• Smith & Wesson K 38 Serial Number Lookup

May 11, 2006  Dating a S&W revolver by serial number. Discussion in 'Handguns: Revolvers' started by ZoneIII, May 1, 2006. The Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson by Nahas & Supica is the Bible for all things S&W. I am sure that someone who has the book handy will post the date for your gun soon. With no size indicator in the pic, I saw a K frame.

The S&W Model 19 is a revolver produced by Smith & Wesson on its K-frame. The Model 19 is chambered for.357 Magnum. The K-frame is somewhat smaller and lighter than the original N-frame.357, usually known as the S&W Model 27. The classic S&W K-frame is one of Smith & Wesson’s most enduring designs. Picture a typical 20th century policeman’s “service revolver” and it probably looks a lot like a K-frame with a 4-inch barrel. May 25, 2010  I inherited a S&W revolver with no box no papers etc. Stainless 357 with hivis orange ramp front site and a 3' barrel. How do you interpret the serial number to discover what you have? This one is 6K65XXX. Your gun is a Model 66 K-frame Combat Magnum, just. Manufacture Year by Serial Number 'K' Frame Revolvers - 1899 to 1983:. A look at where to find Smith & Wesson serial numbers and the date.

The first Model 48-serial number K 348746-came off the line on May 11, 1959 and appeared in the Smith & Wesson catalog by August of that year, according to Roy Jinks in History of Smith & Wesson. Hello I thought that someone may like this Reference of K-Frame serial number's. Post-War K-FrameSerial Numbers List.

The S&W Model 19 is a revolver produced by Smith & Wesson on its K-frame. The Model 19 is chambered for .357 Magnum. The K-frame is somewhat smaller and lighter than the original N-frame .357, usually known as the S&W Model 27.

• 3Model 19 Variants

History[edit]

The .357 Magnum is the oldest 'magnum' handgun cartridge. Smith & Wesson played a major part in the development and success of the cartridge and revolver that went with it. Firearms writer and experimenter Philip Sharpe is credited for its development during the 1930s when police agencies were asking for a more powerful round. S&W's Dan Wesson agreed to produce a new revolver that would handle 'high-intensity' .38 Special loads, but only if Winchester would develop a new cartridge. Elmer Keith, a well known author and wildcatter at the time, was experimenting with hand loading .38 Special ammunition beyond their original specifications, taking advantage of the newer and better designed firearm frames and metallurgy, and also played a major role in the development of the .357 Magnum. Winchester introduced the .357 Magnum, which was dimensionally identical to the .38 Special except for a .125 inch longer case, and the first revolvers (referred to as '.357 Magnum Models') were completed by S&W on April 8, 1935.^[1]

Retired Assistant Chief Patrol Inspector of the U.S. Border Patrol, famous gunfighter, and noted firearms and shooting skills writer Bill Jordan consulted with Smith & Wesson on the design and characteristics of the Model 19. Jordan's idea for a 'peace officer's dream'^[2] sidearm was a heavy-barreled four-inch K-Frame .357 Magnum with a shrouded barrel like the big N-frame .357 and adjustable sights. After a year of experimentation with improved-strength steels and special heat-treating processes, the result was the .357 Combat Magnum (later designated Model 19), with the first serial-number gun (K260,000) presented to Jordan on November 15, 1955.^[1][3]

The .357 Magnum, four-inch barreled model was standard issue to uniformed officers of the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service as well as Patrol Agents of the U.S. Border Patrol until both agencies adopted .40 caliber semi-automatic pistols.

The .357 Magnum, 2.5” barreled model was standard issue to Special Agents of the former U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service as well as Patrol Agents of the U.S. Border Patrol working plain clothes assignments until both agencies adopted .40 caliber semi-automatic pistols.

