Somewhat early S prefix.

David,
It was shipped from the factory 11/19/1928 to Shapleigh & Co, St Louis, MO. According to the star & numbers stamped on the grip frame and Jink's letter it was returned to factory in Sept 1942 to have the extra 32 Long cylinder fitted. The 32 L cylinder is numbered to the gun on the inside of the crane in the usual place and manner.

I paid $340 for it at a local flea market in 1989!

Here are some more pics:

Another pic of my late 40's M & P with the correct era grips.

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Vaya con Dios

Here is one I recently acquired, 1955 vintage.

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Dom

Most of my pics are group shots, but also, I just thought they looked good together. The Victory model is 38 special. Both guns are marked as U.S. Military use.

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This one just happens to be the one with the jig hole on the butt, as discussed recently. Should have been shipped around 1954 or '55.

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Here's one I just picked up yesterday, $320 OTD. Lock up is tight and all numbers match, including the grips. It has some minor pitting on the back strap and a few spots on the cylinder and frame. I actually found dried blood on one of the cylinder flutes and the pitting on that part of the cylinder is consistent with the backstrap when the flute with the blood is indexed as the last shot fired. Having been an LEO and SF Medic, I know what dried blood on a firearm looks like. I don't know the history of the revolver and don't care to know. I received it from a reputable dealer and friend. A good cleaning and we're good to go. Here are a couple of photos.

De Oppresso Liber

Here's a couple of pre-war editions:

sn 4850xx (~1928)


sn 4693xx (~1923)

And a family photo:

(geezers to the left)

Didn't know what it was until after I bought it yesterday.

Chopped up, blinged up, @1917 square butt

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Professional Trainer

Here are my 3 pinned 36-1's
One mod 60 which is my CCW. which I puut a set of pearls on last week.
Found them for $35 shipped, could not resist.
Blue is 32 cal.
Love them.
I may have placed this in the wrong area, but I just had to do it!

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Picked this one up at the local gunshow last week. It looks as good as the day it rolled out of the factory. All #'s matching. Looks to have been fired very little if at all. Could'nt believe how clean it was. Would you shoot it , or should it go to a collector?? I sure feel the urge to shoot it. Am I close on the date?

Twig.

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Full picture

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That's how I'd date it. Very nice revolver.

I think I would probably shoot it in the expectation that I would be keeping such a nice specimen. But if you think you might turn it to a collector as "possiby unfired" for a little more than you paid, why not do it? Then you could buy one almost as nice for recreational shooting.

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David Wilson

I seldom find much to disagree with in David's posts, but on this one I will make an exception. I would not shoot it. There are a lot of nice (~98-99%) M&P's out there, but darned few that are in the condition of that one. If it was mine, I'd find an appropriate box, wax it up, stick it in my safe and only bring it out on special occasions. I think that I would also maybe stick a pair of cotton gloves in (or around) that box in anticipation of the day that some cretin would want to get his paws on it. Just my opinion. -S2

1905/First Change, No. 102653. Haven't dated it yet, but I'm guessing 1907.

Love the 6.5 inch barrel; that extra half inch just makes the gun twice as elegant. The last patent date is 1901, and the cartridge stamp recognizes both the .38 S&W Special and U.S. Service (AKA .38 Long Colt) cartridges.





The photos make it look a little better than it is; there are microscratches and freckles, and blue is missing from the backstrap and top of the barrel where the address and patent dates are. Maybe 90% blue remaining? No rust, though, and bore/chambers look new. Action is excellent. Stocks are seemingly unnumbered, but look to be original (proper design and excellent fit).

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David Wilson

Just imagine if these fine pre model 10's could talk, wouldnt that be a heck of a campfire story listening about the history of these revolvers?

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Here's a 1905 4th change....shipped April 1917.......now wearing old medallion grips, thanks to member Alk8944

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East Cleveland PD marked M&P, made in 1955-56, just one year prior to the 10 designation, so it's a very late M&P. 5" with a round butt makes this a great handling gun. East Cleveland was(is) apparently a very tough town and this is one of those "if this gun could talk" stories, but we'll never know what this gun has seen on the streets of what was once one of the worst cities in the US.

