Iver Johnston Cadet 55-SA Manufacture Date

H

HMC8404

New member
Can anyone help me with the approximate manufacture year of an Iver Johnson Cadet 55-SA, Serial # G120XX? Always wanted one of these little old .38 S&W wheel guns. It is mint, probably unfired, and has what was described to me as rare factory target grips...they look like brown bakelite or plastic with the owl on each side.

Thanks much!:)
 
Well, no. The early Iver Johnson's ( up to WWII ) were fairly well documented, however the post war guns are not. The Cadet 55SA used the G prefix from 1963 until 1974. The G Prefix was also used in 1899 and 1900 but rest assured your gun is not one of those. Sorry about that.:o
 
The G prefix was used for the .38 S&W caliber, the J prefix for .38 Special. At that time, IJ was making an effort to break into the lower level police/guard and self-defense market, an effort that never achieved any great success. IIRC, those guns all had short barrels, round butts, and regular (not target) grips.

To confuse things still further, IJ also used the J prefix on the Model 57 .22 caliber revolver.

Jim
 
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