about 5 or 6 weeks ago.

 

[Pizza Bob]

Bob
Are you talking about Lew Horton's records? I'm trying to find someone in the Lew Horton Company that I can get the Smith & Wesson records from before they close.

Yes and I suppose that Earl Minot would be the one to contact about the disposition of those records.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

 

[bigggbbruce]

Just because LH was the distributor does NOT add value for me.

Smith & Wesson and a limited production run does. Not all of these went through LH.

 

[Pizza Bob]

Just because LH was the distributor does NOT add value for me.

Smith & Wesson and a limited production run does. Not all of these went through LH.

Consider, though, that most Lew Horton's were not regular production guns - they all had something special about them.

Yes I know that some models, identical to LH's, come through other channels, but I would bet that most of those are LH production overruns.

As a S&W community I think Lew Horton's closing is a major loss.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

 

[Erocksmash]

Are you waiting for letters from Lew Horton, or the SWHF? We are two different organizations.

I'm waiting on LH letters, I'm aware they are separate.

 

[bigggbbruce]

As a S&W community I think Lew Horton's closing is a major loss.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

Earl has been a great help in identifying guns with limited numbers that passed through their business.

I have found certain individuals at S &W that have provided the same information (less a letter)

Maybe we can get Earls data base as mentioned in an earlier post..

The days of new variations through LH have long ended.

 

[colt_saa]

Consider, though, that most Lew Horton's were not regular production guns - they all had something special about them.

Actually, the bulk of the Smith & Wessons that passed through Lew Horton were standard production firearms just like any other distributor could order. We are talking in the several hundreds of thousands of firearms here.

As a kid, I first walked into the shop back in 1973

However Lew Horton became most famous back in the 1980s with Distributor Exclusive offerings that were not available through other sources

Over the decades many of the Lew Horton Exclusives were Performance Center offerings though there were quite a few production guns that were exclusive to Lew Horton as well

There has not been a Lew Horton Exclusive Smith & Wesson in some time

This relationship between Smith & Wesson and Lew Horton fizzled out perhaps eight or ten years ago.

I am very thankful to Lew Horton for many of the things he got started. I won't bother listing them because many of you are already familiar with the Company's contribution to the industry during their 62 years in business

 

[LittleCooner]

It appears to me that the Lew Horton firearms appear to bring a premium over the other exclusive distributor guns from S&W. In the end, this will only drive the value up more, in my opinion. Do not listen to me, I am not a collector, I am an accumulator and they all go the to the range.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

It appears to me that the Lew Horton firearms appear to bring a premium over the other exclusive distributor guns from S&W. In the end, this will only drive the value up more, in my opinion. Do not listen to me, I am not a collector, I am an accumulator and they all go the to the range.

Why should a Smith sold through a distributor be worth more than the same gun sold by Smith? Can you pick the LH 24 from my Smith 24 if they are lying side by side? Didn't think so. They aren't worth $0.01 more than the same gun by Smith because both Smiths that came from the same place. That's nuts.

 

[ruggyh]

Why should a Smith sold through a distributor be worth more than the same gun sold by Smith? Can you pick the LH 24 from my Smith 24 if they are lying side by side? Didn't think so. They aren't worth $0.01 more than the same gun by Smith because both Smiths that came from the same place. That's nuts.

Many of the guns sold by LH were exclusive to them and not sold by S&W. and while not famalir with the model 24 I can say it is very easy to pick out 460s that were sold only thru LH.

if you look at the 4th edition Standard Catalog of S&W there is whole section devoted to LH.

be safe
Ruggy

 

[photoman]

Had one of the early LH 2.5" 686 snubs. Never should've sold that one!

 

[Gunhacker]

Why should a Smith sold through a distributor be worth more than the same gun sold by Smith? Can you pick the LH 24 from my Smith 24 if they are lying side by side? Didn't think so. They aren't worth $0.01 more than the same gun by Smith because both Smiths that came from the same place. That's nuts.

Yes... I can.

Because there is no "same gun" sold by S&W when it comes to the M24-3. The Lew Horton 24-3 was a special run of 5,000 with a 3" barrel and a round butt grip frame that is unique to them.

Round butt N-frames up until that point were only found on gunsmith customized N-Frames. That Lew Horton 24-3 was the first factory made round butt N-Frame.

The S&W regular catalog M24-3's were square butt frames, with 4" or 6-1/2" barrels.

Like any of other large distributors, Lew Horton sold tons of regular production S&W's, and those are the ones that do not have any additional value just for being sold through Lew Horton.

What's being discussed is whether or not the exclusive special runs that S&W made for Lew Horton in limited numbers, are going to gain any additional value after Lew Horton closes... as it stands, the Lew Horton 24-3 has already been commanding a premium price over the years, will it go even higher?

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

NOPE.........Smith sold the overruns at that time through normal channels.

 

[Pizza Bob]

NOPE.........Smith sold the overruns at that time through normal channels.

Yes, but you are overlooking the fact that those guns would not have existed to be sold through normal distribution channels, had not a distributor (not just LH) commissioned a special run in the first place.

I agree that one would not see a difference in value between a LH 24-3 and the same gun sold through other channels, but the fact remains that we wouldn't have a 3" 24-3 N-frame round butt if LH hadn't commissioned the original run.

Adios,

Pizza Bob

 

[Kinman]

The LH 24-3 models carry their own unique production code (100787). As was mentioned previously this makes them different in much the same way as all of the 3rd Model .44 Hand Ejectors that were purchased "Wolf & Klar". The 3rd Model H.E. would not exist to the extent it does today without the large order placed by W&K. Compare the prices today of any Model 24-3 against a LH 24-3 and see if its not true currently, try to find a holster.

 

[hkcavalier]

Hanging on to mine...