3566 Literature, Flyers, and letters

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Copy of a flyer for the Briley Competition version of the 3566. Some sources quote 102 units manufactured.

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Copy of a flyer for the Stocking Dealer 356. Some sources quote 500 Stocking Dealers produced, with 119 units manufactured in 356 TSW. The remainder were chambered in 9x19 & 40 S&W.

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Copy of a flyer for the 3566 Limited. Some sources quote 517 units manufactured.

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Pictures of a 3566 Compact, and an excerpt from a letter. Some sources quote 386 units produced (including the attached Lew Horton letter excerpt). The serial number on the pistol and the letter has been partially hidden for privacy. Note the letter describes the case length of 356 TSW as being 21.5 millimeters long. New 356TSW brass made by Starline was (and is) nearly 21.6 millimeters long or .850 inches, the same length as 40 S&W.

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Excerpt from the Lew Horton letter concerning the 3566 Limited production.

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This excerpt from a descriptive letter written and signed by Mr Roy Jinks, the S&W historian has some more production number information. Interestingly the number quoted for the 3566 Compact and 3566 Limited production does not match numbers in the letters from Lew Horton, as their records apparently indicate that 386, and 517 respectively were produced, which would give an overall total of 903. This may be why although the total here is listed as 813, there is also an indication that the total is not certain. By adding the 903 Lew Horton guns, the 102 Briley Competitions, the 119 Stocking Dealers, the 177 "Pocket Rocket's" (a 940 chambered for 356TSW), and 100 Super 9's we arrive at total of 1401 handguns manufactured by Smith & Wesson that were chambered for 356TSW. On a side note, the Super 9's were apparently not Performance Center guns and an additional 66 were reportedly made without the extra 9x21 and 356TSW barrels. To further muddy the waters I have seen references to a different stock number for a 356TSW pistol that may have been an export only version but I can't say that I've seen any pictures for it, nor have I seen a production number. There is at least one source that indicates the 940 production total was 181, and another letter that states that 105 Briley Competition's were made. I have also seen photos of special one-off, or very low production 356TSW pistols, too include a six inch model, a slightly different five inch model, and a Performance Center Super 9 variant, which all suggests the actual total cannot be precisely known. These special versions seem to have been made for employees or friends. Some of these pictures and descriptions can be found on the S&W forum. Without further information though, it is probably a safe bet that less than 1500 pistols were made in 356TSW.

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This Briley Competition is different than the others I have seen. The scope mount and optic have been removed and replaced with iron sites. The letter excerpt indicates it is one of 105 (some sources say 102) Briley Competition models.