Questions on a 657-2 Hunter....

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SuperMan

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Last year I picked up a 657-2 Hunter....6.5" barrel, .41 Magnum, Square Butt, wood Target grips, fluted cylinder, square tang rear sight leaf, factory D&T, non-MIM parts...

Shortly after buying it I shot it and posted some pics and had several replies one of which showed a S&W add poster of the gun...it was like mine as to all the above specs except it had a unfluted cylinder as were standard on the Hunter model.

The other day I happened to notice the serial number which I had not taken note of when I bought the gun other than it started with three letters... When I looked at it this time however I noticed that this was apparently a special serial number range and this gun was the 5th so serialized...HTR0005....so I went to "The Book".

On page 268 of the 3RD Edition is listed the "Variations" of the 657 and the first listed is the Classic Hunter (103820).

In the Product Code section are also listed two more Hunters:

103958-fluted cylinder-6.5"-square butt-rubber grips

103959-unfluted cylinder-6.5"-round butt rosewood grips

...but no -#s are listed so it is unknown what years these may have been made other than one was a pre-1996 square butt and the other a post 1996 round butt.

So I was wondering if those of you who have 657 Hunters with 6.5" barrels regardless of -# would please join in and answer the following:

-#: Series

Serial Number: Partial is fine but would like to see how many HTR prefix guns there are out there

Grips: Wood Target or Hogue rubber

Frame: Square or Round butt

Cylinder: fluted or non-fluted

Factory D&T frame for scope base: yes/no

Rear sight tang: Square or Round

Any other history or pics of Hunters would be appreciated...

Bob


...as purchased...





With Pachmayer camo Presentation grips with a 1998 657-3





 
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I was at the Shot Show when S&W unveiled the 657 Classic Hunter (103820) to the press in a closed conference.

I have two of product code 103820. I am the original owner of both. 2000 pieces of 103820 were produced. These spanned the time frame when the square butt frames were discontinued, so you see this product code built on both frames. HTR was the initial prefix for this revolver, but not the only prefix that was used over the years

Yours appears to have had the cylinder changed since it left the factory since these had unfluted cylinders. Your grips have also been changed since these initially shipped with Hogue rubber.

I changed the grips on mine to Hogue wood.

41class-2%20small.jpg


I can not comment on the engineering revision of the revolvers, I do not make note of such things, just the 6 digit product codes.

103598 is a typo. that should be 103958. You also missed 103948, Classic Hunter II, of which 500 pieces were made. I can not find notes on 103958 and 103959.
 
As always saa thanks for your reply and corrections.

Am hoping that the poster who posted the S&W add poster will see this thread and again post the picture of the add. IIRC the gun pictured had wood grips...it did however have an unfluted cylinder.

I just had a PM from another member last week stating that he had a gun like mine but it didn't have the HTR prefix. Can't remember what he said he had for grips. Do your guns have the HTR prefix? Do you know when they were made?

What I find odd is that you state that your guns have round butts but that product code shows it to be a square... The square butt was stopped in 1996...do you know what year rounds butts started for other than the 3" guns?

Thanks again...Bob
 
The following is from my s/n collection. I sorted for, mostly, M657 with unfluted cylinders. Not saying they're all Hunters, just what I had:

HRC0019 ……… Oct 27, 1998 (M657-4 41M 6.5") 170125 LH (210) sq 8300
HTR0018 ……… Feb 1991 (M657-2 6.5") SB UF CH SL CD TS 103820 1p-e (2k) 4848 007
HTR0261 ……… Feb 1991 (M657-2 6.5") SB UF CH SL CD TS 103820 1p-e (2k) 4848 007
DMM0120 ……… Jan 16, 2004 (M657-5 8.38") Hunter PC UF SM DV 170235 ac 4016
CCA32XX ……… May 29, 1997 (M657-3 6.5") RB CH NL CD UF RW 103959 sq 7149
CEU59XX ……… Feb 9, 2001 (M657-4 7.5") SB UF HG BR NF NL 103946 sq 1009
CEU79XX ……… May18, 2001 (M657-4 7.5") SB UF HG BR NF NL 103946 sq 1138
CHB61XX ……… Nov 13, 2003 (M657-5 7.5") FL-S-FS-D UF BR IL 163946 sq 3317
CJZ83XX ……… May 19, 2006 (M657-5 7.5") UM UF BR FL IL 163946 sq 6170

LH - Lew Horton
SB - square butt
UF - unfluted cylinder
CH - Classic Hunter
SL - standard latch (thumbpiece)
CD - old style cylinder stop
TS - Target Stocks
1p-e - one piece box with eagle
(#) - number made (maybe)
ac - aluminum case
sq - old style plastic case
RB - round butt
BR - black ramp (front sight blade)
NF - new frame
NL - 'Nike' latch
IL - internal lock
FL - full lug
RW - rose wood stocks
DV - Davidson distributors
SM - scope mount on barrel (not the same as D&T)
PC - performance center
#### - special order number
 
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SuperMan said:
Do your guns have the HTR prefix? Do you know when they were made?

