I got a 4" Model 14!
- Thread starter woad_yurt
- Start date
David the Gnome
New member
Judging by the patina on the cylinder, I'd say it is.
This has been brought up on the S&W forums before.
Model 15 barrels are tapered.
Of the three production runs of model 14's with 4" barrels, one run had red ramp front sights for the Dayton PD, one had patridge front sights for the Air Force and the 3rd was a police pistol team run made well past the production date of his gun.
That leaves the possibility of a special order. It would take a letter from S&W to authenticate it.
Jim
Model 15 barrels are tapered.
Of the three production runs of model 14's with 4" barrels, one run had red ramp front sights for the Dayton PD, one had patridge front sights for the Air Force and the 3rd was a police pistol team run made well past the production date of his gun.
That leaves the possibility of a special order. It would take a letter from S&W to authenticate it.
Jim
It's not been delivered yet so I can only go by the seller's pictures. I've dealt with them before; they're straight up. And, plum's cool as I bought this one to shoot, a lot. Here's another picture from the listing. Maybe someone is familiar with the serial numbers:
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The "Dayton Outdoor Sport's Revolver"
Hello
Back in 1965 "Dayton Outdoor Sport's" a Large S&W stocking dealer had S&W Build a Custom level Model 14 with the heavy 4" Barrel. These were offered in Blue and Nickel finish and had a Baughman quick draw sight blade. They had Red Ramp and solid steel Baughman blades as well. Below is a 4" Nickel Model that was made for Dayton Otdoor Sports in 1966. They made these in a three year run from 1965-1968 and shipped them in Lot's as they were assembled. There was a total of 2038 of them made over the Three year period and they were not made not offered again. The Only other Model 14 with a 4" Barrel and model stamped as a 14, was the ones used by the Air Force shooting Teams, and these were Marked on the side plates as A.F.P.G which meant Air Force performance Guns as they were Intended to supply the Air Force shooting Teams with a custom level competition revolver. The Dayton Guns were not marked anywhere only in the crane area as a Model 14-2.The Interesting part is that they hand assembled on the Normal assembly Line when Dayton called out for them, as back then they did not have a performance center to do the work. The assembly line would work on them, then store them in the factory store room until enough were made to fill shipment orders. This revolver also had a slightly Larger area on the main frame to accept the larger diameter heavy Barrels they used on this revolver compared to other model 14's it is larger in circumference. Below is an actual flier Dayton outdoor Sport's sent out to promote this gun, and as you can see Red Ramp, wide Target Trigger's and hammers were options. Mine came with Target grips as shown, Service style serrated trigger and Semi-Target hammer along with the standard Non-Red Ramp front sight blade as shown in a Picture Below, as your guns Nickel example cousin. I hope this helps, Hammer It
Hello
Back in 1965 "Dayton Outdoor Sport's" a Large S&W stocking dealer had S&W Build a Custom level Model 14 with the heavy 4" Barrel. These were offered in Blue and Nickel finish and had a Baughman quick draw sight blade. They had Red Ramp and solid steel Baughman blades as well. Below is a 4" Nickel Model that was made for Dayton Otdoor Sports in 1966. They made these in a three year run from 1965-1968 and shipped them in Lot's as they were assembled. There was a total of 2038 of them made over the Three year period and they were not made not offered again. The Only other Model 14 with a 4" Barrel and model stamped as a 14, was the ones used by the Air Force shooting Teams, and these were Marked on the side plates as A.F.P.G which meant Air Force performance Guns as they were Intended to supply the Air Force shooting Teams with a custom level competition revolver. The Dayton Guns were not marked anywhere only in the crane area as a Model 14-2.The Interesting part is that they hand assembled on the Normal assembly Line when Dayton called out for them, as back then they did not have a performance center to do the work. The assembly line would work on them, then store them in the factory store room until enough were made to fill shipment orders. This revolver also had a slightly Larger area on the main frame to accept the larger diameter heavy Barrels they used on this revolver compared to other model 14's it is larger in circumference. Below is an actual flier Dayton outdoor Sport's sent out to promote this gun, and as you can see Red Ramp, wide Target Trigger's and hammers were options. Mine came with Target grips as shown, Service style serrated trigger and Semi-Target hammer along with the standard Non-Red Ramp front sight blade as shown in a Picture Below, as your guns Nickel example cousin. I hope this helps, Hammer It
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Jim Watson
New member
The only 4" M14 I ever saw had the same short ramp and Patridge post sight as the regular 6" guns.
Well, for $50 more you might get a definitive answer. $50 is the cost of a letter from Roy Jinks, S & W historian. He'll tell you, based on the gun's serial number, when it was shipped and to whom, and will also tell you what features the gun had when it was sent out.
There's one possibility that no one's mentioned that I'll just throw out. Smith has been known to stamp the wrong model number on a gun's crane. It's just possible that your "14-2" could be a model 15 with a mis-marked model number. Or, maybe, it could have been one of those rare 4" 14s. Best way to find out is to get it lettered.
There's one possibility that no one's mentioned that I'll just throw out. Smith has been known to stamp the wrong model number on a gun's crane. It's just possible that your "14-2" could be a model 15 with a mis-marked model number. Or, maybe, it could have been one of those rare 4" 14s. Best way to find out is to get it lettered.
Hello woad_yurt
Better look close at the end of the barrel of your revolver, to determine it indeed has a Heavy Barrel. It is hard to tell from the Picture you show, but if you look at my end of the barrel picture, and yours looks like it in diameter, I would say it may be a Dayton Gun. If your barrel looks smaller in diameter, it may be a gun that a 4" standard barrel was Placed on making it's retail value a lot Lower. Just a thought here...
Hammer it
Hello
I am going to venture it was rebarreled and the cylinder Plum Color seems to match the barrel color, so I would say they have been both Re-Blued and the High Nickel content of the steel sometimes does not provide the Bluing solution to penetrate it fully. This color difference can come much Later after a gun part has been blued and weak Bluing salts is often the Culprit. Dayton Revolver's do not come along often, and I Lucked into mine. I swapped a Guy a Hong Kong Police issued unfired revolver for it that I had $300.00 in with $60.00 cash so I have a total of $360.00 in mine and it is a Genuine Dayton Gun. These Dayton Guns do not seem to draw a large collector interest but they had a neat 4 Block reserved serial Number for them, and with only 2038 of them made total, some day they will grow in value...
Hammer ItUpdate....
Well, I got the gun. The gunsmith at the shop to which it as shipped said that it looked like it was a factory barrel job. He said that it looked original and didn't appear to have been "messed with." In the hand, the plum color is much more evenly distributed. The picture makes it look like an extreme difference but it's not.
I know that the guts were Model 14, though. I shot it today and there was no mistaking the feel of that trigger. It does have the target trigger and hammer. The sight was way off to the side so I shot one round and was also way off. I centered the sight and it was right on. The thing shoots like a dream.
I'm going to get a S&W letter.
Well, I got the gun. The gunsmith at the shop to which it as shipped said that it looked like it was a factory barrel job. He said that it looked original and didn't appear to have been "messed with." In the hand, the plum color is much more evenly distributed. The picture makes it look like an extreme difference but it's not.
I know that the guts were Model 14, though. I shot it today and there was no mistaking the feel of that trigger. It does have the target trigger and hammer. The sight was way off to the side so I shot one round and was also way off. I centered the sight and it was right on. The thing shoots like a dream.
I'm going to get a S&W letter.