HORSEAPPLE
Member
- Joined
- Jun 20, 2021
- Messages
- 1
Where do I Model 17 Smith and Wesson K prefix serial number date of manufacture?
Model 17 Smith and Wesson K prefix
- Thread starter HORSEAPPLE
- Start date
- Status
GeoW
Member
Bad link.. Sorry.
Last edited:
Archie
Member
I have a reference book for the information. However, it (the book) claims S & W did not keep monthly records of manufacture, but has a running chronology of 'changes'.
For instance, S&W did not have numbers for products until 1957 (no specific date mentioned in 1957); therefore your revolver was made sometime in 1957 after the change was adopted or later. Other indicators are the number of screws in the arm (five screw, four screw, three screw). The change to non-pinned barrels happened in 1982 or so. Most of the changes were of a 'period' nature, as in between this date and that date, rather than before and after a certain single date.
Also, your revolver may be marked 'Mod 17' or Mod '17-?'. That signals another 'change' in manufacturing which is often not noticed, but is usually noted as part of the 'period' groups. Sorry, but thats about as close as can be had.
For instance, S&W did not have numbers for products until 1957 (no specific date mentioned in 1957); therefore your revolver was made sometime in 1957 after the change was adopted or later. Other indicators are the number of screws in the arm (five screw, four screw, three screw). The change to non-pinned barrels happened in 1982 or so. Most of the changes were of a 'period' nature, as in between this date and that date, rather than before and after a certain single date.
Also, your revolver may be marked 'Mod 17' or Mod '17-?'. That signals another 'change' in manufacturing which is often not noticed, but is usually noted as part of the 'period' groups. Sorry, but thats about as close as can be had.
243winxb
Member
Bought new. 1968. I bought one before this one, sold it, missed it, bought another.
Hope this help with date .
Have a look here? https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-date-of-manufacture-of-s-w-revolvers.372213/
Hope this help with date .
Have a look here? https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...-date-of-manufacture-of-s-w-revolvers.372213/
Last edited:
J-Bar
Member
The Standard Catalogue of Smith and Wesson lists K serial numbers by year, not Model number. If you will give us your gun’s serial number it will help. The exact Model number with the dash, stamped under the yoke, may also allow narrowing the time frame.
Driftwood Johnson
Member
Howdy
I do not know of any online sight to look up S&W Serial Numbers.
As stated, Smith and Wesson did not record when their firearms were made, they recorded when they shipped. Sometimes a firearm would sit in inventory for a while before it shipped, and they did not always ship by Serial Number, sometimes they shipped out of order.
As stated, post the actual Serial Number, including any letter prefixes to get a good idea of when your revolver shipped. If you want, substitute 'X's for the last two digits for privacy, but be sure to post the proper number of characters.
I do not know of any online sight to look up S&W Serial Numbers.
As stated, Smith and Wesson did not record when their firearms were made, they recorded when they shipped. Sometimes a firearm would sit in inventory for a while before it shipped, and they did not always ship by Serial Number, sometimes they shipped out of order.
As stated, post the actual Serial Number, including any letter prefixes to get a good idea of when your revolver shipped. If you want, substitute 'X's for the last two digits for privacy, but be sure to post the proper number of characters.
bangswitch
Member
The Standard Catalog has a SN index, you can look up approximate manufacture year dates based on a serial number range. A letter of authenticity from the SWHF can tell you the ship date for a particular gun, which may be months, or even several years, from the manufacture date.
Starting around 1980, revolvers started using a three letter prefix, which is confounding to try to get a manufacture date from. Some revolvers still have the single letter prefix into about 1983, but after that, they are all 3-letter. AAA, then AAB, then AAC....AAZ, BAA, BAB..... and so on. The problem is, the 3-letters are not always sequential to the manufacture date, they jump around a lot, and some combinations aren't used.
Starting around 1980, revolvers started using a three letter prefix, which is confounding to try to get a manufacture date from. Some revolvers still have the single letter prefix into about 1983, but after that, they are all 3-letter. AAA, then AAB, then AAC....AAZ, BAA, BAB..... and so on. The problem is, the 3-letters are not always sequential to the manufacture date, they jump around a lot, and some combinations aren't used.
- Status
