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10-04-2018, 08:00 PM
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Melbourne, FL
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38 Hammerless Safety questions
Hello,
When my grandfather died this revolver was passed to me. It's my first and only revolver. The finish is pretty worn on the right side (he was a lefty) and barrel along with numerous wear marks and some pitting on the cylinder. The mechanics seem pretty decent. Heavy but smooth trigger pull and cylinder rotation. Firing pin dents empty casings nicely. I have not attempted to fire it yet.
Questions:
1. The cylinder has a forward/rear travel of less than 1mm (prob closer to .5mm). Is this normal?
2. The cylinder turns but does not spin freely when the breech is open. Is this normal? If not, will a thorough clean fix this or possibly need parts replacement?
3. The finish is obviously pretty worn. If it is cleaned and maintained from here on out, is there any necessity in repairing the finish or the areas with pitting?
4. With the SN 203XXX, does that put it around 1906-07?
As a family pass down I have no interest in its value, only to possibly be able to fire it at some point. It has matching cylinder/frame SN's and would prefer to keep those together also.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
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10-05-2018, 02:58 PM
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Absent Comrade US Veteran SWCA Founding Member
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Join Date: Apr 2003
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A good cleaning of the interior action will help the functioning. While the gun was made for blackpowder rounds, modern .38S&W ammo. can be safely fired, as it's loaded to same pressures as the older black powder, assuming the gun is in good mechanical condition. Refinishing would be expensive and would not help the value or functioning. It't earned it's stripes - leave it as it was when Gramps had it. Ed.
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10-05-2018, 03:18 PM
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Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass, Cory! Yes, 1906-07 could be correct. S&W did not ship in SN order and your gun could have been made then and shipped later. I believe sales of top breaks began to slow down during that period. Someone with more data will drop by and give a more accurate time frame.
I recommend taking the grips off and soaking it immersed in a good CLP or a 50-50 mixture of auto trans fluid and acetone for a few days or weeks. Some aerosol auto parts/brake/carb cleaner will flush out the grit and grime from the action and cylinder and it will probably function better. The cylinder movement is typical and should not pose a problem. If you are concerned about its safety, take it to a gunsmith to check out.
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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629
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10-05-2018, 03:50 PM
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I certainly like that the gun shows its history and am happy to hear it can stay like that. It's put down it fair share of varmint and dis-swayed more than a few thieves and vandals from their objectives. My great-grandfather's cotton gin was one of the first in OK to refuse cotton from farms using indentured labor and this 38 was one of many firearms at the gin that were vital to the safety of my family and the workers well into the 1950's.
I will clean her up and visit the Smith for a final checkout. Thanks for the info!
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10-05-2018, 06:36 PM
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Absent Comrade
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Welcome, CaptnCory, and thanks for the fascinating history of your heirloom revolver. Your great-grandfather sounds like one hell of a man.
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Oh well, what the hell.
Last edited by shouldazagged; 10-05-2018 at 06:37 PM.
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10-06-2018, 05:31 AM
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Welcome to the forum . You have a cool revolver there with a cool story thanks for shareing with us. I hope you will let us know how it shoots .
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