I am looking for info on a S&W .38 5 shot revolver. The barrel hinges down to access the cylinder. It has a serial number on the butt of the grip and on the top of the cylinder. S/N 41XXXX. Anyone know anything about this gun?

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I'll start you off by saying that's the caliber stamping on the barrel, not the model.
CTG is short for CARTRIDGE, and the stamping tells you it fires .38 Smith & Wesson caliber ammunition.

Others will tell you what the model really is shortly.
Denis

Welcome to the forum.

You have a very nice ".38 Double Action 4th Model Top Break" S&W. The model was made between 1895 and 1909; yours being closer to 1907-08.
The cartridge is the .38 S&W not to be confused with the .38 S&W Special, a longer and more powerful cartridge.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Thanks for the info. Do you think this is a gun that should be fired. It seems to be in very good shape. Would today's ammo be too much for it, and what ammo should I look for? Any idea as to the worth of this piece?

Currently available factory .38 S & W (again, not Special) would be fine for this gun; it is intentionally loaded light because of older guns such as yours.

Yours appears to be in much better than average condition for a gun of this era. If its mechanical condition matches the finish (lightly used) and it has not been reblued I would guess $400-500; if refinished, probably half that.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

This should have been posted in the antiques area of the forum. Yours is post-1898, probably from the very early 1900s, and therefore falls under BATFE regulations. It won't hurt to fire it with current .38 S&W ammunition, which is mildly loaded. That ammunition can be difficult to find, depending upon where you live. Gun shops should be able to special order it for you if they don't stock it, expect a price of $30-40/box for new ammunition. It is also available from numerous internet sources.

Thanks to everyone for the info.

Oil it up good..Oil every part which moves or can move, work the Oil in well by moving the parts which move. Oil it till it drips, then wipe it down with a soft clean Cloth.

Indeed, as others have relayed, your little S&W appears to be in very fine condition!

These were great little Revolvers, High Quality, and were very popular in their day.

Good Morning my new found Smith & Wesson's discussion group. I recently found a break top .38 5shot s&w cartridge revolver in fairly good shape, no rust but some wear on the end of the barrel and cylinders. As soon as I am able to pick it up from the local Pawn Broker, I will inspect it more thorough. I believe the serial #began with 34XXX? Not 100% sure on that, may be 43XXX?. Never the less, someone pawned it and I have to wait the Fed req. wait time for them to be able to research and release it(which to me protects the buyer, FFL and may help stop some thieves. I was able to find the ammo for it from a few web site suppliers at a good price. The information given on the prior posts were an enormous help on the manufacturing, load size and history. I'm looking forward to posting some pictures, if possible, and hopefully get a forthright opinion of my find?
Go Browns!!

Assuming it is a S&W DA .38, it may be an antique and therefore not subject to BATFE and most state and local regulations. The cutoff SN is 382,002 for the DA .38. If it is NOT a S&W DA .38, I would have no idea.