I have long had a soft spot for vintage little revolvers chambered for the .32 S&W Long cartridge. My addiction causes me to buy up every one I find in good shape at a reasonable price. 3 weeks ago at a local haunt I found a nice old .32 Hand Ejector wearing the really old hard rubber (bakelite) grips. It was mismarked as an M&P. The finish was great, at least 90%. It showed no signs of being messed with. The casecolors on the hammer and trigger were beautiful. The grips were perfect with no chips or cracks. I looked at it for two weeks in a row each time I passed this place, wavering back and forth over the price. This week, after seeing it was still there after 3 weeks, I decided to work up the nerve to bargain and took it home for $225 + tax. The serial number, in all the usual places, is 15xxx. The barrel is 4 1/4". The old girl was very tight. The crane and ejector rod were very stiff moving. There were no flash marks and no outward sign that this gun had ever been fired other than the turn line. I took it to the range today (I shoot nearly all of my guns) with some Magtech 98 gr LRN and some handloads with a 95 gr LSWC around 850 or so FPS. The first cylinderful, I got one bang and 5 clicks. I discovered that the firing pin was not protruding enough through the breechface to fire the gun. The problem was that the rebound was sticking and not moving so that the hammer could fully fall. That's how stiff this gun was! I ran a couple of squirts of kerosene through the action which freed it up and and came out brown. I'm thinking this could have been dried factory grease. I then fired my remaining 25 rounds of ammo without further incident as well as the five rounds that had previously misfired. This gun must have spent most of its life in someone's drawer! Imagine my surprise when I got home and checked my SCSW and found out it is the earliest version of the .32 Hand Ejector model of 1903 and shipped in 1904! This makes it my oldest Smith Hand Ejector. BTW, it is a four screw and lacks the trigger guard screw. According to SCSW, its a pre-5 screw 4-screw! How's that for confusing? Turns out the trigger guard screw wasn't added until 1905. Well, enough of the story, here's the pics. Not bad for a 107 year old revolver!

Wow, it must have been tough to hold out that long! Well done - she's a beauty.

Todd

So you dated the little cutie for 3 weeks and then took her home! I don't know how you delayed for so long! Maybe I adopt them too early? Thanks for sharing her with us. I'm amazed the grips look so clean and sharp. Kyle

Hi all,
I a newbie, having just joined.
Looking at this piece, it appears that I have the same gun, but in a nickle finish.
What I haven't bee able to find is the date of mfg. and the exact model number.
Can anyone help. Thanks!

Smith & Wessons didn't have model numbers 'til after 1957, only names. Yours would be a .32 Hand Ejector, model & engineering change number determined by a more exact identification by examination. Post some pix, serial number and markings, and the experts here will likely be able to identify it for you.

Larry

Very nice. For that kind of money, she'd have come home with me as well.

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James Redfield
LM #497

A charming oldie. I also have a soft spot for hand ejectors of any size from the 19-aughts and early 'teens.

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David Wilson

That is very nice. I'm glad you got your deal, and thanks for
sharing. TACC1

A nice old revolver. For an awful long time, they were undervalued, but that has changed. I think you did well. A very fair deal. Enjoy!

Cheers;
Lefty

SWEEEET!! I'm just wondering how you held out for so long. You must have been trying to prove you weren't a pushover, but you're lucky some pushover didn't come along and beat you to her. Congratulations on a great find.

Froggie

Congratulations. I share your appreciation for a fine revolver that sadly will never be made again.

Dang, I like your gun. Now I need to find a blued piece to go with my nickel one.

I nice find. I love these little .32s!

well, now i need a nickel to go with my blue one. i really like these .32 guns, wish i could find more.

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sweet! all of them!

Dragon88, how do you get your picture to come out that size, mine only show up small, also how did you get such a clean picture of your gun, it shows up really nice, I like your technique in taking and posting pictures.

I upload pictures to my photobucket account and then post them here. As for my pics, they are very amateurish actually. I hope to upgrade to a DSLR and a light box at some point. Right now I just take my pics on my balcony. Diffused sunlight and the macro setting are your friends. For background I have some random materials around the house that I typically grab, this one used the lining of a leather jacket.

very nice - congrats!

Did you find her at Lock's gun shop?

No, but I have found some nice things there.

Nice find an sweet price...anyone have an idea on what these are worth?

Here's mine..