Year Identify/ ejection rod snag

[Atomicdusty]

Looking for a year/decade, any information on a model 60-3 38. Spl. Serial number begins with BET on the bottom of the handle. Did not come with a box or anything.

Also the cylinder ejection rod gets snagged up when trying to eject empty cartridges. However when I rotate the cylinder a little bit the ejection rod works no issue. Almost as if it only gets caught up in one spot.

 

[toddimusnimski]

A blued Model 60? Interesting, I was expecting a stainless finish. Maybe a refinish or a mismarked Model 36? On either model the -3 came out in 1988. I couldn't find the BET prefix in SCSW 4th edition but other BE prefixes were reported shipped from 1989 - 1991. If you call the factory they can give you the month and year shipped.

Not sure why the ejector rod is binding up unless the prior owner had a habit of snapping the cylinder shut, causing it to be slightly bent. If you remove it and roll it across a flat surface you might be able to tell, if bad enough. The Forum link below discusses the removal process:

Proper Way to Unscrew Ejector Rod

Welcome to the Forum!
Todd

 

[Alk8944]

"If you call the factory they can give you the month and year shipped."

With the alpha-numeric SNs Customer Service can actually tell you the precise day that the gun was "put up" (S&W terminology). All you have to do is call them and ask! I wasn't aware of this until one of the CSRs told me this and gave me the date the gun I was asking about was put-up. I have gotten dates for others this way since.

This does not apply to SNs prior to alpha-numeric SNs, Walther guns made by S&W, or any of the contract guns such as Lew Hortons and others. There may be other exceptions too.

S&W phone number: 800-441-0852

 

[scruffy]

My 60-3 serial # starts with BFD and was made late 1989. Production of the 60-3 variant started in 1988 and stopped in March of 1990.