Age of .38 Special

Sea Goat · Oct 31, 2011

Good afternoon,

I inherited the below .38 Special from my grandfather. He was a captain in the Navy during WWII. It may have been his side arm.

Does anyone here know what the date of manufacture may be? The serial number is 192907.

I have no desire to sell it, but anyone have a guess on how much it would be worth for insurance purposes?

Thanks, any direction would be appreciated.

diamonback68 · Oct 31, 2011

It's a Military&Police model of 1905 4th change.
It was already pretty old by WWII. It was already old by WWI. It was shipped probably somewhere around 1913.

DCWilson · Oct 31, 2011

That's a .38 M&P Model of 1905, Third change. It probably shipped about 1912 or 1913, so it's quite a bit older than WWII. You should also see that serial number on the rear face of the cylinder, the flat underside of the barrel and -- perhaps -- penciled on the inner surface of the right stock panel.

Has the gun been refinished? I can't tell from the photo but it looks really dark and little worn. On the other hand, there are some scratches and dents on the stock that are inconsistent with what appears to be good preservation on the rest of the gun.

The M&P is S&W's most-produced model, so there is no scarcity premium for these. Shooter grade guns of this age are probably in the $300-400 range, a little better if in high condition.

I wouldn't shoot +P ammo in this revolver, but I have some old M&Ps that I shoot 148 gr match wadcutter ammo in all the time. Similar low pressure handloads would be OK too.

Sea Goat · Oct 31, 2011

Wow, that was quick. Thanks for the prompt responses.

Regarding ammo, I have 158 grain ballistic tip bullets. Is the 158 too much. There was some old ammo that my grandfather had bought years ago and that was the same as what I recently purchased. I was worried that it might have a dud or two in the box. The ammo has been in an underwear drawer for years. Do you think it is still fireable?

DCWilson · Oct 31, 2011

Standard 158 gr ammo is probably OK as long as you don't fire thousands of rounds a year through the gun. In the 'teens steels were softer and lots of shooting could stretch the frame and even the cylinder a little. You probably won't get a blow out, but why risk shooting hotter ammo in a classic revolver?

I'd think that ammo would be OK, but if it is as much as 50 years old it might be worth more to a collector than it is as expendable rounds.

tom turner · Oct 31, 2011

Hi,

I'd recommend getting some .38 Special 148gn wadcutter target ammunition for your M&P.

This load is really soft shooting . . . easy on the shooter and the revolver . . . and you'll be stunned how well that revolver can shoot I imagine!

bananaman · Nov 2, 2011

S Goat, I have a 1905 4th, change 2996xx from June of 1919. I shoot any standard 38 Special non + P ammo. Have had no problems. Who needs to shoot hot loads in these old classics though? Enjoy it! Bob

Sea Goat · Nov 3, 2011

I checked the new box of ammo I bought and it was not+P. If I shoot the gun 50 times a year, it would be alot. All target practice...I hope.

Sea Goat · Dec 19, 2011

So, I went out to the firing range and shot a few rounds out of the gun. It appears that there is some kind of misfire or backfire. These pictures are a screen grab from a video taken on my phone.

I don't think there should be this much flame shooting out of the cylinder.

diamonback68 · Dec 19, 2011

Sea Goat said:
So, I went out to the firing range and shot a few rounds out of the gun. It appears that there is some kind of misfire or backfire. These pictures are a screen grab from a video taken on my phone.

I don't think there should be this much flame shooting out of the cylinder.

Looks normal to me. You get that much flash when you fire any revolver, you just don't notice it most of the time because it's so instantaneous, but it's there.

walnutred · Dec 19, 2011

Don't discard the story about your Grandfather carrying the revolver during WW2 just because of the revolvers age. Private sidearms were not that unusual, especially for Officers. Given that it would have fit nicely in an issue holster and fired issue ammo it's highly unlikely anyone would have cared that it was not a government issue revolver.

Sea Goat · Dec 19, 2011

diamonback68 said:
Looks normal to me. You get that much flash when you fire any revolver, you just don't notice it most of the time because it's so instantaneous, but it's there.

Thanks. I was hoping that was the case. The gun shop that cleaned it for me a few months ago supposedly test fired it and did not mention any problems test firing it.

Age of .38 Special

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