Hello - I am looking at what I think is an early model IFRAME. All the serial numbers match except for grips which are fake pearl. the number is 468191 preceeded by a star on the bottom of the grip frame. The same number is under the barrel , but it is preceeded with a B inside a diamond shaped square. There is a small trademark on the left side. There are 4 screws on the side plate, one screw in front of trigger guard and one on the bottom front of the grip frame. the barell is 3 1/4 inches. The grip frame is a round butt, but the grips are adapted to give then an extension and turn them into a square butt. Last patent date on top of barrel is dec 28, 14. 32 LONG CTG is on the right side of barrel. After taking grips off there is a 30 stamped on the left side where the grip frame meets the gun body. on the bottom just above the grip pin is a B inside a diamond shaped square. on the right side of grip frame, in front of the grip pin is a H with a B stamped underneath,. any info on this gun would be greatly appreciated . Thanks in advance - Bill

Bill. Post some pictures and we can do a better job of identifying your I frame, however it appears to be a .32 Hand Ejector. The "B" stamps indicate the gun has been repaired ( barrel replaced) and refinished by the factory. The 30, H & B stamps are fitters/assemblers stamps. Ed.

This should actually be in the Hand Ejector: 1896 to 1961 subforum. From your description, it is probably a .32 Hand Ejector, 3rd Model, made between 1911-1942. Someone will be along shortly to narrow that date down. The B on the bottom barrel flat actually indicates the gun left the factory with a Blue finish. The B inside a diamond on the grip frame along with the * next to the serial number indicates the gun was factory refinished. Other than the grips, does it look like this?

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SWCA 3297 SWHF 583

I posted mine like this about a month ago.
So far,the above posters have nailed it.
Ammo is available at Academy Sports.
I am now keeping mine as it shoots and feels wonderful.

As for the gun being early, if it is a 32 HE, it would not have shipped from the factory until around 1941, nearly 40 years after the introduction of this model in 1903.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Based on your description of the "square butt" grips I believe it's probably not a .32 HE, but rather it's a prewar .32 Regulation Police. Mine, in the photo, is a postwar example with prewar grips. One telltale sign will be where the serial number is located on the grip handle. If it's on the bottom I'm wrong; if it's on the front edge of the grip frame -- across from the back of the trigger guard -- then I'm right. Eager to know.

Bob

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Wrangler of stray Chiefs
Bob

the serial number 468191 preceded by a star is located on the bottom of the grip frame . I thought it was a I frame because of the small size, but as usual I may be wrong. Someone also stated that I posted this in the wrong forum, if someone could move it to the proper revolver forum I would be very grateful. I have tried but other than reposting it again and having a duplication in two forums I do not know how. thanks again - Bill

It would be a .32 Hand Ejector as noted above, probably from the 1930 decade.

The star indicates it went back to the factory, frequently but not always for a refinish. If you see a 3-4 digit number stamped on the left lower grip frame (under the stock panel) it may be the date the work was done, in month/year format.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF THE REVOLVER IN QUESTION

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I would assume from looking at those stocks, that there is some sort of grip adapter in order to be able to get them to fit the round butt configuration?? Standard stocks would be black hard rubber round butt shape.

I probably should have noted that the factory did not ship in serial number order, so there is a chance it could have shipped in another year close to 1940, but sn 450,8XX shipped in 1941.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Bill, you are correct, it is an I frame, and from the looks of it, a very nice one. If you could take a couple of pics with the stocks removed, and post them here, it would be a big help. Close ups of the grip frame showing all the markings. With the serial number on the bottom of the grip frame, this would indicate it is a round butt, .32 Hand Ejector. As mentioned, the correct stocks would be black hard rubber.

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SWCA 3297 SWHF 583

Bill,

You have a 32 Hand Ejector-3rd Model I frame and a nice one. You're correct the conversion grips from rd to sq butt are after market and longer than the grip frame with a filler at the butt and bottom of the grip back strap.

From its features it was produced after 1922 and before the end of 1928. The greatest likelihood is that your gun shipped between 9/16/1927 & 5/1928 according to my database.

A B prefix to the barrel serial # and a B on the right side of grip frame (pre war guns only) indicates the gun was originally blue when it was new. The H on the right side is an inspector stamp.

The diamond around the B on barrel and B in a diamond on left side grip frame indicates The barrel was replaced, the gun was refinished , or both, and at the factory.

Referring to your statement: "After taking grips off there is a 30 stamped on the left side where the grip frame meets the gun body." You said the 30 is on the left side but didn't say if the 30 is on the frame or the grip strap, or front or back grip strap where they meet. I'll presume you meant the front grip strap because if it's a factory mark, that's where it should be to be an inspector stamp.


32 HISTORY

The .32 Hand Ejector and its cartridge, the 32 S&W Long are both historical. The .32 HE is the first side swing out cylinder produced by S&W, built on the first I size frame, and introduced as the 1896 Model (1st Model) along with its new cartridge. Production of this model extended to serial # 19,712.

