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S&W Antiques S&W Lever Action Pistols, Tip-Up Revolvers, ALL Top-Break Revolvers, and ALL Single Shots


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Old 11-26-2011, 10:38 PM
Sven Sven is offline
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Default Thrid Model found in garbage dump!

No, it wasn't me who found it, but I was asked to find out more about it. .38 Second Model 3rd Rev., 3.2" barrel, serial #141xxx I believe dates it to 1885 or 1886. Interesting grips show a target with four dots in place of the S&W logo. The cylinder turns free and does lock up (but not real tight), the action is stiff, but seem to function OK both single and double action. I forgot to take a pic of the holster it was found in. Looks like an original holster -- I think I can make out Brauer Bros. St. Louis on a snap, the stamp on the rear of the holster is faded out.

Could someone place an approximate value on this revolver? I expect he may want to sell it, but I'm not sure I want to buy it. Also, does anyone recognize the grips? I haven't tried to remove them, yet, and am not sure if they are wood or hard rubber. I am also wondering if it's worth it to remove the side plate and clean its innards to free up the action some.

Thanks.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg S&W Second Model 3rd Rev1.jpg (213.8 KB, 786 views)
File Type: jpg S&W Second Model 3rd Rev2.jpg (233.8 KB, 633 views)
File Type: jpg S&W Second Model 3rd Rev3.jpg (187.0 KB, 553 views)
File Type: jpg S&W Second Model 3rd Rev4.jpg (172.6 KB, 507 views)
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Old 11-26-2011, 11:04 PM
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Those appear to be H&R grips, but it does not look like an H&R revolver.
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Old 11-26-2011, 11:07 PM
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Do you know if the gun has the usual S & W stampings? The grips make me think Iver Johnson, and the cylinder flutes are a little different from an S & W also.
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Old 11-27-2011, 12:06 AM
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I think Iver Johnson grips had an Owl Head at the top, where this one has the bullet-riddled target used by H&R.

One cautionary note:
I would be concerned about any gun that was found in a dump. Usually guns are not thrown away, unless they can implicate someone in a crime.
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Old 11-27-2011, 12:09 AM
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I hate to say it, but I think the new "owner" of this gun should contact the local Sheriff or PD and have the serial number run. I highly doubt it wound up in a dump by accident.
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Old 11-27-2011, 12:29 AM
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Nice find! I have heard of widows finding the old mans gun after he is gone and throwing it away! Yes, really. My Fathers cousins husband helped a buddy move out of Arlington,Va in the late 1950's and the guy took his civil war long guns and put them in the trash can as they packed. That's how "Duke" came to have several cool old guns! That gun it just too nice to be in a dumb and I volunteer to take much better care if it if and when required. Just let me know and I will let you know where to send it. Kyle
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Old 11-27-2011, 12:31 AM
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It has all the S&W markings on the top of the barrel rib. Everything seems to match up well with the 3rd Revision in the big S&W book.

From the looks of the bore, it hasn't been shot in one heck of a long time. If someone was going to dump this gun because it was used in a crime, it would have ended up in the river, not the town dump. I figure someone was cleaning out an old person's house and tossed it because it looked like junk. I suppose I could have my local LE run the number after I give it back. I live quite a ways from where it was found. If it turns out stolen I'm sure he'd do the right thing.

Still would like to know value.
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Old 11-27-2011, 01:15 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sven View Post

Still would like to know value.
About $75-$150 assuming it functions. Its in pretty sad condition and these S&W topbreaks don't bring a whole lot of money even when they are in great condition.
The grips are Harrington & Richardson grips which certainly doesn't help it's value any.

Last edited by twaits; 11-27-2011 at 01:17 AM.
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Old 11-27-2011, 12:11 PM
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Quote:
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If someone was going to dump this gun because it was used in a crime, it would have ended up in the river, not the town dump. ...
Some criminals are extremely stupid, don't assume they can actually think logically like we do.

Possessing a stolen gun can cause a lot of legal difficulties, substantial lawyer's fees, etc. A word to the wise is sufficient.

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... I figure someone was cleaning out an old person's house and tossed it because it looked like junk. I suppose I could have my local LE run the number after I give it back. I live quite a ways from where it was found. If it turns out stolen I'm sure he'd do the right thing. ...
It's always possible it was just thrown out, perhaps even unintentially in a box of old stuff. But I would assume a worst case scenario unless and until proven otherwise. Always do the right thing.
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Old 11-27-2011, 08:03 PM
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I've even seen guns put out at a curb for pickup by the local garbage men.
Same as Alaskavett says.
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Old 11-28-2011, 02:22 PM
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Throwing guns away is more common than most people think. I've run across several cases of a widow just tossing her late husband's guns in the garbage simply because she didn't know what else to do with them. She just knew she did not want them in the house. One particularly sad situation I personally know of involved the disposal of 5 Civil War-era revolvers that way.

On that note, I think it's a good point to make to document what you have with a rough value of each gun to give to your spouse so that something similar does not happen. Even though I have been married 45 years, my wife knows very little about, and has even less interest in, the numerous guns I have. I have tried to educate her to relatively little avail, but at least she knows about what they are worth, and won't throw them away.

Last edited by DWalt; 11-28-2011 at 02:32 PM.
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Old 11-28-2011, 02:31 PM
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A buddy of mine lost a nice .44 Russian when it was "hidden" in the newspaper recycling during a visit by a family with children.

