My title pretty much sums up everything I know about this gun. I bought it at auction a few months back as a broken gun to work on. All it needed was a new spring. It says Smith & Wesson Springfield Mass USA Patd Jan 24 65
July 11 65 Aug 24 69 Reissue July 25 71 May 11 81 Jan 5 82

Serial number is 3016XX and is chambered in .38 S&W ammo. No matter what its worth,this gun is a really great shooter.

ken-kaniff: You gun is not a bad find for an auction. Judging by the pictures, I say it's worth about $100-$200.

The grips on your gun are not original. They are just some aftermarket grips that someone has put on. You can tell by the poor fit.

The 3rd models are a fairly common gun with 203,700 made in a serial number range from 119,001-322,700; from about 1884-1895. You serial number would put in in the 1890's.

I do have a few questions:

What is the exact barrel length of this gun? Standard length is 3-1/4" with 4" found occasionally. Lengths of 5" or 6" are scarce and 8" or 10" are rare. Factory made 2" barrels are known to exist and are also rare [watch out for cut down barrels]. Longer barrel lengths on top-breaks are typically worth more.

Is the bore of this gun rifled or smooth bore? Smooth bore guns are scarce and are worth more.

My last question. How much did you pay for it?

jsmith

not to sound ignorant, but to measure the length of the barrel, where do I start from? It is a rifled bore. I'll measure as soon as I can and let you know. I believe I gave 140 for it. I also picked up a little victor .22 revolver for I think 120 the same day.

Measuring a barrel is easy. The cylinder chamber revolves in front of the barrel. Just measure from the front of your chamber [that's where the bullet comes out] to the end of the barrel. The measurement you will get will be one of the following: 3-1/4", 4", 5" or 6". Sometimes they might vary by an 1/8". I can tell from your photos that it is not a 2", 8" or 10". S&W top-break's are almost always found in 3-1/4" or 4".

I figured yours was a rifled barrel. The factory did make ones in a smooth bore and are rare, but I have seen a few that are genuine. Then sometimes I have seen ones that have been bored out, probably due to badly rusted/pitted bore.

You paid a good price for your gun.

jsmith

looks like a 5" barrel to me.

I also need to find the original grips or replacement original grips and a grip screw. know where to look? THANKS FOR YOUR HELP

Your gun has a 5" barrel. I knew from your photos that you had a long barrel gun. Top-break's with a 5" or 6" barrel are scarce. You made a real good find for $140.

As for the grips only a few ideas come to mind. The standard grips for your gun are almost always the black hard-rubber with the S&W intertwined logo. The frame of your gun is a round-butt.

You could try looking at gun shows. It's possible you might find someone selling an original set of grips or might be able to find a junk gun you could buy cheap and take the grips off of it and put it on your's.

Another place to try is ebay. Just type in Smith Wesson Grips and look to see what's available.

The last idea that I have is Numrich Gun Parts. Here is their address: http://www.e-gunparts.com/. Numrich is where I get my parts. Word of warning about grips. There are several variations that can fit your gun.

Here is a picture of the correct grips for your gun:



There are a few reproduction grips available on ebay but I can't tell if they are for the small-frame .32 or the large frame .38.

Mother of pearl grips were a factory option on guns. Pictured below is my .38 Double Action 5th Model with a 4" barrel. My gun is completely original and I have the factory letter certifying it.



jsmith

I have one that was handed down to me years ago. I just got it out today to look up a little info on it. Its all there except the front sight. The serial # is six digit starting 124 as the first three. Curious to know what Year It was actually made.

Vintage Gun Grips has very good quality reproductions, at affordable costs, for your's and many other S&W revolvers.

For the record I know nothing about fire arms.

I have an old S&W double action revolver similar to Ken Kaniff photos and description, but with a 6" barrel and original dark grips.

All marks has almost faded...Just a few letters and numbers visible and a strange symbol on top of the barrel

It was a gift from an old man I met 2 years ago. He told me this revolver used to belong to his father...but he doesn't like fire arms, so he gave it to me as a present.

The revolver was rusty and nothing worked...I decided to put it in a basin with a special lubricant, and 2 months later, it started to move and now it works; it breaks on top and the mechanism works fine. I think it is time to take it to someone who realy knows about fire arms to check it and calibrate.

Could you please tell me anything about this type of revolver?

Regards.

Gustavo, Welcome to the Forum. Can you post pictures of your gun? If not, we need a lot more info. to be sure we can answer your questions correctly. What is the caliber? What markings on the gun can you read and where are they on the gun? What's the barrel length? What's the serial number stamped on the butt? What are the grips made of? Ed.