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View Full Version : Puzzling markings on M624



CHeatermk3
07-07-2017, 07:46 PM
A while ago I took posession of a 6" no-dash M624 s/n AHB18xx. The gun was part of the private estate of a man who lived in Hilo HI I bought it from a dealer there who shipped it to me with the remark that it "appears to be unfired"...whatever. It arrived in a newer plastic S&W pistol case with all the original paperwork minus the original sales receipt; I have the warranty card and everything.

Upon close inspection I found it to have some odd stampings, kinda like proof or arsenal marks, in three places on the pistol:
On the bottom of the barrel, just ahead of the shroud, along the axis of the bbl, is a line of characters as good as I can make out under 10x magnification the letters WIS6HO, followed by what appears to be a crown, then the all-capital letters APL, followed by something that looks like a bomb or maybe an earthen oven with flames coming out of the top.

This weird symbol is repeated on the rear of the cylinder and on the underside frame in front of the trigger guard.

I have tried to capture an image of these markings with little success. Apparently my camera lacks the resolution to capture an image of the tiny stampings so the best I can do is reproduce them in pencil by hand. I took a picture of my amaturish hand-drawn copy and uploaded it below.

It's been eating away at me what these markings might be; if anyone can shed some light on their meaning I would greatly appreciate it....

TIA
Mike Maffucci

Cougar Hunter
07-07-2017, 08:10 PM
Wischo is a large S&W Distributor located in Germany. Wischo to Europe is similar to what Lew Horton is to North America. The proof marks are from a country in Europe (probably Germany) although I can't tell you for sure. Many have returned to the U.S. The most frequently seen is the S&W Model 686/627 "Target Champion" which was a Wischo exclusive.

CHeatermk3
07-07-2017, 08:45 PM
Thank you Cougar Hunter!
Maybe it was purchased by a G.I. from a post exchange in Germany...I'll never really know I guess.