Just acquired this piece with box. Appears unfired and as new. Serial #137771

Attached Images

	32-30 HE 1905, 4th. Change, Serial #137771.JPG (127.7 KB, 245 views)
	32-20 Box.JPG (118.1 KB, 167 views)

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Seth A. Weston Jr.

Congratulations on a good find.

You can usually find a .32-20, but you can't often find one in that high a condition. Congratulations on an excellent score.

I'm assuming the box is numbered to the gun and the brush is original equipment, but even if that is a put-together package, it is still neat neat neat.

Late 1920s, I think, because of the medallionless stocks and relatively high serial number.

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David Wilson

I am jealous. You know that box has some damage, better let me take the whole deal off your hands

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Jim
Many K and N Frames

Congratulations! Doesn't matter the cost, you done good! Larry

Box and brush came with the gun. Gentleman I bought the gun from stated he remembered when his dad bought the gun new in Hardin Montana in the 20's. I paid 800.00

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Seth A. Weston Jr.

NICE FIND!!

have a old sw 3220 trying to find out how old it is

jlm2011,

Welcome to the Forum.

Please post the serial number, or most of it, taken from the butt of your revolver. You can post like this: 1234xx, if you want.

A listing of all markings would also be helpful. Round butt, square butt, barrel length, finish-blue or nickel, type of grips-wood, mother of pearl, ivory, with or without medallions.

Pictures are always appreciated.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

OK, it's probably a rookie question, but won't somebody PLEEAZE tell me where I can get a couple of the neat blue S&W display rods like smithandwessonguy used in his pix of his new acquisition? I don't display my revolvers often, but for photo purposes it would be nice to have 1 or 2 of them on hand.

TIA ~ Froggie

Here is my .32-20 SN 134XXX

its in pretty good shape, i paid 300 for it

i have a 3220 serial n 82287 3 and ahalf in barrel nickel finash round butt side of barrel 32 wcf ctg i do not no if the grip is mother of pearl or ivory one medallion one each side

the top of barrel patented feb-8-08 setp-14-08 dec-28-14

here is the 3220 i was talking about

muley gil this is the sw 3220 i was asking about if someone can help

jlm2011,

If you posted pictures, they didn't show up.

Barrels are measured from the front of the cylinder to the end of the barrel. It sounds like a 4" revolver to me.

Ivory is usually white to yellowish in color and will generally have "rings" on the butt section. S&W medallions would indicate that the grips are factory, not aftermarket. Check and see if the right grip has the serial number written on it on the inside.

Your revolver probably shipped around 1918-1919. Only a factory letter from the S&W historian would tell the exact date. That letter will also tell to whom the revolver was shipped.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

That is one fine looking revolver. To have the box is really nice too.

I inherited a 3220 that looks like the one posted. It has a low serial number 4XXX. Does anyone have comments on what i should look for to try to date the pistol? It also has a handmade holster of Mexican design. No original boxes or paperwork.

Thank you.

Texas42, welcome to the forum.

Is the 4xxx number stamped on the butt, or on the frame on the surface exposed when you swing the cylinder out? The frame numbers you see only when the cylinder is open are not the serial number and won't help.

The true serial number will ordinarily be repeated on the rear face of the cylinder and the flat underside of the barrel. A couple of other places, too, but they are harder to see.

If you can post a picture and confirm a serial number, somebody here can help you date the gun.

One thing that would help is to look for a row of patent dates on the barrel. What is the last one in the patent date block?

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David Wilson

s&wguy, very nice.
Here is another 1905,4th change I got a couple weeks ago. Just the gun and the grips are not Ivory. Gun shop thought they were. I received alot of help with that from the Forum. S/N 983xx , 5 in. barrel, shipped April 1921.

Someplace here in cyberspace we have a long running 32-20 thread or even 2 of them. With S&W we have some dating problems. Guns are built, finished, boxed and put away in a mysterious place called the vault. Then someone someplace orders one and the letter went to S&W. They didn't have a website back then. Poor planning I'm sure. Anyway some clerical type went to the "vault" and selected a gun that matched the order. He (we didn't have women's rights) just selected one and shipped it.

From the features we've been seeing, we've all pretty much decided all of the guns were produced in the late 1920s. We say that because of the grips and the ejector knobs. Those are clearly the same as seen on guns that continued production with changes in the 1930s. If anyone can show us otherwise, there are a whole bunch of 32-20 fans who would be interested. So just because they were produced in the 1920s and shipped later, when you get a factory letter it tells you the gun was shipped in the 1930s, maybe as late as 1940. Or earlier if that's the case. You can't relate ship date to production date.

Gun and box combinations are turning up fairly frequently. Over the last year I've seen a few. Those have prices up in the $1000 to $1400 range. Perfect guns, nice boxes.

I'm not sure price comparisons are valid. From time to time others just luck into great deals. If you see such a gun with its box, and its priced fairly (like less that what I've seen), then buy it. At the last show I bought a fixed sight 6" gun for $600. Its less than perfect, having a rash of very small rust type spots just above the grips. The sellers source had one of those sweat conditions that corroded everything he touched. Apparently he held the gun and forgot to wipe it afterwards. You'd have to look hard to see the problem. And my target gun was bought off a table with 2 others. They were sold for about $3000 each. Mine was less than perfect but still very nice, and I paid well under half as much. Condition isn't everything.

To me, numbers up over 120,000 are much more desirable. Those are the ones with 1920s features. Nice guns with a lot of shooting in them. Mine aren't investment guns, they're shooters.

Anyone who handles them would say they're very nice shooters. But objectively not collectors or investment grade guns.

In all this its important to honestly judge yourself and reasons for buying a gun. Then fit the gun to your needs.

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Dick Burg

Some beautiful old 32-20's here. Here's one that didn't fare as well...

Serial# 137355. Good boor and action but cheap, poorly re nickel-ed finish is flaking off. Markings on the barrel worn down. Fred Carter etched his name onto the back strap. Two other illegible names pencil scrawled on the insides of the stocks. This old girl has seen lots of action and has been passed around more than a dance hall girl on a Saturday night. You have to admit though, she ain't no collector's dream girl but she'd sure has some stories to tell if she could talk. Probably couldn't shut her up. But guns like her make those pristine examples all the more alluring, like stepping back to the day they came off the store shelf.
John