Hello,

I'm new to the world of handguns and was trying to figure out some info about a Smith & Wesson that has been in the family for awhile. It has a 5" barrel with great bore, 6 shot cylinder, is original blued in good order, and has great wood grips. The butt is round or somewhat oval in shape. There is a plastic grip thing for maybe a smaller hand that was added somewhere along the line by a family member. The stampings on it include: "MADE IN U.S.A." below the cylinder, "38 S&W Special CTS" on the right side of the barrel, the company logo below the cylinder release catch o the left side of the frame, "SMITH & WESSON" on the left side of the barrel, "SMITH & WESSON SPRINFIELD MASS.U.S.A PATENTED FEB.6.06.SEPT14.09.DEC.29.14" on the barrel top, and a 5 digit serial number of "43XXX" on the butt/cylinder/barrel under the ejector rod. The grips are wood with a diamond shape around the grip screw, and the SW logo in silver pressed into them. The front sight is a half moon, the rear sight is a fixed groove, the right side of the frame has 4 screws in it, there is a screw in front of the trigger housing. There is a screw going into the front of the frame between the grips as well. The ejector rod housing extends below the rod to protect it.

My questions are: What year is it from, is it rare, and is it valuable enough to shelve and not shoot?

Thanks in advance for any help and insight you folks can provide.

Below is a photo link, hopefully it works

Welcome to the Forum. That is a very desireable S&W that you have. It is a 1930's model known as the 38/44 Heavy Duty. This an "N" frame model built on a 5 screw frame. The serial number would date it to 1933-34. It looks to be in very nice condition. You should be proud to have a fine revolver that has been in your family for generations. You should think about investing $50 and get a factory letter on it. Do you know anything of the history of it?

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Gary Grace
S&WCA #1837

Yes, welcome. That is a splashy way to introduce yourself. Congratulations on having that gun in the family.

You should know about this website: 38-44heavyduty.com

These revolvers are much appreciated by those fortunate enough to have one, and much desired by many who are not yet that fortunate.

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David Wilson

Thank you guys for the info and welcome. We're working on getting grandma to fill out the form for the history certificate.

After posting this we took it in to a local firearms mom and pop type shop run by some nice people and they told us a value, which I have no idea about, for it and that it was probably from the 1950s or late 1940s. They also told us that it was a Model 10 and wasn't carried in a holster very much, if at all due to a lack of wear on the muzzle. Reading that it was from the 1930s was a bit of a shock. I've looked at the website provided and it's pretty interesting.

What we know is as follows: it's been in a shoebox since the mid/early 1970s and used to be owned by my great grandfather, where or how he procured it, nobody alive knows. The last time it was fired, who knows. Also, nobody in the family was in law enforcement after talking to the older relatives. We also just found half of a box, the top half, stashed away that says Heavy Duty .38/44 with a photo on top. It's blue or black in color with red inside containing some instructions on use.

I'm more of a recreational target shooter with my .22 or 7.62x54R M44, and varmint remover with my .22-250 so a handgun is an entirely different world, though I get that they operate on the same basic principles.

Like many small gun shops these people obviously had no clue as to what they were looking at. They mis identified the model and the time frame. What did they give you for a value?

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Gary Grace
S&WCA #1837

Seriously. Even if you didn't know what a Heavy Duty was, you'd have to know next to nothing about S&W revolvers to confuse one with a Model 10.

I'll bet they priced it at a model 10 value, too!

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Richard Gillespie
FBINA 102

The story just gets better and better. Original boxes for these guns are hard to find, and if you could turn up the bottom half (also dark blue outside with red interior) you would have a valuable package. Some of these blue and red boxes from the 1930s go for hundreds of dollars. The gun itself is in extremely nice shape, to judge from that one photo. It does not appear to have been refinished, and collectors value guns in original condition far more than refinished guns. By itself, that gun is a $1000 item or more. With the complete original box it could find a buyer at $1400-1500. But for heaven's sake don't sell it! It is worth far more as a family heirloom than as a piece of merchandise.

Keep the gun cleaned, oiled, and stored in a silicone cloth or gun sock ("Sack-up" is a common brand). That is a great family heirloom. I have a couple of prewar Heavy Duty revolvers, but neither is as nice as that one.

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David Wilson

I should have mentioned production figures. Between 1930, when the Heavy Duty was introduced, and 1940, when commercial production was suspended in favor of wartime contracts, the company produced about 11,000 units of this model. A few thousand more were produced after the war.

By comparison, the medium frame .38 known as the Military and Police (and which is the predecessor of the Model 10 that you heard about in the gun store) existed in 750000 copies by the onset of WW2. During the war and in the years just after a couple of million more were produced.

