“There it is,” he murmured.
The gunsmith tilted the revolver into the cone of light from his magnifier lamp. He pressed the cylinder latch, swung out the cylinder, and read the number stamped on the frame’s underside: . smith and wesson 34-1 serial numbers
The woman slipped the little Kit Gun back into her purse, but before she left, she asked, “Will it still shoot?” “There it is,” he murmured
He explained that the Model 34 was the successor to the famous I-frame “Kit Gun” — a small, accurate revolver designed for hikers, fishermen, and trappers to carry in their kit. In 1960, Smith & Wesson updated the design, moving from the older I-frame to the slightly larger J-frame. That revision became the . The woman slipped the little Kit Gun back
She wanted to know its story.
“The M tells us it’s a ‘Moderate’ production run. The early 34-1s started around serial number 50001 in 1960. By 1965, they hit 65000. Your M 9xxxx — that’s late 1968 or very early 1969. Just before the 34-1 gave way to the 34-2.”