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S&W Hand Ejectors: 1896 to 1961 All 5-Screw & Vintage 4-Screw SWING-OUT Cylinder REVOLVERS, and the 35 Autos and 32 Autos


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Old 02-17-2011, 11:39 PM
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A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY  
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Default A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY

One of my first S&W's was a square butt 38 M&P that had been refinished, I think. Got it for an okay price but was still new to the hobby and was not as particular or knowledgable about original nickel versus non-original nickel finishes. Anyway, got another one this last week that I once again thought was possibly original finish but now appears not to be. Thought I would post some pics of each gun to show the differences and get some further feedback.

The first has the humpback hammer, not original, and is the square butt. I now believe it was likely refinished but not at the factory, but still not 100% about that.

The round butt is the latest acquistion and actually looks to have a better finish and shows some definitive markings of a factory refinish in 1956. Although, I am unsure what the "O" mark on the barrel and frame represents. The barrel does number to the rest of the gun.

I think they make a nice pair and like I have said before, refinished guns from the factory are an interesting variation and are almost always priced right.
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Old 02-17-2011, 11:42 PM
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A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY  
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Default More pics

Here's some more pics of the frame markings. I do have more pics if anyone would like to see anything else about either of these pistols.
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Old 02-18-2011, 11:12 AM
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I would bet the "O" is an assembler/fitters stamp.
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Old 02-18-2011, 12:56 PM
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A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by H Richard View Post
I would bet the "O" is an assembler/fitters stamp.
So likely it's been there since it's inception. That's good. I was worried it was some sort of rework mark, like the infamous star.
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Old 02-18-2011, 03:31 PM
mikepriwer mikepriwer is offline
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Daniel

I've never seen an "O" like that before. The fitters marks were
always placed around the stock pin, in a rather uneven pattern.

If you have higher-resolution copies of the pictures showing that
"O" on both the barrel and the grip frame, and also a good picture of
the serial number on the butt, you should set them up in a library
here, and make a posting on the S&WCA part of the site, if you are a
member. (If not, I can do it.) Perhaps Roy will comment on that
mark.

Mike Priwer
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Old 02-18-2011, 04:43 PM
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A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY A couple refinished pre-war 38's PIC HEAVY  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mikepriwer View Post
Daniel

I've never seen an "O" like that before. The fitters marks were
always placed around the stock pin, in a rather uneven pattern.

If you have higher-resolution copies of the pictures showing that
"O" on both the barrel and the grip frame, and also a good picture of
the serial number on the butt, you should set them up in a library
here, and make a posting on the S&WCA part of the site, if you are a
member. (If not, I can do it.) Perhaps Roy will comment on that
mark.

Mike Priwer
Mike, will do. I'll see if I can get better pics of that particular gun and markings. Thanks.
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