BluesBear
member
S&W stopped production of the frames for the break-top .44 Double Action in 1898 but catalogued and sold the gun until 1913.
uglygun,
Is the serial number #338xxx or N338xx ? if it's a 5 digit number it would be around 1971.
Since you said it was a heavy barrel it must be one of the mismarked ones and not an old stock barrel on a later frame.
I suspect that someone mistakenly used the old rollmark die on a hangover Monday and that's how the 100 or so know ones came about.
They probably couldn't justify the cost of scrapping them or fixing the mistake.
uglygun,
Is the serial number #338xxx or N338xx ? if it's a 5 digit number it would be around 1971.
Since you said it was a heavy barrel it must be one of the mismarked ones and not an old stock barrel on a later frame.
I suspect that someone mistakenly used the old rollmark die on a hangover Monday and that's how the 100 or so know ones came about.
They probably couldn't justify the cost of scrapping them or fixing the mistake.