This Model 1902 is in rough condition, but that's the way it was handed down to me. It's my grandfather's gun, together with the shoulder holster he carried it in. It was well used in the early 20th Century.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

Pre Model 10 from March 1948. Numbers match on all marked components. I believe it is unfired.

M&P, S976XXX, 1947, all numbers match, found at a pawn shop for $250
Aint she a beaut...

Thanks to forum member -db-, my 1954 vintage six inch pre-10 now wears some '60's vintage target stocks in place of its beaten up old magnas. Can't wait to take it to the range!

A 5" from 1945-48
A 4" from 1957-1959

& a Model 10 from 1960 that didn't want to be left out



rayb

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"cumplo pero no obedezco"

Here's our 1930 Model 1905 4th change along with the rest of our S&Ws.

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Thought I would add an Airweight cousin, pre 12 M&P. All alum - no cracks.

Yes she is, an absolutly elegant revolver, nice find sir

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45.acp-why shoot twice.

a 5 inch pair

/c

A little embarrassed with all the very pristine samples seen here to post mine.

There's a reason though, besides not having had time to work on it, this was my great uncle Asbury Dorman's sidearm when he was Chief of Police for the Cordele, GA police department. I haven't researched the years as I don't live there, but this may spur me to find out. I also have his hat emblem, his baton and his badge. I may compose a picture of same.

Correct me if I'm wrong but this is a 5 screw? The SN is 72xxx. Not sure whether to have it re-plated or not.

That is a 5 screw, as you can see the four screws on the side of the frame, and the fifth under the trigger guard. You could always spend the $50 and have the gun lettered by Smith historian Roy Jinks, for a gun like that with a family history, I certainly would.

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Vaya con Dios

Alfsauve, I just noticed that your M&P is a pure Model of 1905 with no engineering changes. The company made only about 10,000 of these before introducing the internal modifications that define the First Change, including the trigger rebound slide that still exists in S&W revolvers today. In your gun, the trigger return was managed by a separate flat spring in the grip that drove a pivoting arm. You can see on the left side of your gun that the stud for the trigger return mechanism is directly below the thumb release near the trigger guard's rear junction point with the frame. In the First Change design, the trigger return spring stud is below and behind the thumb release, closer to the top of the grip frame cuts. Check the left side of the 1905/First that I show in post no. 115 in this thread.

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David Wilson

Found this one at Cabela's in Dundee, Michigan.

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Here is mine, sn 256xxx. Not perfect, but really fun to shoot. It's accurate and smooth as glass.

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its a victory model made into a .22mag...

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1952 model . About as tight as new.

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Are you sure about that?

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SWCA 2082

Not 100% sure , but was told this.
Ser. # is C681xx , inside of grips are stamped with the same #.

OK, serial number says it's from about 1948. Those grips are cool. They actually look like 1920's grips because of the round butt. But with silver medallions from the 40's.

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SWCA 2082

Nobody has shown a Cattle Gun done up by Wolf & Klar. This one was Fort Worth Texas police officers Charles Johnsons.

Dan

WOW! That's nice!

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SWCA 2082

I had to add the latest one to the batch even though it is a Model 10.

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Vaya con Dios

Thanks for correcting me on the date. A couple of others looked at it & said that they had not seen those grips on one around that time. I let him remove them to see the ser. # stamped on it.
I am going to sell or trade that one.

The hammer seems to be a "short action", so must be after mid-1948 (??)

Well, the grips number to the gun. That's good. You may want to wait awhile before you sell it cheap. Find out exactly what it is worth. We can do that here.
But not in this thread.

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SWCA 2082

this one doesn't have the most pristine finish but the action
is smooth as glass and the cylinder is very tight. I really like these old round butts
DSCF1116.jpg

With that barrel length and the nice patina I think that one is very pretty. It still has some shine despite the wear and looks well balanced. I bet she shoots straight too. Nice piece.

Shipped April 11th 1938 to the Hamilton, Indiana Police Dep't.

There's been some debate on here whether this gun is reblued or not. A lot of disagreement even among the experts on this one. It shipped March 1924. I have the original non-medallion grips and they are pristine.

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Pat Henson

Are there any small Stamps on the Grip part of the Frame, indicating it had been sent back to S&W?

Kinda looks like a later 1930s or 1940s Blue which S&W would have done if one were sent in for a re-blue to them.

But definitely does not look like the Blue S&W was using in the early 1920s.