S&W Model 36 3"

[John Banks]

Hello, everyone. I recently picked up a simply beautiful S&W Model 36 with a 3" heavy pinned barrel. According to Smith & Wesson, the gun was manufactured any time from 1971 to 1972. When I removed the inspection plate to check the internals, there was still what appeared to be some factory oil inside. It also appeared to be unfired, that is, until I got my hands on it. I've taken it to the range once so far, and I absolutely love it. It's gonna be getting some larger wood grips very soon, however. The thing about it that has, perhaps, peaked my interest the most, is the finish. It's an absolutely pristine dark grey matte finish, as opposed to the more commonly seen blued finish. When I contacted S&W in regard to the date of manufacturing, they were unable to provide any information on what finish the gun came with from the factory. I would say somebody just refinished it, but it doesn't just look like cerakote or anything. I could be wrong, as I'm no expert, but there's just something telling me it came from the factory with the finish it currently has. The hammer and trigger still have the factory case hardening finish. Only indicator that the gun had any use before I got it is the occasional bit of wear on the grips. The finish, however, is 100%. Any Smith & Wesson experts know if this gun's finish is from the factory?

 

[JP@AK]

John

It appears to be a Model 36-1 (3" heavy barrel variant). What is the serial number? If it is from '71-'72, it is likely to have a "floating J" number.

I seriously doubt that finish is original, but it does look nice!

 

[John Banks]

Thanks, Jack! The gun does have a floating J serial number. Three numbers, the J, and then another number. DA trigger pull was a bit hefty, too, but very smooth; indicating that it's either a factory spring, or someone replaced the one that had some wear on it. And the screws don't have any wear on them, either. If somebody did take it apart and refinish it, they were a very competent gunsmith.

 

[schutzen-jager]

nice piece - but look at lettering + circle around S&W in second picture , appears to be buffed + refinished -

 

[ABPOS]

I'm no expert, and I'm not dissing it. But it looks to me like someone reparked it. The stocks have a good amount of wear on them.

It looks really good though. I like a parked J frame.

 

[JP@AK]

Three numbers, the J, and then another number.

Yes. Very likely shipped in 1972, maybe even early 1973.

 

[H Richard]

The finish looks like a bead blast & bluing. I have seen a few done by Cylinder & Slide this way.

 

[Big E3]

Just for reference here is my 36 no dash, pinned 3", square butt, floating J from 1971.

I have never seen one with that finish from the factory in that time frame.

 

[Waveski]

John ,

Take a look at the S&W emblem below the cylinder latch , that is where you see clear evidence of buffing prior to refinishing.

That aside , I have a "cousin" to your Chief , a model 60 J frame with 3" barrel. Based on my experience you now have yourself a very nice shooter ; it amazes me how much better a 3" barrel points than does a 2" in the J frame.

 

[John Banks]

It is a very nice shooter, indeed. 3" barrels and J-Frames go together famously. Really surprised 3" barreled J-Frames aren't more common than they are/were.

 

[Erich]

And here's my beloved 36-1 ('1976) with the modified hammer.






I'm not sure there's a more handy gun for carry. Use yours in good health.

 

[bigmoneylewis]

Your gun has been "refinished" to put it politely . Either parkerized or spray painted . It was obviously super rough at one time , shows signs of heavy pitting etc. and someone did this to "save" the gun.
It's still a good $ 300 shooter, even though it obviously had a very rough life.

Lewis

 

[22/32 JDF]

Floating J

I am looking at my 36 no- 3 inch skinny bbl # 139325 and do not see any floating J please tell me about this marking Please. JIM

John

It appears to be a Model 36-1 (3" heavy barrel variant). What is the serial number? If it is from '71-'72, it is likely to have a "floating J" number.

I seriously doubt that finish is original, but it does look nice!

 

[notsofast]

What's a floating "J" and what does it mean? Thanks

 

[JP@AK]

What's a floating "J" and what does it mean? Thanks

From about late 1970 until early 1973, J frame revolvers were shipped that had five or fewer numeric digits and a letter J that "floated" within the number sequence. For examples, 5J25 or 55J2 or 2J5656.

In late 1982 and for a while in 1983, there were J prefix serial numbers in which the J was in the second position, but those had six numeric digits (never fewer). Those are not "floating J" serial numbers.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Nice looking refinished Chiefs, John.

Here are before and after looks at my Baby Chiefs. It's a Cerekote finish, that appears nearly the same as yours.

Cheers,

Bob

 

[linde]

What's a floating "J" and what does it mean? Thanks

It took me quite awhile to understand the serial numbering code on J-frames and the "floating J" series is the most confusing. Here's what I believe happened:

In 1969 when the J prefix was first introduced, s/n's began with J1, J2, J3 . . . etc. Somewhere near the end of 1970 they reached J99999. Note, the letter J plus up to 5 numerical digits.

Rather than add a sixth digit the factory started the floating J scheme, starting in roughly 1971 with 1J1, 1J2, 1J3 . . . etc until they reached 1J9999. Then it shifted to 2J1, 2J2, 2J3 . . . etc until they reached 999J99 at roughly the end of 1972. Note again, the letter J plus up to 5 numerical digits.

Since the floating J plus 5 digits ran out of combinations, in 1973 the factory broke down and went to the letter J plus 6 numerical digits . . . but you'll note that meant they had to start with J100000 or they would have had duplicate numbers with those in 1969 and 1970. Thus we now have letter J plus 6 numerical digits . . . but never less than six.

Sometime in 1982 they reached J999999 and had to either (1) go to J plus 7 numerical digits, (2) go ahead and adopt the three alpha, four numeric format that was already in use for other models, or (3) start floating the letter J again.

Had they decided on (1) they would have had to reduce the font even further to make it all fit on the butt of a J-frame. I don't have a clue why they didn't pick (2) so . . . you guessed it . . . they started floating the J again only this time with six numerical digits. So, sometime in 1982 they started with 1J10000 and ended the year with 1J18600. 1983 started with 1J18601 and at some point (we don't really know at what serial number) they finally gave into the three alpha-four numeric format.

An that my friends is how the "floating J" was created . . . at least, that's my story and I'm stick'in to it until someone comes up with a better explanation!

Russ

 

[Erich]

Here are before and after looks at my Baby Chiefs. It's a Cerekote finish, that appears nearly the same as yours.

Bob, I've never seen a refinished Baby Chiefs - that somehow looks ultramodern . . . I like it a LOT! Thanks for sharing that.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Bob, I've never seen a refinished Baby Chiefs - that somehow looks ultramodern . . . I like it a LOT! Thanks for sharing that.

Thanks Erich.

If you're interested, here's the whole story: Vanity Baby Chiefs

 

[Erich]

Thanks Erich.

If you're interested, here's the whole story: Vanity Baby Chiefs

Thanks, Bob!!!