StrangeRanger Posted December 19, 2017 Report Share Posted December 19, 2017 In all of the postings I've read here the M50s have numeric values only in the S/Ns. Mine is S48XX. What if anything does that number indicate about the origin/history of my gun? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifthmdec Posted December 19, 2017 Report Share Posted December 19, 2017 (edited) Numrich Arms Gun... Edited December 19, 2017 by fifthmdec Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taeelec Posted December 19, 2017 Report Share Posted December 19, 2017 Your M50 was made in 1957. This is the last known year of production. A total of 907 M50's were made in 1957 ( serial numbers S4700- S5607). Many of the S prefix serial number M50's were sold thru Numrich Arms when H&R went out of business. I suggest you buy Frank Iannamico's excellent book UNITED STATES SUBMACHINE GUNS for more info on the Reising submachine gun and other WW2-post war US SMG's. Todd in Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fifthmdec Posted December 19, 2017 Report Share Posted December 19, 2017 In addition, Frank has a book dedicated to the Reising submachinegun and the semi automatic models. Title of the book is: “The Reising Submachinegun Story.” Not sure if it is still available. Purchased it from Frank years ago at a Thompson collectors event... Fun guns... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black River Militaria CII Posted December 19, 2017 Report Share Posted December 19, 2017 The Numrich ‘S’ prefix numbers seem to be all military model repros built on commercial model numbered registered Reising receivers. I’ve brokered quite a few of these guns over the years and have yet to come across a commercial Reising with an ‘S’ prefix.The Numrich military repros are very well done, in my experience, with all correct military parts and correctl6 parkerized. Buyers will pay a premium for these repros sometimes and at other times want a discount to a commercial value. FWIW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loulittle Posted January 16, 2018 Report Share Posted January 16, 2018 Recently purchased a Model 50, SN 5554. Waiting on my Form 4 to clear. Came in original box...hard to tell if it was fired much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eMGunslinger Posted January 17, 2018 Report Share Posted January 17, 2018 I have a S Prefix gunOut of all the Reisings I have bought and sold 20+ now by rough count its been one of the nicer and better running ones I have ever had. Not to say the others didn't run well but I have NEVER had a problem with this gun and cleaning it hasn't ever been a priority. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taeelec Posted January 19, 2018 Report Share Posted January 19, 2018 Congrats on the purchase of your early manufacture M50 Loulittle! I'd love to see some pictures! Especially interested in the box. Is this your first Reising? Todd in Oregon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loulittle Posted January 20, 2018 Report Share Posted January 20, 2018 Will be happy to when my Form 4 clears and I can take possession! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccsteele Posted April 8, 2020 Report Share Posted April 8, 2020 Just purchased a Reising M50 serial number 2031 . What if anything does that number indicate about the origin/history of my gun?It also has a decal with San Patricio County 0675 on the stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Iannamico Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 As posted above the S prefix designates a 1957 manufacture date, post war production used letter prefixes.There has been speculation that the S-prefix Reisings were all assembled from parts by the Numrich Corp. This MAY be true to some extent as they bought a lot of H&Rs inventory after the asset reduction sale of 1985. However, during research for my revised M14 book I found out a lot of info about the H&R demise, through court documents and newspaper articles. It has often been thought that there was a bankruptcy auction. Not true, they did file Chapter 11, and there was an asset reduction sale in 1985 approved by the court so the company could keep operating and pay employees. I obtained a ATF transfer form dated 1985, (they closed the doors in 1986) the form had 66 M16A1s, 29 M14s, T48s HK clones, and a number of S-PREFIX Reisings. The guns on that particular form went to one individual from the Philadelphia, PA area John (can't recall the last name) but he was a mysterious guy, I spoke with several people who knew him, and did business with him, BUT I could NOT get anyone to talk about him. He apparently had some connections with Colt as well as H&R, a lot of Colt parts came through him. I visited a gun shop near Philadelphia, that had some association with this guy, a few years ago and spoke with people who knew him BUT would not talk about him. Last I heard he had dementia and passed away. If you knew this guy (Black River Bob?) I would love to hear from you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Iannamico Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 In addition, Frank has a book dedicated to the Reising submachinegun and the semi automatic models. Title of the book is: “The Reising Submachinegun Story.” Not sure if it is still available. Purchased it from Frank years ago at a Thompson collectors event... Fun guns...I have several copies of the Reising book and others PM if you are interested, I shutdown my website. