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Recently there was a thread on the Smith & Wesson Forum discussing what K-frame S&W revolvers could be considered 'scarce' or 'rare'.

Amongst the different models mentioned was the Smith & Wesson Model of 1946 M&P Target, also known as the Model of 1946 Mexican Target Model.

I am fortunate enough to have one of these less than frequently encountered revolvers, and in the course of discussion, several questions were asked about it. I was rather busy at that time and was unable to shoot any really detailed images. I have since found the time to shoot those images and have decided to create this page and post the link on Smith & Wesson Forum so that anyone interested may see what one of these revolvers looks like.

mex main



This particular gun is # S 814910 and was shipped April 30, 1946 to Frank Sheridan Jonas of Wall Street, New York City, NY. FS Jonas was a well known arms dealer of that era supplying arms to both sides of the various banana wars of the 1920's and 1930's. Until very recently, his company, Jonas Arms & Aircraft, was still located in Lower Manhattan. While a fascinating history lies beind this gun, this little page is really meant to focus more on the actual revolver rather than it's attribution.

Here we see the right side of the revolver. Notice the unusually high and uniquely shaped front sight. Very faintly visible is the flattened gold bead on the face of the front sight. Barrel and frame markings seem to be unremarkable.

One does note the rear sight, which is quite similar to that found on the pre-war .32 target guns.

Close-up of the frame stamped logo. Note the presence of the MARCA REGISTRADA stamp. This question had come up before on the forum and I had misunderstood it, giving an incorrect description of the marking. So, here it is for you to evaluate for yourself.

Left side of revolver. Note the 'fat' ampersand on the barrel.

The top of the barrel showing barrel address and patent dates. Also faintly visible is the flattened gold bead on the face of the front sight.

A close-up of the rear sight.

Top view of rear sight. Note that it is polished and smooth, designed to blend in. Also, note the seemingly unusually long barrel pin.


Rear sight assembly dismounted from revolver. Note that the rear sight is factory numbered to the gun. Also, in the upper image note the 'thinned' section of sight tabg right behind the screw hole. I'm not sure what that is for, unless this particular type of sight had been designed for use on another revolver and then adapted to this one. The 'tongue' that you see on the right side bottom of the sight slides into a corresponding notch in the frame.



The frontstrap and backstrap of the revolver are grooved. When I had found this gun, I had just sold several M&P Target Models and did not give this one any special consideration; I simply thought it was an ordinary M&P Target Model and was prepared to pass it by. When I looked at the revolver a little more closely I observed the grooved forestrap and backstrap and felt that these two features were unusual enough to cause me to examine the revolver further.

So, there you have it. My Smith & Wesson Model of 1946 M&P Target Model a.k.a. Mexican Target Model.

Email: robert@vivasandson.com
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