I believe this a Safety hammerless 5th due to the serial number and pinned front sight. Could anyone else provide more or correct information? Possibly a year, were the pearl grips from the factory, how do I and should I take the cylinder off to clean it?
it's actually a 5th Model in spite of the Pinned Front Sight as an I.D. Key for the 5th Model is supposedly it's Forged Front Sight integral to the Barrel; just goes to show the 'Models' as we call them are an invention of Collectors; not official S&W Designations.
S&W in their wisdom used up Barrels and other Components from earlier Production on later Guns so they weren't wasting those parts and there is often overlap in the features of one 'Model' to the next.
To remove you Cylinder; Break the Gun fully and hold the T Latch away from the Cyl while turning it counter clockwise; it will spin off easily. Hold that Latch up until you have the Cyl off the Gun. To replace is the reverse, making sure you have that Latch held clear or a horrible spiral gouge around your Cylinder will result.
it's actually a 5th Model in spite of the Pinned Front Sight as an I.D. Key for the 5th Model is supposedly it's Forged Front Sight integral to the Barrel; just goes to show the 'Models' as we call them are an invention of Collectors; not official S&W Designations.
S&W in their wisdom used up Barrels and other Components from earlier Production on later Guns so they weren't wasting those parts and there is often overlap in the features of one 'Model' to the next.
To remove you Cylinder; Break the Gun fully and hold the T Latch away from the Cyl while turning it counter clockwise; it will spin off easily. Hold that Latch up until you have the Cyl off the Gun. To replace is the reverse, making sure you have that Latch held clear or a horrible spiral gouge around your Cylinder will result.
Great stuff!!
Thanks for the detailed reply! I think I'll take the cylinder off today and clean it before I head out and shoot it.
Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass! Those look like factory pearl grips. You might want to take them off and put them in a safe place before shooting it. They're quite valuable. You can find replica grips for it at a number of online grip companies.