LGS had a J-Frame with no model on it?

[JSR III]

For reference I own:

12433 shipped 8/1952
20768 shipped 10/14/1952 and
28530 shipped 9/1953

so I would guesstimate yours 1819X as shipped September or October 1952.

 

[handejector]

they are normally nickel coated brass but in the Korean war years it changed briefly to plastic then raw steel medallions then back to nickel coated brass around the wars end in 53.
My suspicion is yours will be raw steel which makes it even more interesting.

They are not raw steel. They are stainless steel.

 

[firefighterjohn]

For reference I own:

12433 shipped 8/1952
20768 shipped 10/14/1952 and
28530 shipped 9/1953

so I would guesstimate yours 1819X as shipped September or October 1952.

Wow, that's a very impressive stable of Baby Chiefs you have there! Thanks for the Serial #/Date confirmation.

 

[Engine49guy]

They are not raw steel. They are stainless steel.

Thanks for the correction Lee,
That explains why they don't rust.

 

[Green Frog]

Thanks for sharing info on yours Froggie. I'm happy to have stumbled upon my first Baby Chief. This is now the OLDEST S&W revolver in my collection...and it's referred to as a Baby?! As you so recommended, I won't let it go! This one will definitely be passed down to my son and then my grandson(I'll make sure of it...LOL). That's cool that you pocket carry your Baby. What pocket holster do you use and what is your ammo of choice when carrying?

In the past I've shied away from .38 Special S&Ws in favor of .357s since you

​

can shoot both calibers. Looking back, I know I've now passed over some cool looking J-Frames. But those days have passed! Great, my search scope widens.

My apologies FFJ, I just noticed the holster and ammo question. Normally for pocket carry it just goes in a lightweight suede “pouch” that protects it from whatever junk happens to be in my pocket too. Also it kinda blurs the imprint a little, making it less noticeable. I’ve been thinking of making a pocket shaped pouch out of slightly heavier leather… I just have to get a round tuit. Those tuits have gotten hard to find around here!

My carry ammo of choice is the FBI +P load from Federal. This is NOT RECOMMENDED for regular use. No flames from the peanut gallery, please!! I practice with much less powerful stuff, but one or two rounds for an emergency situation makes sense to me. My target/practice loads are usually whatever target SWCs or HBWCs I happen to have loaded on the shelf for less recoil and minimal wear and tear on the Baby.

Froggie

 

[Green Frog]

Wow, that's a very impressive stable of Baby Chiefs you have there! Thanks for the Serial #/Date confirmation.

The Baby Chiefs comprise their own collector category. When you have plenty of time on your hands, do a word search for “Baby Chiefs Special”. You’ll be overwhelmed! A while back, one of our collector members posted pictures of a very comprehensive display of the major (and some minor) variations of them, done for a gun show display. You will be impressed!

Froggie