Model 36 "Downtown"

[John_M52]

Hi All,

Guessing that this is post 1961 but I'm not sure.

I have my father's no dash M 36 with some type of bone grips. I never thought too much about it but I noticed that the box says "Downtown" in a different color ink. I'm wondering if this was a factory model or something a dealer may have done - guessing the grips and "downtown" are related? S/N 5016xx

Thanks for any info!

 

[Barbarian-CBX]

I think that might be stag grips with all the bark removed during shaping.

S&WCA 3713

 

[PALADIN85020]

I'm guessing that the dealer may have had two or more stores in that locale, and when this shipment came in, it was marked for the "downtown store."

John

 

[John_M52]

I also didn't realize that Smith didn't really use dashes on the M 36 except to signify a 3" version as 36-1. No being a no dash isn't a thing on a M 36.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Nice looking Chiefs Special.

Based on others near it in my database, I'd guess S&W shipped it in early 1967.

Yes, you're right, S&W made the no-dash Model 36 from 1958, when model numbers started, through 1988, then a rapid succession of dash numbers went from -2 through -8 in 1995. The J-magnum frame saw the -9 in 1996, and the -10 started in 2001 with the introduction of the internal lock.

Paladin's explanation of "downtown" is most logical, but I will tell you another forum member nicknamed me "downtown" after I posted a nickel Chiefs Special with pearl grips.

 

[JP@AK]

Bob has it right. To be more specific, in 1988, the -2 replaced the "no dash," and the -3 replaced the -1.

The following year, the new LadySmith got its own dash numbers: -4 for the 2" tapered barrel and -5 for the 3" heavy barrel.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

The following year, the new LadySmith got its own dash numbers: -4 for the 2" tapered barrel and -5 for the 3" heavy barrel.

Yeah. I had a "want to buy" ad on the forum for more than a year for those two. NO replies.

I've still never seen either one -- the only two Chiefs I don't own...

but I have a fair few of the ones around the OP's Model 36.

 

[ZGrand]

Maybe it once belonged to Petula Clark.

 

[John_M52]

Thank you all for the great info and dates, etc. He also had a chief's special with a shrouded hammer in nickel with stag grips. Don't know what happened to that one.

I'm going to go with a gun store that had a sense of humor and thought it was a little pimpish and wrote downtown on the box. No idea if they are factory grips or if my dad bought it new or used when I was a kid. I may have to look for a holster that shows it off when I'm wearing a suit.

 

[LCC]

Really nice 36.....my fave J Frame.

 

[lkabug]

"DOWNTOWN" not original to the factory label. Different ink and handwriting.

 

[John_M52]

If it was 1967 and bought new that would have been either Chicago, Illinois or Columbia, South Carolina. We moved a bit when I was a kid. There was some "unrest" at that time in the cities so maybe it was for carry.

 

[shawn mccarver]

The label indicates the standard round butt wooden grips. So, you have after-market grips. The writing on the label was added after it left the factory, and has nothing whatsoever to do with the replaced grips.

 

[DevilDog72]

Nice mdl 36, really like the grips. I have a 36 no dash 3 inch square butt.. nice gun.