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Old 06-13-2017, 10:04 AM
Driftwood Johnson Driftwood Johnson is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Massachusetts, USA
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Default An Interesting Old Triple Lock

Howdy

I picked up this old Triple Lock last week. Yes, saying 'old' Triple Lock is somewhat redundant, but this one has such a low Serial Number, 19X, that I think it was made in the beginning of the run in 1908. Almost no finish anywhere, the metal is mostly weathered to a 'battleship gray' color. Plenty of wear on the grips, which I suspect are original. I have not taken it apart yet, but all the numbered parts match. There is a star next to the SN indicating it went back to the factory for something, and under the left grip it is stamped 7.16 indicating it went back to the factory in July of 1916.

Anyway, I liked the gun, and I got it for a very low price for a Triple Lock.









But here's the interesting part. Rather than being marked 44 S&W SPECIAL CTG, like every 44 Special Smith I have, including two Triple Locks, the barrel is simply marked 44 S&W CTG. I had not noticed this at first, and was a bit perturbed when I did. I checked, and 44 Special ammunition chambers correctly in it, 44-40 does not, too wide. So I'm thinking maybe in the beginning S&W had not gotten around to stamping SPECIAL on the early guns. I suppose it could have been a 44 Russian, and the chambers opened up for 44 Sp, but I would have thought the marking would reflect that. I see no evidence in the chambers of them having been lengthened from 44 Russian length to 44 Special length.

Anybody ever seen anything like this on an old Triple Lock?





Despite the wear on the finish, the chambers and bore are nice and clean with almost no wear. I took it to the range on Sunday and fired a box of mild 44 Special reloads through it. It performed like a champ and is still very accurate.
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