Questions about the M60-4 3" CST

[BC38]

I picked one of these up from a member here a couple of months ago and just got around to doing some more research on it.
I have the SCSW 3rd edition and seem to have found an anomaly.
The gun has a BPY1319 serial number - which would seem to date it shortly after Dec 1993 (BPK prefix).
But the info listed about the model says the 60-4 was produced in limited numbers in 1990 with the full underlug barrel and the new yoke retention system (a.k.a. the spring-plunger yoke screw?).
The book shows 1990 serial number prefixes as BFL, BFN, and BFF - no mention of a BPY prefix anywhere that I could find.
So, I'm a bit confused.
Can anyone help clear that up?

 

[murphydog]

The 60-4 was made after 1990, so yours was just one of a later run.

If you got one with the BFF prefix, it could be your Best Firearm Friend.

 

[BC38]

The 60-4 was made after 1990, so yours was just one of a later run.

If you got one with the BFF prefix, it could be your Best Firearm Friend.

LOL!

So it sounds like mine may have been made late 1993 or early 1994? My edition of the SCSW shows BPK prefixes starting in December of 1993 and BDY prefixes starting in January of 1994. That alone is weird - for the prefix letters to go backwards from BP to BD. Unless the BDY is a typo in the book and it should say BPY - like my gun.

I wonder what the book means by "produced in limited numbers". Hundreds? A couple of thousand? Five thousand?

 

[murphydog]

They are not scarce but I don't recall reading a production number. Several thousand would not be surprising.

 

[toddimusnimski]

I picked one of these up from a member here a couple of months ago and just got around to doing some more research on it.
The book shows 1990 serial number prefixes as BFL, BFN, and BFF - no mention of a BPY prefix anywhere that I could find.
So, I'm a bit confused.
Can anyone help clear that up?

Remember the SN prefixes in the book are "reported triple alpha sightings" so not all will be listed. I don't know the total numbers produced.
My "Bippy" (BPY48xx) was shipped on Nov 5 1993 per the box label's Spec Order code. Ours have the flash chromed hammer and trigger; sometime later they switched to color case-hardened versions. The holster is a Bianchi 5BH that fits it nicely, as do the target stocks. For shooting comfort I prefer the original Uncle Mikes combat grips.

Todd

 

[Green Frog]

My 60-4 got a pair of Thai smooth combat grips, not because of collectibility, but because they fit my hand about perfectly. I also like the way the dark rosewood contasts with the stainless gun!
Froggie

 

[two-bit cowboy]

I have quite a few BPY serial numbers for various models in the
Chiefs database. The ones I know SPEC ORD dates for are all late
1993.

S&W introduced the Model 60-4 as a limited run for the first few
years (1990-1991), then made it a standard item through 1995.
The Model 60-10 sort of replaced it when S&W launched the J-Magnum
frame in 1996, but there was at least one more CST--the Model
60-13--a year later in .38 S&W Special caliber before the internal
lock appeared in 2001.

The first hammer & trigger on a 60-4 that was no longer flash
chromed is on s/n BRN4673 (probably in '95).

You might also note the 60-4 is the only Chiefs Special of the
alphanumeric serial number era with a serrated trigger.

 

[BC38]

The one I bought has a set of aftermarket sights installed.
They are a fiber optic 3-dot style, and I like them, but I wish I could find an original set, just to have the option of returning it to factory configuration.

 

[Papabear1324]

My 60-4 has a serial number of BBK 036X and was made in 1990.