Styles[edit]

The Model 19 was produced in blued carbon steel or nickel-plated steel with wood or rubber combat grips, an adjustable rear sight, full-target or semi-target hammer, serrated wide target trigger or combat-type trigger, and was available in 2.5' (3': Model 66—rare), 4', or 6-inch barrel lengths. The weights are 30.5 ounces, 36 ounces, and 39 ounces, respectively. The 2.5- and 3-inch barrel versions had round butts, while the others had square butts.^[1]

The Model 19 was produced from 1957 (first model number stampings) to November 1999. The Model 66 was produced from 1970 until 2005. The Model 66 differed by its use of stainless steel and its smooth target-type trigger. The Model 68 was a limited-production version of the Model 66 made for the California Highway Patrol and Los Angeles Police Department chambered in .38 Special with a 6' barrel. The Model 19 and the Model 66 had the same trigger options.^[1] One of the last variations of the Model 19 ordered for police use was the 2.5' Model 19-5, special ordered under SKU #100701 as the standard issue sidearm for Special Agents of the US Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service. This model featured a .400' wide, smooth 'combat' trigger, Pachmayr Professional Compac rubber grips, and most notably a matte black finish instead of the common high-polished blue.^[1]

Engineering changes were designated with a 'dash-' number after the model number. The engineering changes are as follows:^[1]

Model 19 Variants[edit]

Model 66[edit]

• 66 (1971): Stamping of each model.
• 66-1 (1977): Changed the gas ring from the yoke to the cylinder.
• 66-2 (1982): Eliminated pinned and recessed, slightly lengthened cylinder.
• 66-3 (1986): New yoke retention system/radius stud package/hammer nose bushing/floating hand.
• 66-4 (1994): Change rear sight leaf, drill and tap frame, introduce Uncle Mike's grips, change extractor.
• 66-5 (1998): Change in frame design: eliminate cylinder stop stud/eliminate serrated tangs/change to MIM hammer with floating firing pin/change internal lockwork.
• 66-6 (2002): Introduced internal lock.
• 66-7 (?): Two piece barrel and internal lock,
• (2005): Discontinued.
• 66-8 (2014): Reintroduced with 4.25' barrel in 2014 and later with a 2.75' barrel in 2017.

Model 68[edit]

• 68 (1977): Introduction

Criminal use and legislation[edit]

Two M19s were used in the 1996 Dunblane massacre.^[4] This led to the enactment of Firearms (Amendment) Act 1997 and Firearms (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1997, effectively banning handguns in the UK.^[5]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abcdefSupica, Jim; Nahas, Richard (3 January 2007). Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson. Iola, Wisconsin: F+W Media, Inc. pp. 136, 186–188. ISBN0-89689-293-X.
2. ^Taffin, John (2006). 'The combat magnum: good gun gone'. Guns Magazine. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
3. ^Sweeney, Patrick (2004). The Gun Digest Book of Smith & Wesson. Iola, Wisconsin: Gun Digest Books. pp. 40–41. ISBN0-87349-792-9.
4. ^Cullen, Douglas W (30 September 1996). 'The Public Inquiry into the Shootings at Dunblane Primary School on 13 March 1996'(PDF). ISBN0 10 133862 7. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
5. ^'Britain's changing firearms laws'. BBC News. 12 November 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2018.

External links[edit]

The Smith & Wesson company was formed in 1852, in Norwich, Connecticut. The company's first offering was a lever-action repeating pistol. Moving forward from those beginnings, Smith & Wesson shaped innovations in the manufacturing of modern handguns. As of March 2011, Smith & Wesson offers approximately 110 different pistols of varied designs and features.

1. Examine the barrel of the Smith & Wesson pistol. Locate either 'Smith & Wesson, Springfield, Massachusetts' or 'Smith & Wesson; Houlton, ME' stamped on the barrel. This identification proves that the handgun is an authentic Smith & Wesson pistol.

2. Locate the serial number on the left side of the pistol's frame. The standard location for the serial number is above the trigger guard. Some serial numbers are located underneath the frame in front of the trigger guard. Others are on the rear of the frame, above the gun's grip.

3. Look up the pistol's full serial number -- including all letters and numbers -- in the back section of the 'Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson' book. These listings inform you of the pistol's date of manufacture, based on the serial number.

Items you will need

• Smith and Wesson pistol

• Smith & Wesson catalog

Tip

Get a basic idea of whether your Smith & Wesson pistol was manufactured at a very early date or a later date by identifying the letters from A to Z in the serial number. The letter 'A' denotes a pistol manufactured at a very early date. The letters continue on through the alphabet, for pistols manufactured at later dates.

The numbers in the Smith & Wesson serial numbers are random numbers.

About the Author

Smith & Wesson K 38 Serial Number Lookup

Christopher John has been a freelance journalist since 2003. He has written for regional newspapers such as 'The Metro Forum' and the 'West Tennessee Examiner.' John has a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Memphis State University.