The recycling was deposited (and picked up) at the curb before he realized what had happened.
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Old 11-28-2011, 05:40 PM
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I know of one case in which a loaded revolver was hidden in a kitchen oven for the same reason. Guess what happened?
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Old 11-28-2011, 06:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DWalt View Post
Throwing guns away is more common than most people think. I've run across several cases of a widow just tossing her late husband's guns in the garbage simply because she didn't know what else to do with them. She just knew she did not want them in the house. One particularly sad situation I personally know of involved the disposal of 5 Civil War-era revolvers that way.

On that note, I think it's a good point to make to document what you have with a rough value of each gun to give to your spouse so that something similar does not happen. Even though I have been married 45 years, my wife knows very little about, and has even less interest in, the numerous guns I have. I have tried to educate her to relatively little avail, but at least she knows about what they are worth, and won't throw them away.
My best pawn shop buy happened with a lady wanting to unload her husband's shotgun. The pawn shop didn't want to take another shotgun into stock and turned her away without even looking at what she had. I figured I would give her twenty bucks for an old single shot. I gave her the (I think) $120 in my wallet for this:





I tried telling her I could go to an ATM and get more but she just wanted "The evil thing out of her house and be done with it" or something very similar. And then she strutted back to her car and left it with me. I took it home and made it my treasure ever since.

Did I mention it came with the case, extra barrel, and all the papers? Even the warranty card???

Last edited by Maximumbob54; 11-30-2011 at 07:15 AM.
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Old 11-28-2011, 07:15 PM
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If my wife ever did that, I would come back and haunt her.
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Old 11-28-2011, 07:31 PM
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Found a Remington 03a3 in a garbage can at the curb,missing the bolt,but i had bought two rem bolts still in the paper years before.
Went grouse hunting and found a 1917 Winchester leaning against a tree,two days earlier they hand run off some deer poachers,had a win marked stock and bands at home.
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Old 11-28-2011, 08:45 PM
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Not quite the same circumstances, but one of my wife's acquaintances was going through a divorce. She got a phone call one day asking if I wanted her husband's guns (I didn't know him), as she wanted them out of the house. I said I would take them - nothing very valuable or unusual however, a .22 pistol (Colt Woodsman) and a bolt-action 16 Ga shotgun. I told her I'd give them back to her husband if he wanted them, but I never heard anything more. I imagine that sort of thing happens a lot in divorces.
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Old 11-28-2011, 08:55 PM
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That sort of thing (widows throwing away guns) happens all the time.
One of my aunts threw away a top-break of some sort after my uncle died because some gunstore clerk told her it "wasn't safe".
The best I could get out of her was that it was a top break (by describing the operation). She had no idea what kind.
I just hope it was an H&R (or worse). My uncle was not a gun collector, so I doubt that it was a high-dollar gun, but I would have rather had it than have her throw it away.
She KNEW that I was interested in guns but stubbornly went her own way.
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Old 04-08-2018, 11:30 PM
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I have a double barrel Stevens .410 shotgun that I found playing in the woods as a child. Must have been in the mid sixties. My Dad was a Police Officer and turned it into evidence. When it wasn't reported stolen and went unclaimed, he managed to get it back for me. It is still my favorite squirrel shotgun.
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Old 04-09-2018, 06:09 PM
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When I was a lad summering at our cabin in Maine there were three original landowners that initially had owned all of the land surrounding the pond. They divided the pond in thirds and each built a camp on their third. When we got there in 1964, several lots had been sold off over the years and there were maybe a dozen camps all together.

The three originals became my mentors and took me fishing, water skiing and occasionally we would row around the pond shooting water snakes.

The three originals would get together every so often at one camp or another and BS and sample a wee bit of the devils liquid. One night Mr. James stayed a little too late and Mrs. James took all of his fishing gear and guns and threw them off the end of the dock. She even made sure that his tackle box was open.

That was a lesson that I learned and never forgot.
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Old 04-09-2018, 09:23 PM
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Quote:
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I hate to say it, but I think the new "owner" of this gun should contact the local Sheriff or PD and have the serial number run. I highly doubt it wound up in a dump by accident.
If you go to the police and tell them you found it, they will take it and you will never see it again. If you really want to get rid of it, bring it to the next gun buy back and go out for a nice dinner with your civic reward!
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Old 04-09-2018, 11:05 PM
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NO!! I'll gladly take six months in forum jail as I hate this roll-over attitude to our 2nd Amendment right. This attitude is yet another way to disarm the peasant population: "..bring it to the next gun buy back and go out for a nice dinner with your civic reward!" At best, find out if it is possibly stolen. Dang, I hate that civic duty thought. See ya'all in jail.
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Old 04-10-2018, 07:13 AM
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Quote:
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If you go to the police and tell them you found it, they will take it and you will never see it again. If you really want to get rid of it, bring it to the next gun buy back and go out for a nice dinner with your civic reward!
Who knows where it is now. This post is seven years old.
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Old 05-11-2018, 09:49 PM
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The OP's gun is a S&W revolver with stocks from a H&R model gun. I agree with an earlier poster as to value being $75 to a little lower high end of just over $100 in that condition assuming it is complete and functional.

Adding to other stories my first 1911 was a WWII vintage Remington Rand recovered from the back of a garbage truck. Thrown away by a recent widow the gun looked nearly unfired.
Was waiting at a local bar one day for my brother and had a conversation with a fellow next to me. He told me when they cleaned out his grandfathers place his dad threw all the old muzzle loaders into the next door river. - Yes I bet many old guns met that type of fate.
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Old 05-12-2018, 01:34 AM
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Quote:
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Those appear to be H&R grips, but it does not look like an H&R revolver.
Agree. I was going to say the grips look like those on my H&R .32 revolver.
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