So the Heavy Duty is collectible for a couple of reasons: it is the sturdiest fixed-sight .38 Special S&W ever produced, and there just aren't that many of them.

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David Wilson

The request for the history certificate is in the mail, now to wait a few months for it to be processed and sent to my grandma.

The value the mom and pop store gave me was for $400-$450. The only half of the box that exists is the half that I have, the other one has been missing since at least as long as she has had it. Grandma wanted to sell it if it was really valuable, but I was able to get put on a payment plan to keep it in the family

After a few month wait the letter from S&W arrived just in time for my 23rd birthday.

It was originally shipped out July 10, 1934 to Duluth, MN in an allotment of 60 units to one of the local stores. It was a blued 5" barrel model with checkered walnut grips. Coincidentally, my great grandfather worked there. Our guess is that he bought it at work.

As far as a gun having a nice consistent history, it doesn't get any better
than this story. Its very rare to know the history of a gun that was
shipped to a store; that is where the factory records stop. You have
the continuous chain of ownership - right down to you !

Mike Priwer

sorry your grandfather isnt here to tell you the rest of the story. but you still have the gun and grandma. Does she remember him buying it or was it before meeting her? have her write down as much as she knows about it. regardless, its in very good shape you have a lovely handgun. dont hesitate to shoot .38s in it, and clean it and oil it and love it and pass it to your son or grandson.

sorry to hear your local shop is sadly misinformed. I picked up my first heavy duty for $250 about 6-7 years ago and it was marked as a model 19... umm ok.. and i scored my first outdoorsman by seeing it labeled as a 38 special pre-27... well, if you insist ! gun shop ignorance can work in your favor and against you.

Thanks guys. My grandma doesn't remember her father-in-law buying it, just that my grandfather inherited it when he became older.

What sort of .38 would work in it the best? The bore on it is pretty darn good, it hasn't been fired since 1970s and was cleaned before being put away. Who sells a decent silicon sock to store it in?

any 38 special will work, including +p and even +P+ is getting close to the factory hi speed 38s this gun was designed for. if you dont reload, any walmart 38 or 38+p bulk pack will work and try buffalo bore if you want hi speed. The standard speed stuff in the N frame will feel like your shooting a .22. pleas epost a rane report after you put it thru its paces.

That same walmart or your favorite gun store should have a silicon sock or online - brownells, amazon etc.

I just bought a S&W 38 Special and was wondering about its history. The serial number is D465216 on the handle bottom plate. Can anyone tell me the year and any other facts on this hand gun?

This gun has a 4 inch barrel, hand ejector, see 2 screws but think there is 3, strain screw.
In the yoke looks like MOD 105 ????? and 60073 G8 7.

Welcome to the Forum,
That particular serial# dates to about 1972-73. Pic's will help better identify the revolver. Open the cylinder and look on the frame under the yoke for the Model#. You will probably see MOD 10-, but report back with what is stamped there.

In the yoke it looks like MOD
105

also above is 60073
G8
7
4 inch barrel
hand ejector
strain screw
see 2 screws but think there is 3

looks like MOD 105.

I would venture that what you have is a Model 10-5 from the early 70s. the serial number is the one on the bottom of the butt. Any other numbers in the yoke cut are for reference during manufacture, and have no meaning after leaving the factory.

Larry

You are right. It has 3 screws. One is hiding under the horn of your Magna stocks.
The strain screw is not counted as a frame screw. And so far as I know, every S&W K frame revolver ever made had a strain screw. It is nothing unusual. It was the small I and J frame guns that lost the strain screw in about 1953 when the mainspring was switched to a coil type.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

It's been 6 years and I still haven't fired it; however, I did take a few photos with a better camera today.

















The finish is probably 98% condition with a few small scratches in random spots. The bore is clean and definitely was fired very little by my great-grandfather.

Thanks for sharing your story and a wonderful family heirloom and one of the nicest HDs I've ever seen with us!!! I'm so glad that you were able to keep it in the family. Very nice photos as well. What a beautiful Smith and Wesson from one of the time frames when they were producing some of their most meticulous work. Just look at that finish. And we know that it is probably as well finished on the inside as the outside.

Best Regards, Les

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SWCA 3084, SWHF 495, PGCA 3064

Welcome (back). The '30s era S & W bluing jobs were nothing short of amazing, as you know.

It looks as though you took very good care of it over the past 6 years. Did you wind up shooting it?

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

That is as nice an old revolver as I have seen in a long time. You not only have a family treasure but a very very nice specimen of a very fine old revolver.

As others have said, shoot it, clean it, and repeat. It will still be a treasure to be enjoyed by many generations of your family in the future.

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Eccentric old coot

Most likely from May/June time frame 1934. What a beauty!

What a beautiful piece of history. A true family treasure.

Regards,
Bruce

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Regards,
Bruce