S&W serial number quirk

[Sevens]

Yeah, I know these questions are sometimes tough to answer... and usually have their answer buried somewhere inside a musty old office in the corner of a dirty old facility.

I was looking at Kev's 14-3 and checking the serial number for him in my SCSW (I only have the 2nd Edition, arrrrgh) and they note that in 1968, the "D" prefix started. And in the appendix, they show the D prefix for K-frame guns from 1968 through 1977 across Models 10, 12, 13, 14 and 45.

However, the K-prefix (and subsequent 1K, 2K, 3K all the way through 311K273) serial numbers were being used at the same time... for other K-frame guns.

It does says under the K-prefix heading:
"note all K prefix frames are normally target frame revolvers"

I suppose my question is...
Did Smith & Wesson at times use TWO completely different serial number prefixes for the SAME model guns being manufactured within the same range of time? And if yes, why?

I suppose this would make sense to me if two different physical facilities were producing guns... but that wasn't the case, at least not for K-frame revolvers, was it?

And what is the different between a "target frame" K-frame and a non-target frame, is it simply the cut-out behind the trigger for the (not exactly easy to adjust...) trigger stop, or is there another difference between K-frames I'm not picking up on?

Simply trying to get a better handle on what I see when I look up serial numbers, always looking to expand the knowledge base.

If Supica & Nahas put out a FOURTH edition of this phenomenal reference book tomorrow, I would purchase it within 2 mouse clicks of finding out that it exists. If they announced it and did a full-retail price PRE-ORDER, I'd click that right now, too.

This book is AMAZING to me and I can get lost in it.

 

[Kev]

I wonder if the K frame model 10 series is not a "target" frame but the 14's are
Is it the 3Ts that make it so?
Just medicated musings as I'm home sick today

 

[Sevens]

The 3T's are not parts of the frame, though. Trigger, Hammer and stocks are all inserted to or attached to the frame. I don't believe, but am not sure... that all of those 3T's can't simply be put in to (or on to) any K-frame, regardless of what it was before.

The trigger stop on S&W revolvers is not "obvious", it's behind the trigger and only adjusted from inside the guts, but the frame must be cut for that little device to be present.

 

[SaxonPig]

Adjustable target sights makes it a target frame.

No, I don't think they ever used two different serial ranges on the same model. S&W always ran up to 999,999 then would make a prefix change. They had no prefix on the M&Ps until 1942. Then during the war V and VS were used (S for improved safety). In 1946 they dropped the V and the S prefix was used until they reached S999,999 in 1949 then went with C. In 1967 they reached C999,999 and went with D.

For some reason in later years they started beginning new prefixes before reaching 999,999 in the old one, but they were never concurrent. If a new one began, the previous one ended.

The Abort the Second Amendment...er, I mean the Gun Control Act of 1968 requires all guns to have unique serial numbers. That's why S&W changed from S to N that year on the N frames because the S had been used on post-war M&Ps and they couldn't legally use those numbers over again.

 

[James K]

The 1K, 2K, etc are not K prefixes. Only the Kxxxxxx is called a K prefix.

(In S&W-speak, a letter prefix is a letter placed ahead of a number, not embedded in it. So K123456 is a "K prefix"; 23K4567 is not.)

The business started with the "V" prefix during WWII when serial numbers on the M&P ran over 999999 and the numbering machine had only six positions. So the "V" was put on all the frames before they were numbered and then considered part of the number. After the war, S&W continued to use letter prefixes, as well as embedded letters, but still ran a separate series for each frame size. Finally, it dawned on someone that the number didn't need to relate to the gun type as long as it was unique, so they began the alpha-numeric AAANNNN syatem they use now.

Jim