S&W year of manufacture

[nueces5]

Hello everyone, a friend bought a very nice revolver, an S&W 686.4
With very little use.
I would like to know if it is possible, in what year it was manufactured.
Thanks

[wilecoyote]

...from here the photos tend to grainy, so if you can type what you read inside the frame/joke of the photo, maybe it's more readable etc.

[jrmartin1964]

According to the "Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 4th Edition" by Jim Supica and Richard Nahas, the three-letter serial prefix BPT should have appeared in 1993, but that is only speculation based on BPS and BPY prefixes having been confirmed in the same year. At the time of publication in 2016 no BPT numbers had been reported to the authors. The only positive way to know for sure is to request a historical letter: https://swhistoricalfoundation.com/letter-process/

Jim

[nueces5]

...from here the photos tend to grainy, so if you can type what you read inside the frame/joke of the photo, maybe it's more readable etc.

BPT6513
Thanks

[nueces5]

According to the "Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 4th Edition" by Jim Supica and Richard Nahas, the three-letter serial prefix BPT should have appeared in 1993, but that is only speculation based on BPS and BPY prefixes having been confirmed in the same year. At the time of publication in 2016 no BPT numbers had been reported to the authors. The only positive way to know for sure is to request a historical letter: https://swhistoricalfoundation.com/letter-process/

Jim

Thanks

[StrawHat]

There is a way to tell from the box label. I do not have the decoder ring this week, but,give it some time, an expert will be along shortly!

Kevin

[Jtarm]

There is a way to tell from the box label. I do not have the decoder ring this week, but,give it some time, an expert will be along shortly!

Kevin

Mine says “Be sure to drink your Ovaltine”

[Tall]

According to the "Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 4th Edition" by Jim Supica and Richard Nahas, the three-letter serial prefix BPT should have appeared in 1993, but that is only speculation based on BPS and BPY prefixes having been confirmed in the same year. At the time of publication in 2016 no BPT numbers had been reported to the authors. The only positive way to know for sure is to request a historical letter: https://swhistoricalfoundation.com/letter-process/

Jim

There's a cheaper way to find out, and it is quicker too. Just join the S&W Historical Foundation. Once you are a member you will be able to ask Roy Jinks what the ship date for your revolver is. Typically the revolver was made shortly before it ships. More here:
http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-w...al-foundation/

[schutzen-jager]

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-w...al-foundation/

be careful posting on that forum - they have a policy that if you state anything that they consider derogatory to the NRA they will ban you even if it is something as simple as the membership + donations are dropping -


try this https://opticsbible.com/smith-and-we...number-lookup/

[StrawHat]

Copied this from another forum,

“…– TRY THIS – your gun’s DOB is marked on the box:
A final note about modern serial numbers: In most cases
a fired cartridge case was supplied with each gun and is
dated when the cartridge was collected. In recent years,
most box end labels are marked with a date. For a while
(ca. 1980s through 2000s?) the Julian system was used.
For Julian dates, the first digit in the number is the last
digit of the year, and the following number is the day of
the year – 001 is Jan. 1, 365 is Dec. 31. For example 0212
might be the 212th day of 2000. Obviously, for this system
to be meaningful, one has to be able to guess in which
decade the one was produced. In the example above, does
the “0” represent 1990 or 2000?
More recently, the full month day year is marked on
the label. 101515 would be Oct. 15, 2015...”

Good luck!

Kevin

[rintinglen]

According to what I read over on the S&W Collectors sight, the "Spec Ord" is the date that that gun was fired and put into inventory. The one on the box is "3253" which translates to 1993 day 253 ,i.e. September 10th, 1993. This is from the internet, so it has to be true...

[Old Two Wars]

I bought a 625-6 45 acp mountain gun and just called up and got date of manufacture gave him serial number and model number.

[RJM52]

I bought a 625-6 45 acp mountain gun and just called up and got date of manufacture gave him serial number and model number.

.....should have never sold mine....one of the most balanced S&Ws ever made....

[StrawHat]

I bought a 625-6 45 acp mountain gun and just called up and got date of manufacture gave him serial number and model number.

Sometimes they even get it right, sometimes they are years off.

They are notorious for not having correct information.

Kevin