S&W Serial Number help? question on Airweight...

B

BeornLS

New member
Hi All,

I have a S&W Airweight 37, serial number DAA58xx. Can someone tell me the year this was made?

Kind of unusual I thought, the handgun does not have the caliber marked anywhere on it! Even the barrel is not marked with anything, it just has the S&W trademark logo, and the Airweight logo on the right hand side. Is this normal for some of these guns?

I'm trying to find out if this thing is +P rated or not...any ideas?

Thanks!

Jeff Smith
 
Contact S&W,they can give you the best answer. As for +ps no, airweights have alloy framesthat might not stand up to the pressures! The result could be disasterous! Serious injury is possible! All the best.
 
S&W Airweight

Hello Jeff
I looked it up, and something is odd here. The revolver is NOT listed with the Daa prefix ahead of the serial. :confused: Please check that and let me know. The serial should also be on the grip frame butt for easy I.D. This revolver was made from 1957 to date. in 1993 they eliminated the "AIRWEIGHT" name on the barrel and it was moved to the sideplate. I would NOT suggest plus-P. ammo in this as the older ones were NOT designed for that kind of pressure. Let me know on the serial and I can tell you and exact date of manufacture. P.M. Me if you like as well, should you want to keep it private. Regards, Hammer It.
 
Hi Hammer,

I sent you an email with the complete serial number.

To everyone else, what is probably more odd to me than anything is the fact that the barrel of this gun is not marked.....at all. No caliber markings anywhere on the handgun, and no S&W on the barrel.

Do people every "copy" these guns? have I maybe got a fake? Interested parties let me know and I can email some pictures.

Thanks!

Jeff
 
Update

UPDATE:

I just got off the phone with S&W, this handgun was made in October of 2004, and it IS +P rated.

They said there were a few guns around this time period that slipped through WITHOUT the laser engraving on the barrel.

Thanks again to everyone for your help!

Jeff
 
"A few guns slipped through..." This could become a collector's gun in the future as a "variant" or oddity. Before subjecting the gun to rough service, consider treating it gently to preserve any value it may have in future years.
 
It would rate as one of the odd models to slip out, but probably won't bring any extra collectors value. Over the years S&W has put out quite a few revolvers with wrong or odd markings and/or stampings on them.
 
/QUOTE/Over the years S&W has put out quite a few revolvers with wrong or odd markings and/or stampings on them./QUOTE/
Hello
and these are known as transition models. This is HOW they use up or exaust a current supply of Parts before making changes, or upgrades in a model. ;) Regards, Hammer It.
 
these are known as transition models.
Click to expand...
No, they aren't transitional models. They are just misstamped models. A transitional model will have the correct stampings, but have parts from a older series installed in a newer model such as a Post-War frame with the "S" prefixed serial number having the Pre-War long action internals.
It's not that unusual to find a M29 that's stamped M57 or M25.
 
QUOTE/No, they aren't transitional models. They are just misstamped models./QUOTE/
Hi
I have LEARNED never say never about any gun, more than once. I have a 631 that was NEVER cataloged the three years it was offered. I also had a 331 that was BOTH a scandium frame and did have the titanium cylider which was NEVER offered or shown that way..You just cant tell with any gun maker and it must be Roy Jinks is WRONG, as I have asked this same question to him, on other revolvers I have with the simular M.O., and his reply was the same that I printed above..He explained transition means change, in parts or design.. Regards, Hammer It.
 
A transition is a change and I agree with that, but a misstamp is a correct model with the correct parts that is just labeled wrong.
Like buying a Ford Mustang that came from the factory with Pinto emblems on it. It's still a complete Mustang, but the factory goofed labeling it.
The original poster have a M37 that the factory forgot to lazer etch the chambering on the barrel.
 
Hi
A member of the S.W.C.A. recently had a revolver lettered. The result was that the frame was older than the Barrel, and some of the Newer dash series changes. Mr. Jinks explained it this way, and perhaps this WILL clear this up a bit.. S&W produces a bunch of frames, Barrels, and parts for a certain model. The parts are placed in a production bin. The frames, Barrels and such are stamped when they are made. If a certain model is NOT a fast mover you may end up with and OLDER frame and a new barrel. This sounds like the case of the 37 above, in the fact is that the frame is correct along with the barrel. It seems the sideplate is what is missing the NEWER laser etching. Will this ADD to the market value ? I doubt it.. They were simply exausting the parts before making more. This ALSO shows me that sometimes a Factory letter may indicate a time that it left the Factory, but it does NOT Guarantee and EXACT time when the parts were made for a certain revolver as it CAN have much OLDER parts installed and would guarantee, ONLY when it was shipped. I Hope this helps. Hammer It.
 
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