Recently inherited Mod 36

[MWK1975]

My mother purchased this pistol in 2013 to use as her CCW. She passed away in May, and I inherited it. S&W Model 36. Fairly pristine, except for ring on cylinder. Came with matching box, warranty card and paper. Serial number 508XXX.

Am I correct in guessing 1965 as born on date?

When new would this have included a cleaning rod?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[murphydog]

Sorry about your mother's passing - she had the right idea about personal defense! The SN is likely from 1966, and the box would have contained the aluminum looped cleaning rod, the bore brush and cotton swab. No "screwdriver" (sight adjustment tool) with a fixed sight gun. Hope this is helpful.

 

[MWK1975]

Thank You Alan

 

[JP@AK]

Alan is correct. 1966 was the first year the cylinder latch looked like that on a Model 36, so it isn't from before that year. I know that serial number 3538xx left the factory in September, 1964. So 1966 is a pretty good guess.
Alan is probably right about the cleaning kit. There is no doubt it should be with this gun and would certainly include the aluminum rod and the bore brush. Interesting about the mop. I believe he is correct, but I have an ANIB Model 10-5 that shipped in 1968. It has an unopened cleaning kit (still sealed in its original plastic bag). It contains only the rod and bore brush. I'm not sure when they stopped including the mop in fixed-sight packages, but one certainly did not ship with my gun. I have K target frame guns from later that still included the mop.

 

[JP@AK]

Also, in case you are interested, the other missing item is the parts list/instruction sheet. I've seen them recently on eBay and Gun Broker, so they can be found if you want to restore all the accessories to this piece.

 

[MWK1975]

Thank you Jack