New/Old 43c

[mag318]

On a visit to my local gun shop the other day they just got a Model 43c in that they ordered for a gentleman in 2010. Looking at the fired case envelope the revolver was test fired in August of 2010. So why didn't they ship it then? Was it lost in the depths of the famed S&W vault, or do they just wait till they get a large number built before shipping? In any case the gentleman who ordered the 43c either got tired of waiting or found one somewhere else. Upon seeing it I bought it for $503.
Looking at S&Ws website they list the 43c with an XS front sight, interesting because this one has a Trijicon front sight. It also came in the blue plastic case not the cardboard box.
I have a Model 317 and if the 43c shoots as accurately I'll be a happy camper. I was looking at a new Ruger LCR22 but this 43c looks and feels better, plus it's a Smith & Wesson.

 

[allglock]

Nice find! I wish they put the tritium sight on all of them! s&w had to cheap out again.
Is the side plate side all black, or does it say Airweight?

 

[RPM1965]

A very interesting variation at a good price!

 

[mag318]

Nice find! I wish they put the tritium sight on all of them! s&w had to cheap out again.
Is the side plate side all black, or does it say Airweight?

The sideplate is engraved AirLite. The action on this example is very smooth with perfect timing. Whoever put it together knew what he/she was doing. I'm also glad they decided to ditch the lock on these.

 

[1973Glenfield25]

That is a sweet looking little revolver and at the top of my list. But in another thread the guy said his was having cylinder binding problems.

Did you shoot it yet?

 

[RHINOWSO]

That's an XS sight, just the small dot, not the huge dot.

http://xssights.com/index.php?nID=sights&cID=Sights&pID=sights&sID=handgun

 

[mag318]

I haven't shot it yet since it's 15 degrees here, but when it warms up a little I'll put some rounds thru it. My 317 has an aluminum cylinder also and I've never experienced any binding problems with it. Since 22LR shoots dirty I clean my pistols after each rance session. This is especially important on revolvers since the burn residue could build up on the cylinder face.
I checked out the XS link posted above and believe that's a different company apart from Trijicon. Perhaps Trijicon was used on early 43Cs before switching to XS brand.

 

[Sonny Crocket]

Several different companies use Trijicon tritium in their sights, including XS. Those are XS sights. My 43C had the plain white XS sight.

 

[mag318]

Slightly confusing about the front sight. All the later 43Cs I've seen online have an unmarked XS front sight. Mine is marked Trijicon with the date on it. Some here said have said there front sights are Big Dots painted with no tritium insert. S&Ws website just says Big Dot front sight not saying if it's a night sight or not. If it was a night sight I'm sure they would state so. I can only guess, it seems the 43Cs made in 2010 came with front night sights and the newer examples with painted front sights.