It went thru several evolutionary changes until it became the 32 HE 3rd model in 1917 and also when a sq butt version was introduced as the 32 Regulation Police beginning at ~ #258000 in the same serial range as the 32 HE, with a most common barrel length of 4".

Target models with adjustable sights were available with 6" barrels as well as very rare 4 or 4 1/4" barrels, and with 2 screw extended target stocks.

The 3rd Model had a hammer safety block added around 1919 used thru WW II.

By 1920 the cyls received a heat treatment for additional strength as did all S&W revolvers.

Both were reintroduced after WW II in identical form except for the change to the much more fool proof post war sliding bar safety. They went thru more evolution in the 1950s, and in 1957 became the Model 30 w/round butt and the Model 31 w/square butt, and finally in 1961 were upgraded to the slightly longer J size frame with added -1 to the model #s.

Eventually both versions were combined as just the Model 31-1 in 1976, until discontinued in 1991. Various iterations were later introduced using the 32 H&R Mag and/or the 327 Fed Mag, both of which still use the 32 Long as well.

Any currently available 32 Long ammo in standard loadings is perfectly safe to shoot in your 32.

Enjoy,

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Jim
S&WCA #819

As always thank you very much for all the useful information that has been given. The 30 stamp that I had mentioned before is located under the left side grip near where the grip frame meets the main body of the gun. I was told this could be a year date for the barrel replacement or refinishing, but am now informed that it is a company inspection stamp. My last question is why the large disparity in the year of manufacture given the known serial number ( 1922 - 1942)?? is there something in my description that is misleading to some or did Smith & Wesson ship that much out of order? Thanks again for all the information - Bill

Hi Bill,

The 1922-1942 is all that's listed in the Standard Catalog of S&W, the 'bible' so to speak. Not very helpful.

Many of us have established databases of serial #s with known shipping dates from historical letters as posted here in the forum by other members.

That and the known factory dates of feature changes help us pin down production and shipping dates as close as possible w/o a letter. That's how I came up with the dates I posted for your 32 in post#12.

After the market crash on Black Tuesday 10/29/29, guns sat in inventory for years and the shipping dates by serial # can vary substantially.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Am I missing something here or were these guns numbered in a different .32 HE serial number range?

I was under the impression that the I frame .32 HE's and their cousins, the .22/32 HFT I frames were all numbered within the same serial number blocks?????

Assuming that my assuming is correct, according to my .22/32 database, the 468,XXX numbers would have been used between late 1927 and early 1928.

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James Redfield
LM #497

"I probably should have noted that the factory did not ship in serial number order, so there is a chance it could have shipped in another year close to 1940, but sn 450,8XX shipped in 1941."

S&W .32 Long HE, a 3 ¼” nickel with SN 512621, shipped in April 1938.

Looks like glowes .32 was waaaay back n the vault

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Regardless of when this particular revolver shipped, the mushroom-shaped ejector rod knob shows that it was not manufactured after 1927. I don't find ship dates for guns with nearby numbers before 1926, so I'm thinking 1926-27 is the probable manufacturing range.

The rework date stamp that others mentioned will be found on the left side of the grip frame in the vicinity of the strain screw that tightens the mainspring. It would look like (for example) 11.38, indicating a factory return in November 1938. Sometimes a gun with a rework star will have a couple of return dates, and occasionally one will find a starred gun with no date stamp at all.

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David Wilson

Here's an example from the butt frame of my 1917 snub. It went back to the factory in 12.22.

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629

Here is the deal on the serial number range for this model. For some reason, these frames must have been stamped in mass in the 1920s and are nowhere close to serial number order in terms of when they shipped. S&W logged their gun by when they were shipped and not when they were manufactured. Within a small serial number range, there is over 20 years spread. What I did not notice is the large mushroom shaped ejector rod knob, which narrows the date as noted above, pre-1928.

434XXX 03/1926
450XXX 12/1941
504XXX 12/1941
513XXX 10/1929
513XXX 11/1941
520XXX 01/1931
521XXX 01/1948

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Gary
SWCA 2515

Nope, you didn't miss a thing, you're correct. And you came up with the same dates as I did in post #12.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

I have a 32 HE made in the early 1950's, Nickle with franzite grips. Can anyone tell me what the history is with the grips? Did S&W ship them that way or did some poor fool think it was in improvement over wood? Thanks.

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Front sight and squeeze

The latter.

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Gary
SWCA 2515

First of all, to add to the discussion, what is the serial number. Secondly as Gary stated, it was some owners feeling that Franzite trumped the wood. One must remember that we are talking the early 50's and I'm guessing that plastic was then probably considered to be one of the wonders of the world....

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James Redfield
LM #497

Nowadays there's a plethora of aftermarket replacement grips and many of premium but affordable quality. Those not around in the 50's like some of us old farts would be aghast at the minimal aftermarket grips options of the day.

Basically you had a few very good handmade grip makers that were expensive...not in today's dollars, but at the time.

There were premium stag, ivory and mop that were only affordable to some.

And then there were the cheap plastic imitations affordable to anyone if you could stomach disgracing your S&W with them. I never could no matter if they 'felt' good or not.

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Jim
S&WCA #819