I just got this very nice, ( seems to me anyway,) 1905 hand ejector 4th change, 32/20 with 6" barrel and genuine Ivory grips from my my brother's estate. I was told by a local gunsmith who looked it up in the Firearms Blue book that it was 98% condition and worth a pretty good sum. I hoped someone here could offer me some info on it. Ser # is 134xxx. If you need more info from the gun, I can look it over for it.
Any help will be appreciated.
see pics here: Picasa Web Albums - murphy332 - SW Model 1905

Murf

According to the SCSW book, this model was produced from 1915 to 1940. The first serial number was 65701 and the last serial number was 144684. This means your revolver was likely produced in the mid to late 1930s.

Hope this helps.

Steve

the grips are worth as much as the gun

Welcome to the forum. With that serial number the gun probably dates to the mid-1920s. S&W made about 150,000 K-frame revolvers in .32-20 caliber (also called .32 WCF for Winchester Center Fire) between about 1900 and the onset of WW2. After the war the model was not reintroduced.

The stocks are of course later additions ot the gun. I'm guessing they probably date no earlier than the late 1940s, and maybe not even that old. They have a configuration not seen on the 1920s stocks, with "ears" climbing up over the frame and sideplate of the revolver.

You'll probably hear different opinions on a fair price for the gun. I'd guess that if it had the original wood stocks on it, in this condition it might be a $500-600 gun. The carved ivory stocks are nice, but how much value they add is going to depend on a potential buyer's interest in them. I'm guessing you could probably find a taker for this revolver at $750, but I'm not sure how long you would have to wait for a buyer. Not that I think you should sell it; guns with a family connection will ideally remain in the family as heirlooms.

.32-20s are great fun to shoot -- noisy, peppy, and fairly accurate for a fixed-sight gun at 35 yards or less (and maybe longer if the shooter knows what he is doing). I have a .32-20 made in 1913 that is in great mechanical shape but looks a little wrong because of a bad renickel job. It's a great shooter.

Expect the ammo to be a little expensive unless you reload.

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David Wilson

Very nice looking gun. I think DCWilson has given good advice as to value of the gun but I suspect the grips may be worth a fair amount more. The BlueBook is terrible on S&W MP models and way too high in their valuation.

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John. SWCA #1586

Thanks for the input, it really helps. hsguy, I suspected that the blue book estimate of the value was too high, it valued it at $2000. I'm a novice at it, and I thought it was too much.