My 1st Hand Ejector

NukeFromOrbit · #1 12-01-2012, 11:45 PM

I'm a long-term lurker here, but finally have something nice enough in my S&W collection to post a few pictures.

I picked up this Hand Ejector in .32-20 at a sale yesterday, for not very much money. The listing said the serial number dates the gun to 1907. I loved the way it looks with the deep blue finish and the stag grips, and the action feels good, so it should be a good shooter. And, I like the old calibers - the other gun I bought at the sale is a Krag Carbine in .30 Army (.30-40 Krag).

Here are a few pictures:

I noticed that the serial number was stamped on the crane, but a different number was stamped on the bottom of the butt, the underside of the barrel, and on the face of the cylinder. What does it mean?

The finish on the cylinder and pin looks to be a slightly different shade. Is that unusual?

I'd appreciate any information you can provide. Thanks!

Tony

delta-419 · #2 12-02-2012, 12:01 AM

Great looking gun and I love the stag grips. That's a super find. The numbers in the crane area are assembly numbers and don't mean much. The true serial number is on the butt, back of the cylinder, and under the barrel. There should be a matching number on the back of the ejector star.
All of those numbers should be the same. The 32 Winchester aka: 32-20 was a very popular caliber in the early 1900s-1930s. I don't have my copy of the Standard Catalog of S&W 3rd edition handy or I could get you an approximate date of manufacture. You will enjoy shooting it, I have a couple of them and they are great shooters.

delta-419 · #3 12-02-2012, 12:05 AM

Serial number 122168 was bult around 1905-1906 and is refered to as the model of 1905. Hope this helps.

bmg60 · #4 12-02-2012, 12:15 AM

Hi
Nice gun. The reason the cly and ejector rod are a different color is the gun has been refinished. You can also tell by the logo, one side of it is buffed more, also the pin above the grips is polished flat.
should make a great shooter.
Jim Fisher

Alk8944 · #5 12-02-2012, 01:30 AM

The .32-20 Hand Ejector or Winchester Model, while otherwise being identical to the .38 Military & Police model, had it's own serial number range. Your revolver dates to ca. mid-1924 as guns with 120,000 range numbers have been reported as having shipped February 1924, and 125,000 in October that year. While the model was cataloged until 1940, best estimate of actual manufacture dates puts the end of production in ca. 1930-31. SN 143607, slightly more than 1000 from the last recorded number manufactured was reported to have shipped on 10-27-1931, while 143611, only 4 numbers higher, shipped in 1939.

Your gun has been re-finished as pointed out above, but on average a relatively decent job, except for the poor temperature control causing the difference in color for some parts, probably run in a different bluing batch! It is a Model 1905 4th Change.

Frank46 · #6 12-02-2012, 03:49 AM

Hey what about the krag??. group picture. Got mine at a gun show in NY when I lived up there. Cutdown 1898 rifle with a great bore. You don't see machining like that anymore. Course my Persian long rifle 98/29 in 8mm has a nice tight bolt and glides. great 32-20 by the way. Frank

DCWilson · #7 12-02-2012, 05:21 AM

That's a nice .32-20. I agree with those who point out reasons for a ship date in the 1920s. That's to your advantage, because by that time the company was using a different hardening standard and the guns wore better than the ones made 20 years earlier.

Let me also point out that an earlier owner customized the front sight by filing a short step into it and putting a brass bead or post on the resulting vertical surface. He was doing his part to turn a service revolver into a target revolver by improving the front sight.

I will be interested to hear how this one shoots. I suspect you will find that it is a very accurate revolver. Thanks for posting the pics.

mikepriwer · #8 12-02-2012, 01:00 PM

All of the above information is important. The 32-20 guns were serial-numbered in
their own series, which ran from 1 to about 144,000. A similar-serial-numbered
.38 would be a much earlier gun, like 1907 or so, which is what confused the seller.
The .38's ran from 1 to about 800,000 in the same time period.

Mike Priwer

roaddog28 · #9 12-02-2012, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NukeFromOrbit

I'm a long-term lurker here, but finally have something nice enough in my S&W collection to post a few pictures.

I picked up this Hand Ejector in .32-20 at a sale yesterday, for not very much money. The listing said the serial number dates the gun to 1907. I loved the way it looks with the deep blue finish and the stag grips, and the action feels good, so it should be a good shooter. And, I like the old calibers - the other gun I bought at the sale is a Krag Carbine in .30 Army (.30-40 Krag).

Here are a few pictures:

I noticed that the serial number was stamped on the crane, but a different number was stamped on the bottom of the butt, the underside of the barrel, and on the face of the cylinder. What does it mean?

The finish on the cylinder and pin looks to be a slightly different shade. Is that unusual?

I'd appreciate any information you can provide. Thanks!

Tony

Great looking revolver Tony. I bet she shoots like a dream.
Thanks for sharing.
Howard

NukeFromOrbit · #10 12-02-2012, 02:59 PM

Thank you all for the friendly and detailed replies - you're a great bunch!

I'm planning on picking up a vintage holster or having Rob from Simply Rugged make me one, and this revolver will be my sidearm of choice at the next Ohioans for Concealed Carry event.

I'm just getting started in reloading and only have dies for .45 ACP so far, so I plan on buying some factory ammo to take this one to the range (and to acquire some brass). Any recommendations on factory ammo for this revolver?

Thanks again,

Tony

Wiregrassguy · #11 12-02-2012, 03:31 PM

Black Hills makes a cowboy load that should be fun to shoot. Don't know if stores near you carry it, but Ammo To Go does.

NukeFromOrbit · #12 12-02-2012, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frank46

Hey what about the krag??. group picture. Got mine at a gun show in NY when I lived up there. Cutdown 1898 rifle with a great bore. You don't see machining like that anymore. Course my Persian long rifle 98/29 in 8mm has a nice tight bolt and glides. great 32-20 by the way. Frank

Thanks, Frank. I was losing my light yesterday, but did snap a couple of quick pictures:

This is an arsenal cutdown from a Model of 1898 Rifle, I believe. It's in very nice condition, though I'll be scrubbing up the bore for a while.

The rifle sold with a bandoleer of Remington .30 Army ammo, which is a rare bird itself these days. The interesting part to me was that the auction house had some information about the original owner, who served during the Spanish-American War, and they sold his uniform blouse, a stag-handled fighting knife, and a couple of his medals as well. I didn't wind up with those items because they were expensive - the uniform blouse went for almost as much as the rifle, as did the knife.

The Carbine will make a nice shooter once I clean up that bore. I own a pair of 1898 Rifle already, which will make nice companions for this one.