I was wondering if anyone could help me with some questions.
I came across a Smith today at my local gunshop. It appears to be a 38 M&P 4th change serial # 8269xx. This appears to be a military version as it is Parkerized and has a number of letters stamped on it. The barrel say's 38 S&W Special and is about
4". The right side of the frame near the front of the cylinder has the letters B then P and below that on the lower part of the frame is a series of letters. The pistol doesn't say US Property. On the left side of the frame it has the words ? then SAN then CA it appears to be refinished or reparkerized. I can buy it for 400.00
and was wondering if it is worth that.
Thanks Much

400.00 seems way too high to me.

sounds like a 38/200, lend lease gun...

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George Jamison

If you are able, check for the serial number on the rear cylinder face and the barrel flat above the ejector rod; if they match, it would indicate an original factory gun. Also, photos of the sides and the stampings you described would be helpful. The "SAN CA" is likely an importer's stamp. In this SN range, it is possible this one was an early military (US or foreign) contract gun, but I agree it likely has been refinished.

Here are photo posting instructions:

http://smith-wessonforum.com/smith-w...ew-format.html

The place to start on Photobucket is a large blue button near the top of the page. Hope this is helpful.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

B P could be Bureau of Prisons. I don't know when they went from revolvers to .45 autos. Wild guesstimate on my part.

The price is way to high in my opinion. The reason I say this is last year at the Tulsa show I bought a nickel version with 4 inch barrel that the dealer had put a set of nice S&W combat grips on it to move it and I bought it for $350. I sold the grips for $125 on Ebay and later sold the gun for $250. Unless the gun is original and in excellent condition I think the gun you are looking at is a $250 revolver.

Snoop, my distant early warning system is going off as I read your description. CA may be for Canada. This may be a .38/200 (or .38 S&W) whose cylinder was bored out to accept .38 Special cartridges. Unless you can get confirmation that the barrel, cylinder and frame all carry the same serial numbers and that the gun shipped as a .38 Special in 1941, I'd leave it on the shelf.

In fact, at $400 I'd probably leave it on the shelf anyway. That sounds at least a hundred too high even if the gun is unmodified. I think you can do better.

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David Wilson

Hello

I thought that I read in the post that the barrel was marked .38 S&W Special, and not .38 S&W, so wouldn't that make it a .38 Special instead of a .38 S&W chambered revolver instead?
Thanks
Mark

Ordinarily, but some of the lend-lease guns were restamped with a .38 Special rollmark when they were converted and reimported into the US. What I am afraid of here is that the gun is a modified lend-lease gun. If we could see photos of the whole gun and its roll markings, that might erase some of my doubt.

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David Wilson

The reason that it is notUS Property marked , it's
not a Lend Lease gun, but was a British purchase from S&W prior to the Lend Lease program for guns. The BP is for Birmingham Proof" and there should be other small markings of the Birmingham proof house. This was done after WW2 when the gun was sold as surplus by The Brits to gun dealers and proofing was required by the English if the gun was going to be sold to British civilians. A few of these early British purchased M&Ps were in .38 Special caliber with 4 inch barrels. These may be one of them, or may have had the barrel & cylinder replaced by the Bitish dealer for sale of the gun to US civilians. If all the serial numbers are not matching on the barrel cylinder & butt, then those parts are replacements. The SAN CAL mark is part of the importers stamp, which reads Vega, Sac CA meaning Vega Arms Co., Sacramento CA. Ed. #15