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Iannamico Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 Just purchased a Reising M50 serial number 2031 . What if anything does that number indicate about the origin/history of my gun?It also has a decal with San Patricio County 0675 on the stock.Reising Dates of Production 1941 Serial Numbers: 101-85001942 Serial Numbers: 8501-736001943 Serial Numbers: 73601-114317 1950 Serial Numbers: K101 to K9731951 Serial Numbers: L101 to L35891952: No production1953 Serial Numbers: N111 to N3271954-1956: No production1957 Serial Numbers: S4700 to S5607 Marine Contracts: NOm 33387 - 2 February 1942: 2,000 each Model 55 Reising submachine guns. NOm 33660 - 26 February 1942: 11,500 Model 55, and 11,500 Model 50 Reising submachine guns. NOm 36828 - 13 July 1942: 20,000 Model 55, and 5,000 Model 50 Reising submachine guns. NOm 37893 - 13 October 1942: 30,000 Model 50 Reising submachine guns (plus a 3,000 overrun). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Iannamico Posted April 10, 2020 Report Share Posted April 10, 2020 In all of the postings I've read here the M50s have numeric values only in the S/Ns. Mine is S48XX. What if anything does that number indicate about the origin/history of my gun?Reising Dates of Production 1941 Serial Numbers: 101-85001942 Serial Numbers: 8501-736001943 Serial Numbers: 73601-114317 1950 Serial Numbers: K101 to K9731951 Serial Numbers: L101 to L35891952: No production1953 Serial Numbers: N111 to N3271954-1956: No production1957 Serial Numbers: S4700 to S5607 Marine Contracts: NOm 33387 - 2 February 1942: 2,000 each Model 55 Reising submachine guns. NOm 33660 - 26 February 1942: 11,500 Model 55, and 11,500 Model 50 Reising submachine guns. NOm 36828 - 13 July 1942: 20,000 Model 55, and 5,000 Model 50 Reising submachine guns. NOm 37893 - 13 October 1942: 30,000 Model 50 Reising submachine guns (plus a 3,000 overrun). Reisings in storage at the Quantico Marine base (2019) MODEL 50:154113721569653097113539 (Documented in your book) MODEL 55:1318915296 (Documented in your book)4453162230 (Documented in your book)6293462818 Model 60:1333 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ccsteele Posted April 28, 2020 Report Share Posted April 28, 2020 Thank y’all for all the information on dates and serial numbers and I did fine one of Franks books which is very knowledgeable on the Reising.Charles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt Chopper Posted April 29, 2020 Report Share Posted April 29, 2020 (edited) As posted above the S prefix designates a 1957 manufacture date, post war production used letter prefixes.There has been speculation that the S-prefix Reisings were all assembled from parts by the Numrich Corp. This MAY be true to some extent as they bought a lot of H&Rs inventory after the asset reduction sale of 1985. However, during research for my revised M14 book I found out a lot of info about the H&R demise, through court documents and newspaper articles. It has often been thought that there was a bankruptcy auction. Not true, they did file Chapter 11, and there was an asset reduction sale in 1985 approved by the court so the company could keep operating and pay employees. I obtained a ATF transfer form dated 1985, (they closed the doors in 1986) the form had 66 M16A1s, 29 M14s, T48s HK clones, and a number of S-PREFIX Reisings. The guns on that particular form went to one individual from the Philadelphia, PA area John (can't recall the last name) but he was a mysterious guy, I spoke with several people who knew him, and did business with him, BUT I could NOT get anyone to talk about him. He apparently had some connections with Colt as well as H&R, a lot of Colt parts came through him. I visited a gun shop near Philadelphia, that had some association with this guy, a few years ago and spoke with people who knew him BUT would not talk about him. Last I heard he had dementia and passed away. If you knew this guy (Black River Bob?) I would love to hear from you. Edited April 29, 2020 by Colt Chopper Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colt Chopper Posted April 29, 2020 Report Share Posted April 29, 2020 John Kasayian, or close to that.PM me Frank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
