S&W 1st. Mod. DA .44 Russian-FINALLY!

[Exmilcop]

Anyone who's read my past posts knows I've been on the hunt for long barreled, blued, short strap, .44 Russian DA for quite some time. I've had several excellent and not so excellent pistols pass through my hands over the past couple of years but at long last, thanks to a member here, I got what I've been looking for. Mind you, thanks to a bureaucratic bungle on the part of Canada Customs, I only had to wait just over 2 months. Next up is a range report once I get out shooting again. One question, what does the star denote after the serial number on the butt?

 

[mrcvs]

The star means it went back to Smith & Wesson for a repair, modification, and/or refinish at some time in the past. If you remove the stocks, you'll likely see a two digit month and year stamped on the frame which signifies the date of this event. If between 1920 & 1967, the SWHF might have records that denote what occurred at that time.

 

[Exmilcop]

The star means it went back to Smith & Wesson for a repair, modification, and/or refinish at some time in the past. If you remove the stocks, you'll likely see a two digit month and year stamped on the frame which signifies the date of this event. If between 1920 & 1967, the SWHF might have records that denote what occurred at that time.

Thank you. The date stamp is 8-21 so I assume August 1921 it went back to S&W for some work, maybe a reblue. There is also a "8" or a "B" inside a lozenge stamped near the date. Overall, this pistol is in very nice condition.

 

[opoefc]

The lozenge stamp is the Service dept's mark. The SWHF has not digitized the Service Dept's records, ( and have no plan to do so, per Bill Cross ) so all that important info in their files is yet to be revealed . Those records are filed by month & year and under the name of whoever sent the gun in, when the gun was received for repairs, etc., and not by serial number, so coordinating them with shipping records & invoices will be time consuming, but can add considerable info to what was done to the gun for it to acquire the "star stamp" on the butt. Ed