I've been trying to figure out dates of manufacture on these.
There is little to no info out there on them. About all I've found is the guns were made from 1969 until 1986.
What I've been doing is compiling a list of serial numbers vs. design changes vs. purchase dates to ballpark the manufacture years.
The list is quite short as I've only been doing this for a few weeks.
If you have one of these would you mind sharing with me the following info on your piece?
By PM of course.
Serial number - don't need the entire number, something like 23xxx would be perfect.
The serial number location on the gun.
Is it on the left side above the transfer bar take-down screw or on the right side?
Data show the serial number migrated from left side of frame to right side somewhere between serial#29000 to 52000.
I have not seen any guns serialed between 29000 and 52000.
The lowest serial I've seen is 7xx, the highest 100xxx.
Frame material of construction - Aluminum or Steel? Most of them should be aluminum except some of the very late built guns were steel framed.
The way to tell the difference at a glance is by the safety selector markings. Aluminum frame guns have raised letters "F" and "S" while the steel frame guns will have a green and red indention and no letters.
Barrel length - these came with a 4.5in or 5.5in barrel. Data shows 4.5in to be the predominate type.
Grip type(checkered or smooth)? - data shows guns up to about #25000 had checkered grips while later guns had smooth. Have seen a few late guns with checkered but I'm assuming these aren't original but owner changed. The steel framed guns had checkered grips.
Magazine follower - White, black, green plastic? - data shows original factory mags have a white plastic follower. I've seen a couple of black plastic versions. Very recent reproduction mags have a green plastic follower.
Any dated info on the factory box or purchase receipt when the gun was originally bought.
The guns came in a black paper box. Late versions came in a bright blue paper box.
Thanks for your help.
There is little to no info out there on them. About all I've found is the guns were made from 1969 until 1986.
What I've been doing is compiling a list of serial numbers vs. design changes vs. purchase dates to ballpark the manufacture years.
The list is quite short as I've only been doing this for a few weeks.
If you have one of these would you mind sharing with me the following info on your piece?
By PM of course.
Serial number - don't need the entire number, something like 23xxx would be perfect.
The serial number location on the gun.
Is it on the left side above the transfer bar take-down screw or on the right side?
Data show the serial number migrated from left side of frame to right side somewhere between serial#29000 to 52000.
I have not seen any guns serialed between 29000 and 52000.
The lowest serial I've seen is 7xx, the highest 100xxx.
Frame material of construction - Aluminum or Steel? Most of them should be aluminum except some of the very late built guns were steel framed.
The way to tell the difference at a glance is by the safety selector markings. Aluminum frame guns have raised letters "F" and "S" while the steel frame guns will have a green and red indention and no letters.
Barrel length - these came with a 4.5in or 5.5in barrel. Data shows 4.5in to be the predominate type.
Grip type(checkered or smooth)? - data shows guns up to about #25000 had checkered grips while later guns had smooth. Have seen a few late guns with checkered but I'm assuming these aren't original but owner changed. The steel framed guns had checkered grips.
Magazine follower - White, black, green plastic? - data shows original factory mags have a white plastic follower. I've seen a couple of black plastic versions. Very recent reproduction mags have a green plastic follower.
Any dated info on the factory box or purchase receipt when the gun was originally bought.
The guns came in a black paper box. Late versions came in a bright blue paper box.
Thanks for your help.