For All Of You "Box Experts" Out Here, I Need A "Sharp Eye" And An Opinion.....

[DocZeus]

I ran across this Model 24 revolver for sale by a dealer on the 'net.....He listed it as 100% "New In Box".....the price was astronomical.





Now, he said it's a 1990 Model 24.....The Serial #, BFJ49XX, puts it about the March 1990 time-frame......but isn't that a blue, two-piece, S&W Inc. box, circa 1957-1966 in the picture? All of my older two-piece boxes had HAND-WRITTEN labels on the side of them, NOT computer printed.....A 1990 model should have a blue, one-piece, tuck-in cardboard box, circa 1983-1997, right?

Hmmmmmmm........

DocZeus
AKA
David

[RDLouks]

From what I have heard S&W did not follow a strict set of rules for their boxes.

[Blackcloud2]

The question is out of my knowledge base, but that's ONE NICE looking gun there sir, SWEET!

[1 old 0311]

Heck just that box is rare. The 2 piece were hand written and the one piece started handwritten then went to printed.OR SO I THOUGHT till I saw yours.

[DocZeus]

It ain't mine, guys, just the dealer's pic I snagged off the 'net.....His asking price was $950.00.

This guy has had a spotty reputation at best over the years.....he KNOWS what he has, and CHARGES for it, to the extreme. My question was, did they ship those boxes with a 1990-model 24? I bought S&W's new in the mid-Eighties, and got the one-piece "tuck-in" box with all of mine......just thought he might be pulling a "fast one", and passing off a "factory box" that wasn't correct for the model/time-frame, but it COULD be possible, though highly unlikely.

He was allegedly involved in "hacking" ANOTHER "forum" dedicated to S&W's, then spamming the user's e-mail list he got with ads for his over-priced S&W's.....quite the stink about it back in the day, IIRC.

DocZeus
AKA
David

[gearchecker]

The box is era correct. The label is original too. With a reasonale amount of certainty you can figure the box is original to that revolver.
The Model 24 is one sweet shootin' wheelgun. 44 Spl the way they were meant to be shot.

How far can you get below his "Asking Price" is the operative question.

I can see $800-850 for that pistol the way it looks to be.
If I had the green I'd take a whack at it, but that's not the case right now.

Best wishes,
Gearchecker

[georgepittenger]

It ain't mine, guys, just the dealer's pic I snagged off the 'net.....His asking price was $950.00.

This guy has had a spotty reputation at best over the years.....he KNOWS what he has, and CHARGES for it, to the extreme. My question was, did they ship those boxes with a 1990-model 24? I bought S&W's new in the mid-Eighties, and got the one-piece "tuck-in" box with all of mine......just thought he might be pulling a "fast one", and passing off a "factory box" that wasn't correct for the model/time-frame, but it COULD be possible, though highly unlikely.

He was allegedly involved in "hacking" ANOTHER "forum" dedicated to S&W's, then spamming the user's e-mail list he got with ads for his over-priced S&W's.....quite the stink about it back in the day, IIRC.

DocZeus
AKA
David

David ,

Why entertain buying from someone that u don't trust ? That's a recipe for disappointment .

It's a nice gun but it's no bargain .

There's always another gun ( house , car , etc ) so move on and be patient .

IMO of course .



Regards ,
George

[DocZeus]

David ,

Why entertain buying from someone that u don't trust ? That's a recipe for disappointment .

It's a nice gun but it's no bargain .

There's always another gun ( house , car , etc ) so move on and be patient .

IMO of course .



Regards ,
George

It's not that I don't trust the man, George, I don't even know him, and haven't bought from him. I was just curious if the box was period-correct for the firearm listed, as I'm not really "into" the boxes, from a collector's standpoint.

All of the "hullaballoo" on the OTHER board was before my time, anyway......his site lists some absolutely gorgeous S&W revolvers, but like a lotta folks here, I'm more of a "shooter" that has some neat old S&W's......I have VERY few what I'd call "investment-grade" S&W's.

Sorry if I seemed I was trying to "start something", it was not my intention.

DocZeus
AKA
David

[Jim]

Some guys will do just about anything to make a buck. When I run into sellers like this. I do not deal with them. I'll find a honest place/seller to deal with. It's getting harder to find top shelf places. But they exist and they get my money. I do my best to help support those places.

[BruceM]

Every 6 1/2" M24-3 I ever saw had a Patridge front sight. The 4" guns had a Baughman ramp front sight. This was pretty standard for Smith & Wesson except on some of their premium guns such as the M29's and M57's which came standard with "full target" options. This gun appears to have a ramp front sight which was not standard even though this was a limited edition gun. It could be a special order but, like I said, it's the first I've seen. I have two M24-3's, a four inch and a 6 1/2". Both came in these blue 2 pc. boxes. This gun does not appear to have the correct paperwork set. Among other things, both of mine came with a reproduction of the old style tri-fold instruction sheet & parts list. The gun shown has the newer generic owner's manual.

Bruce