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Old 05-15-2011, 11:25 AM
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Default S&W Safety Hammerless Question

I found a Smith and Wesson Safety Hammerless pistol in my fathers garage. It is in great shape and I have a couple of questions. Please bear with me .... I'm new.

Serial Number 195690, stamped on bottom of grip.

Any guess how old it is?
What might it be worth?
Can I use modern ammo in it?


The gun is very tight. The few people I have shown it to all say its in the best shape of any "lemon squeezer" they have ever seen, and they would not hesitate to load it up and shoot. I'm not interested in selling it, I am interested in it's approximate worth and knowing if it can handle modern ammo. I have read that some of these were designed for black powder only. I really don't want to blow my hand off, if it can be avoided.
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Old 05-15-2011, 12:37 PM
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Welcome to the forum. Beautiful pistol. Others who are better informed than I will be along to help you out with the information you need.
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Old 05-15-2011, 12:42 PM
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Default S&W hammerless

Wow, it has some early T type grip on it! How cool. Is it a .38 or .32, do you know? I'm guessing .38 S&W. Your serial number would put a .38 in the 4th Model group from 1898-1907. If it's a .32 it would make it a 3rd Model and put it from 1909-1937. If a .32 S&W short it would be no problem shooting it, but ammo is expensive. If a .38 S&W it's probably OK as smith went to smokeless about the time your gun was manufactured(around 1900). Have an expert look at it at least before using it. Maybe it's worth more if you don't shoot it. I can't tell if it's ever been used, so have it looked at first.

PS. just looked up 3rd Model .32 and it's supposed to have a forged front sight, so I think that must be a .38. They sometimes and sometimes do not have caliber marked on barrel.
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Old 05-15-2011, 03:50 PM
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Yes it is a 38. The thing on the front of the grip, between the grip and the trigger guard is a removeable piece of bakelite (I think) plastic. It looks like it was made for this purpose. It has a steel clip under the grip that holds it in place. If you remove the grip this piece will snap off or back on.

I'm sure one of the earlier owners added it for some reason or other. Maybe it was used to make the grip larger? Honestly I'm clueless.

Thanks for the information, I appreciate it.
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Old 05-15-2011, 04:15 PM
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Default T grip

Exactly that. It may be a genuine Tyler T grip, still being made for most revolvers based on size, to give bigger hands better control. The Safety Hammerless is very small and that may have helped a previous owner get a grip on it.
I would still favor having a collector or gunsmith tell you whether you should fire it or not. Only because you want to be sure it's safe and also its prior usage. It may have more collector value if it's basically left unfired. You can get ammo if you decide to go that way. The loadings are mild and won't blow the gun up. But...it's over a hundred years old. Check it out, it's not the kind of gun you want to shoot regularly anyway.
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Old 05-15-2011, 08:06 PM
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If it is in good working order, it should be able to handle the factory 38 S&W on the market today. It is all loaded very mild for these old guns. It would be a good idea to have it inspected by a knowledgeable gunsmith.

From what I can see it is a 38 Safety Hammerless 4th Model. Mfg. between 1898 and 1907. The picture is dark, but from what I can see it would appear to be in a VG to Fine condition, and value between about $300 and $400.
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Old 05-16-2011, 08:24 AM
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I thank you all. I will have a gunsmith look at it, as a precaution. I found the ammo for it yesterday. There are several rounds missing. I assume someone at sometime shot it. Dad doesn't remember.
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