What I find odd is that you state that your guns have round butts but that product code shows it to be a square... The square butt was stopped in 1996...do you know what year rounds butts started for other than the 3" guns?

Thanks again...Bob
Click to expand...
No, one is a square butt which is how the revolver was initially conceived.

The run of 2000 pieces did not complete until after S&W stopped using square butts so the end of the run was completed with round butts.

Both end labels are coded SB which refers to the stocks and not frame. The round butt frame versions were shipped with round to square Hogue conversion grips. I bought the second one because of the frame change so that I would have one example of each. The round butt is actually still unfired

The first one is an HTR prefix, the second one is not.

In addition to the difference in the frames, the first one has flash chromed hammer and trigger while the second one has case hardened parts.

AS to the dates of manufacture, that is not something that I recall. They were purchased about 4 or perhaps 5 years apart.
 
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657Hunter.jpg

657-2, 6½" barrel, Square Butt, Hogue rubber stocks, serial # BHB4xxx.
 
As was pointed out in the other post I made...the Classic Hunter in the 3rd Edition on page 268 has a fluted cylinder. In addition if one looks closely the barrel is marked .41 MAGNUM CLASSIC HUNTER and appears etched rather than most of the examples I have seen which are just stamped .41 MAGNUM on the right side of the barrel.

This gun also appears to be a later Round Butt with Hogue Round to Square conversion grips as one can see the backstrap disappear about 2/3s of the way down the grip. Would be nice to know the serial number on this example.

From the serial number DR505's 657-2 appears to be made in early 1992. If the run was to be 2K guns that started in February 1991 one wonders how many of the HTR prefix guns were made before S&W returned the run back into the normal serial number run...

saa...is your second Hunter a -2 and when does the serial number indicate when it was made.... Is the rear sight tang round or square.


Thanks again for all the information...Bob
 
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My '41 Magnum Classic Hunter':

-#: Series -3

Serial Number: CBS92xx - 1994

Grips: Rosewood Conversion

Frame: Square butt

Cylinder: Fluted

Factory D&T frame for scope base: Yes

Rear sight tang: Round

Product code 103958
 
As was pointed out in the other post I made...the Classic Hunter in the 3rd Edition on page 268 has a fluted cylinder. In addition if one looks closely the barrel is marked .41 MAGNUM CLASSIC HUNTER and appears etched rather than most of the examples I have seen which are just stamped .41 MAGNUM on the right side of the barrel.

This gun also appears to be a later Round Butt with Hogue Round to Square conversion grips as one can see the backstrap disappear about 2/3s of the way down the grip. Would be nice to know the serial number on this example.
Click to expand...
I believe that you are assuming too much from the picture of the 6 1/2" revolver that you are referring to on page 268. It is just a random 657 Classic Hunter that Old Town Station had for sale, the caption does not state what the product code is.
saa...is your second Hunter a -2 and when does the serial number indicate when it was made.... Is the rear sight tang round or square.


Thanks again for all the information...Bob
Click to expand...
I have no idea what the engineering revision is. I do not pay attention to them. I would need to dig it out to find that and the serial number. That is not going to happen any time soon.

As mentioned above the two revolvers were bought 4 or 5 years apart. I bought it when I notice the frame change to the 103820 configuration. It would have been probably 95/96. The known serial number data for that time frame in S&Ws history is exceptionally poor.

The front of the rear sight is rounded, that much I can tell from the picture I posted above.
 
Yes, my error. It is a round butt frame with conversion grips. As others have noted the box label can say SB referring to the grips not the frame.
 
I just saw a box that did say "SQ" under stock type. So, Smith uses both SQ and SB for the same abbreviation -- square butt. Typical "never say always."
 
There were four 57-2 Hunter model guns over on GunBroker.

One is serial number BHB39XX and is a square butt with factory wood grips that are not original to the gun.

The second is serial number BHB3885 and LNIB with what appears to be a square butt. It has Hogue grips on it but not the S&W marked ones that have the relief on the right side so the S&W frame logo shows...

Third is serial number BHB4XXX and is a square butt w/Hogue grips

The last one looks exactly like the second gun but no serial number was given.

Question on the Hogue grips that came on the Hunter Model. Were they the stock Hogue grips without the right relief cut or were they the S&W marked ones with the relief... I guess in looking at the above posted guns the Hunter Model came with stock non-S&W Hogue rubber grips...

Just found a fifth gun in the Completed Auction section of GB.

Serial Number HTR0140, square tang rear sight leaf, Round Butt with wood fingergroove grips (marked SB on the box).

So now we have early HRT prefix guns with a Square Butt frame, later HRT prefix guns with Round Butt frames and non-HTR prefix guns with both Square and Round Butt frames.

In thinking about it...do we have any -2 Round Butt frames with non-HTR prefix serial numbers? It seems that the only -2 Round Butt is a HTR numbered gun. And that Round Butt is #140 right in the middle of the run...

I guess the answer to the question of what serial numbers and frame styles came in what order is there is no answer...
 
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