Smith & Wesson Bodyguard .38 Special

Collector grade. 1972 Smith & Wesson model 37 Airweight, 38 cal. Serial number 713J88. Please enter the serial number below. Please enter the serial number below. Jul 18, 2018 Model number and value of S&W airweight. Can't help much because Smith & Wesson made several. This would make it a 'Chief's Special Airweight' or a 'pre model 37'. Smith and Wesson 37 38 spcl 2' bbl, airweight, as new, amazing condition, appears to be un-fired, nice shiny finish, very faint turn marks, perfect grips, with matching box, serial #. Locate the serial number on the left side of the pistol's frame. Here is some info from the Smith and Wesson Bible (Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson 3rd ed.): Original Chiefs Special Airweight or 'Pre-Model 37' began production in 1951, with a 5 screw frame and alloy cylinder; these are very rare with a serial area of 13000; these are worth.

The Smith & Wesson Bodyguard is a family of small J-frame revolvers with shrouded hammers manufactured by Smith & Wesson. They are available chambered in either .38 Special or .357 Magnum.^[1]

Models[edit]

Model 38[edit]

The Model 38 is aluminum-framed, has a carbon steel barrel, a carbon steel cylinder with a five-round capacity, and is chambered in .38 Special.^[2]

Model 49[edit]

The Model 49 is an all-carbon-steel-framed revolver chambered in .38 Special.^[2]Moo.49

Model 638[edit]

The Model 638 is aluminum-framed with stainless steel cylinder and barrel. Chambered in .38 Special.^[2]

Model 649[edit]

The Model 649 is an all stainless-steel framed revolver. Chambered in .357 Magnum or .38 Special.^[2]

M&P Bodyguard 38[edit]

The M&P Bodyguard 38, introduced in 2014,^[3] is the latest incarnation of a Smith & Wesson revolver using the Bodyguard moniker. It is an aluminum alloy framed revolver chambered in .38 Special, and is available with a Crimson Tracelaser sight integrated in to the grip. Like previous Bodyguard models, it has a five-round cylinder and a concealed hammer but unlike the previous models, the hammer cannot be cocked for single action fire.^[4]^[5] The lockwork is different than any other Smith & Wesson revolver and the model has no parts interchangeable with the J-frame series.^[6] Chambered in .38 Special, it is available with a Crimson Trace (previously Insight) red-dot laser sight integrated in to the grip.^[7] In 2018, S&W announced a new version of the Bodyguard which lacks the integrated laser sight.It is most closely related to the Centennial models.^[6]

Smith And Wesson Model 37 Airweight Serial Numbers Chart

History[edit]

Users[edit]

Clyde A. Tolson, special assistant to FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover, owned a Model 38 Airweight, serial number 512236, with his name engraved on the side.^[8]

Nguyễn Ngọc Loan, South Vietnam's chief of National Police, was photographed using a Model 38 Bodyguard to execute a Viet Cong prisoner, Nguyễn Văn Lém, during the Tet Offensive of 1968. ^[9]

Bernhard Goetz used a Model 38 in a 1984 shooting on the New York City Subway.

Fictional[edit]

John D. MacDonald's fictional character, Travis McGee, uses an Airweight Bodyguard in Darker than Amber and other novels.

Guido Mista, a character from Golden Wind.

Harry Angel, a character played by Mickey Rourke uses an Airweight Bodyguard in the movie Angel Heart.

Claire Redfield in Resident Evil 2(2019) uses a S&W Bodyguard as her starting pistol

James Bond is issued a S&W 'Centennial Airweight' 'hammerless' revolver as one of two new sidearms (along with the Walther PPK) in Doctor No.

Ricardo Tubbs carries and uses a stainless or nickel-plated Bodyguard model in many episodes of Miami Vice.

References[edit]

Smith And Wesson Model 37 Airweight Serial Numbers

^Boorman, Dean K. (1 December 2002). The History of Smith & Wesson Firearms. Globe Pequot. p. 78. ISBN978-1-58574-721-4.
^ ^a^b^c^dAhern, Jerry (2010). Armed for Personal Defense. Iola, Wisconsin: Krause Publications. p. 47. ISBN1-4402-1643-6.
^'First Look: Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard Handguns with Crimson Trace Lasers - Guns & Ammo'. Guns & Ammo. 2014-07-15. Retrieved 2016-05-21.
^Shideler, Dan (20 August 2010). Guns Illustrated 2011: The Latest Guns, Specs & Prices. Iola: F+W Media, Inc. p. 58. ISBN1-4402-1624-X.
^'Smith & Wesson(R) Introduces New BODYGUARD(R) Line. Company Launches New Compact Pistol and Revolver with Integrated Laser System' (Press release). Smith & Wesson. 2010-01-19. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
^ ^a^bWiley Clapp. 'S&W's New Bodyguards'. American Rifleman. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
^'Smith & Wesson® Introduces New M&P® BODYGUARD® Handguns with Crimson Trace® Laser Sights'(PDF) (Press release). Smith & Wesson Corp. July 15, 2014. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
^Supica, Jim; Nahas, Richard (2007-01-03). Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson. F+W Media, Inc. ISBN089689293X.
^Buckley, Tom (April 1972). ''Portrait of an Aging Despot''. Harper's.

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About nine years ago I was honored to be a guest at the factory in Springfield, Mass. To say that I was struck emotionally would be a big understatement. I began collecting and shooting Smith & Wesson revolvers some 45 years ago, and the opportunity to visit and see the inner workings of this iconic company was almost a religious experience. Among the thoughts running through my mind that heady day was, “I wonder if the guys who developed the Hand Ejector series of revolvers back in 1894 had any idea of how well they would be received?”The revolver originally came in two frame sizes,.32 and.38. Inside the factory, they were known as the I- and K-frames. It would be decades before the factory nomenclature of letter frame designations would be divulged to the public via gun writers. A bit more than a half century later—1949 to be exact—Carl Hellstrom, the first head of the company not from the Wesson family, had the engineering department revamp the I-frame in order to produce a smaller.38 Special revolver.

The changes involved slightly increasing the size of the I-frame and changing from a flat mainspring to a coil mainspring. This new frame was designated the J-frame, and in October 1950 the first J-frame.38 Special left the factory. It was introduced to the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACOP) at its conference held in Colorado Springs that year. A contest to name the new gun was conducted at that conference.

Ithaca Model 37 Shotgun

Because it was designed as a plainclothes man’s weapon, th