full auto 45 Posted April 29, 2020 Report Share Posted April 29, 2020 Mine is 98717. Manufactured 1943. Runs good, but I've only had it out a couple times. 12 and 20 round mags work great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Iannamico Posted April 30, 2020 Report Share Posted April 30, 2020 H&R never used the nomenclature's commercial and military Reising models. Someone made that up to differentiate between the two. The Marines bought and fielded both variations. I found a lot of H&R and Marine material at the National Archives. A more accurate description would be first and second model (also never used by H&R).The Marines bought a lot of the "first model" blued Reisings. Problems in the field resulted in it evolving into the "second model" around 1942-43. There are copies of many of the Marine documents in my Reising book that back this up. 1. Rust of the bluing evolved into Parkerizing 2. Larger take-down screw that doesn't require a tool3. Fewer fins on the barrel to make the barrel more rigid4. Re-Design the selector lever to be used with muddy or wet hands5. A second detent pin to secure the end cap6. Re-design the trigger guard for more lateral strength 7. Adjustable windage front sight 8. Redesign the magazine catch9. Eliminate the fixed hammer spring guide on the end cap (subject to breakage) These Marine suggestions resulted in an "improved" second model Reising; an accurate description would have been Reising M50A1, but that didn't happen. Marine Contracts NOm 33387 - 2 February 1942: 2,000 each Model 55 Reising submachine guns.NOm 33660 - 26 February 1942: 11,500 Model 55, and 11,500 Model 50 Reising submachine guns.NOm 36828 - 13 July 1942: 20,000 Model 55, and 5,000 Model 50 Reising submachine guns.NOm 37893 - 13 October 1942: 30,000 Model 50 Reising submachine guns (plus a 3,000 overrun). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DZelenka Posted July 13, 2020 Report Share Posted July 13, 2020 Based on your production dates and figures, is it safe to assume that 10529 was manufactured in January of 1942? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GUNGUY45 Posted July 14, 2020 Report Share Posted July 14, 2020 Based on your production dates and figures, is it safe to assume that 10529 was manufactured in January of 1942?You can always do a FOIA request. I did one on mine back in the early 2000's, took a couple of months.I hear now some folks are waiting years, & not seeing info, but it's worth a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DZelenka Posted July 15, 2020 Report Share Posted July 15, 2020 Based on your production dates and figures, is it safe to assume that 10529 was manufactured in January of 1942?You can always do a FOIA request. I did one on mine back in the early 2000's, took a couple of months.I hear now some folks are waiting years, & not seeing info, but it's worth a shot.I have FOIAs on most of my guns. I will do one on this one if I keep it. I am waiting for the eForm 3 to clear. Can't wait to shoot it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oscardeuce Posted September 17, 2020 Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 How much value would having a serial number less than 150 add to the value? I am looking at one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeRanger Posted September 17, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2020 Does the rest of the configuration match the ultra-low S/N? The early guns had quite a few different parts from the later ones and a "correct" gun would obviously be worth more. I'm not going to venture a guess as to how much more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeRanger Posted September 18, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2020 (edited) I didn't want to be so cryptic in my last post but I didn't have access to Frank Iannamico's Reising book when I posted.Per his book here are the differences in the earliest guns: Blued rather than ParkerizedBarrel – 28 fin rather than 15Front sight – staked in place, no set screwRear sight – no reinforcing ribs or retaining screwSelector lever – ends turned down not upConnector lever – sharp corner on front end no radiusAction bar – t-shaped slot for connectorBumper plug – one pieceMag well – 20 round flat sided stepped at rear to match rib on magazines (rare)Mag release – one pieceStock- 27” OAL and slot for action bar runs all the way to the front end (rare)Trigger guard – 2 screwTakedown screw – slotted for screwdriver not knurled I may have missed something in which case someone else will jump in Edited September 18, 2020 by StrangeRanger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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