Need Help Dating S&W Model 19-3

[particularsofrapture]

Good evening, everyone. I'm considering purchasing a S&W Model 19-3 and need help dating it. The gun in question has a 6" barrel and all target options. According to the seller, its serial number is AK308XX. I have been unable to find any information regarding 19-3s with an "AK" prefix. The closest SN range I could find has a "4K" prefix, which seems correct and would date the gun to 1973.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[AC Man]

All I can tell you is the model 19 - 3 was made from 1967 to 1977 with the only change being the drop of the diamond on the grip in 1968.

 

[murphydog]

Good evening, everyone. I'm considering purchasing a S&W Model 19-3 and need help dating it. The gun in question has a 6" barrel and all target options. According to the seller, its serial number is AK308XX. I have been unable to find any information regarding 19-3s with an "AK" prefix. The closest SN range I could find has a "4K" prefix, which seems correct and would date the gun to 1973.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Welcome! As you surmised, probably a 4K prefix and built in 1973. The official sales or ship date may have been that year or the next.

 

[Hair Trigger]

Good evening, everyone. I'm considering purchasing a S&W Model 19-3 and need help dating it. The gun in question has a 6" barrel and all target options. According to the seller, its serial number is AK308XX. I have been unable to find any information regarding 19-3s with an "AK" prefix. The closest SN range I could find has a "4K" prefix, which seems correct and would date the gun to 1973.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Seller is probably reading the SN from the stamping in the yoke cut, which can be difficult to see sometimes. Ask him if he will remove the stocks and read it from the bottom of the grip frame, which is the official location for the SN and the numbers and letters are larger. The "A" could be a 4 and if so could be 1972, 1973, or 1974 depending on the following numbers.

 

[Pine_Worker]

I would bring roses and a bottle of wine, works for me!

 

[otis24]

Welcome! I didn’t know there was an Eads, Tn. Wife has family in Eads, Colorado.

 

[particularsofrapture]

Update: The SN prefix for this gun is not "AK," but as I thought "4K." According to the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 4th Edition, the SN 4K308XX falls within the range of Model 19s manufactured in 1973.

Is there another authoritative resource that can corroborate this date of manufacture? This is important to me because the gun being made in 1973 means that it's C&R eligible. If it was made two years later in 1975, then it's not.

 

[Doc44]

History of Smith & Wesson by Roy G. Jinks on page 190 lists K-frame serial numbers and their year of manufacture. 1973 shows 4K1628-4K54104, and 5K6617-5K73962; 1974 shows 4K54105-4K99999, 5K73963-6K58917, and 7K1-7K26043. The lowest serial number shown for 1975 is 6K58918.

Bill

 

[AC Man]

Update: The SN prefix for this gun is not "AK," but as I thought "4K." According to the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 4th Edition, the SN 4K308XX falls within the range of Model 19s manufactured in 1973.

Is there another authoritative resource that can corroborate this date of manufacture? This is important to me because the gun being made in 1973 means that it's C&R eligible. If it was made two years later in 1975, then it's not.

Just curious why C & R eligible is important? If it is a 19 -3 it is a 19 - 3?

 

[particularsofrapture]

Thanks, everyone. A new and pressing mystery: What do the markings on the back of the grips mean? As best I can tell, one reads "F-LH" and below that "925." I'm assuming the first part indicates that it's the left grip. The other looks like "F-RH," although I can't be sure because of where it's located.

Was S&W still marking grips at the factory during this period? More importantly, do the markings on these grips indicate whether or not they are original?

 

[particularsofrapture]

Just curious why C & R eligible is important? If it is a 19 -3 it is a 19 - 3?

AC Man, if a gun is C&R eligible and the seller is a FFL, the gun can be shipped directly to a C&R license holder. At least in TN, that means you don't need to involve a gun store in your state to complete the transfer. I usually have a more pleasant experience at my dentist than I do at gun stores in my area, so this is important to me.

 

[particularsofrapture]

Welcome! I didn’t know there was an Eads, Tn. Wife has family in Eads, Colorado.

Thanks, otis24! Yeah, Eads is a mostly rural area just outside of Memphis.

 

[otis24]

Thanks, otis24! Yeah, Eads is a mostly rural area just outside of Memphis.

A quick Google search shows that Eads Tn and Eads Colorado are named after the same person, James Buchanan Eads.