I have learned to be cautious about making positive statements concerning what gunmakers have or have not made in the past. This is particularly true in regards to the many models and variations made by Smith & Wesson.

I am sort of a low-level accumulator of Smiths and I have picked up a little bit of information about them. For example-most know that S&W made the Model 19 revolver in two finishes (blue and nickel) with three barrel lengths (2 ½, 4 and 6 inches). More advanced collectors know that the company also made small batches of so-called "pintos" or bi-color guns with major parts in different finishes, such blue frames and nickel barrels and cylinders. Some collectors spend years looking for the highly unusual 3-inch guns or the ultra-rare 5-inch models.

We know that the company made a very large order of 2 1/2 and 4 inch Model 19s without adjustable sights for export to Peru, and there were lots of short runs of Model 19s that were made and marked for various police agencies or specific people.

The Texas Ranger and Bill Jordan commemoratives are examples of this. But every once in a while, the factory will indulge somebody's whim and make up something completely out of the ordinary. In fact, one-of-a-kind guns are not unknown.

I recently got a chance to examine and get a quick photograph of one of the more unusual guns I have ever seen. It is a bi-color Model 19, which is already rare, but further rare because of the unique barrel. The barrel runs 3 1/2 inches from forcing cone to muzzle. This combination of features makes this one of the rarest handguns you will ever see, and it's kept at the Springfield factory.