S&W 44 Special Model 24 date of manufacture question

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farshot

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I'm out of my element here and need a little help.

I have what I believe is a Model 24 Target, ribbed, 6.5 inch bbl., shrouded cylinder rod.

Can anyone point me to a date of manufacture? I believe it to be approx. 1955.

The cylinder is stamped 98###
The frame is stamped S98###
The crane is stamped 814### with a 7 underneath the 814###

Thanks much
 
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Mine is in the 140,000 range and still a pre model number version which, if I recall correctly, was fabricated in the mid fifties. Given the S revolvers in N frame start in 1950 at around S75,000, I would think that you'd be right around 1951 production. Bright polish blue? What kind of grips? This would be a fine example of post war 5 screw, pappy to the later model 29.
Cheers,
R
 
Hi Farshot

You have what is known as a .44 Hand Ejector 4th model target or also known as a pre model 24. Your gun was made from mid 1953 till mid 1954..

Graydog
 
I stand corrected... ...was being a little lazy last night and extrapolated assuming linear progression year over year.
R


Post-War S Series N frames:

S62,489 – S67,999……..1946 - Early 1947
S68,000 – S71,999……….Late 1947 – Early 1948
S72,000 – S72,499……….Late 1948 - Early 1949
S72,500 – S74,999……….Late 1949 – Early 1950
S75,000 – S80,499……….Late 1950 – Early 1951
S80,500 – S85,999……….Late 1952 – Early 1952
S86,000 – S94,999…….…Late 1952 – Early 1953
S95,000 – S102,999…….Late 1953 – Early 1954
S103,000 – S139,999……Late 1954 – Early 1955*
S140,000 – S149,999….Late 1955 – Early 1956
S150,000 – S175,999……Late 1956 – Early 1957
S176,000 – S181,999……Late 1957 – Early 1958
S182,000 – S194,499……Late 1958 – Early 1959
S194,500 – S206.999……Late 1959 – Early 1960
S207,000 – S219,999……Late 1960 – Early 1961
S220,000 – S227,999……Late 1961 – Early 1962
S228,000 – S231,999……Late 1962 – Early 1963
S232,000 – S235.999……Late 1963 – Early 1964
S236,000 – S257,999……Late 1964 – Early 1965
S258,000 – S261,999……Late 1965 – Early 1966
S262,000 – S289,999……Late 1966 – Early 1967
S290,000 – S304,999……Late 1967 – Early 1968
S305,000 – S329,999……Late 1968 – Early 1969
S330,000 – S333,454……Late 1969 – Early 1970
 
Thanks guys -- its blued, whether bright or satin, I cant really tell. I never knew of the term bright polish...it looks .. blued, not a satin in my guess.

It was used and holster carried quite a bit in the Yukon. Good shape, but a bit worn looking.

Tight, crisp action and excellent rifling. I will try and get a picture up when I have a bit if time.
 
YES PLEASE for the pictures!

It sounds like it'll be a great shooter. And the beauty of the Spl's is that they aren't shooting ammo that is strong enough to wear the guns out. So you've got a great life time companion there.

The minor downside is that .44Spl is pricey. Often it's more expensive than .44Mag due to the lack of demand. The GOOD news is that in handguns anything starting with a .4 is a worthy reason to get into reloading pronto. And once you're reloading you can load up 50 for about $12 to $13. And that makes the gun a lot more wallet friendly to shoot.
 
Here are some pictures to resurrect this post. Any comments about value are appreciated.

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My good handgun shooting days are behind me. LoL.
Even with a good target semi, I need those 10 rounds to get on target... LoL
 
farshot said:
My good handgun shooting days are behind me. LoL.
Even with a good target semi, I need those 10 rounds to get on target... LoL
Click to expand...

:( Oh dear. Well, I'm sure some kindly gun nut out there ("Hey! Back of the line, buddy!") would be more than happy to take on that onerous task if you don't feel up to it. The snow is gone out here, for instance.... Alternately, how long does it take to drive to chez vous from chez moi?
 
44 Special is one of the most accurate cartridges. My friend Rick @ RandR Bullets used to cast a superb 180 or 190 grain full wad cutter bullet that I used for target use. Behind 4.0 grains of PROMO powder, this bullet was X ring quality even out to 25 yards.

You don't have to use traditional 246 / 250 / 255 grain bullets either. Adjustable sights means you can use LEE's 200 grain RN FP bullet (90285) or even LEE's 214 grain SWC (90336).
 
hatman1793 said:
44 Special is one of the most accurate cartridges. My friend Rick @ RandR Bullets used to cast a superb 180 or 190 grain full wad cutter bullet that I used for target use. Behind 4.0 grains of PROMO powder, this bullet was X ring quality even out to 25 yards.

You don't have to use traditional 246 / 250 / 255 grain bullets either. Adjustable sights means you can use LEE's 200 grain RN FP bullet (90285) or even LEE's 214 grain SWC (90336).
Click to expand...

I had been seriously eying one of the new Ruger GP100, 5-round .44 specials which Prophet River has (or a S&W like the OP has, if I could find one) Unfortunately the recent revelation by my dentist that I need two crowns is likely to make that decision for me :(
 
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