Inherited .38 special revolver need help id

[Bugatti]

I am new to revolvers and inherited a 0.38 special snub-nose from my grandfather. Looking at pictures of other K frames, I keep seeing similar revolvers, but nothing quite the same. The serial number on the grip is: C 48XXX (seems short a number?), the swing has: a 9 above another series of numbers 94XXX and the wheel has yet a different number: C 48XXX. It's in great shape and fires well, but I'm not sure of model, approximate year made and whether it can handle +P ammo. Thanks.

[Jim Watson]

Is the first C48XXX the same as the second C48XXX?
The 94XXX is a factory control number and means nothing after the gun is finished and delivered.

Looks like late 1940s manufacture.

I would not shoot +P in it on a regular basis.
S&W says only guns with model numbers, 1957 and later, are "rated" for +P.
Would I load it with +P hollowpoints for last ditch self defense? You bet.

[DCWilson]

Welcome to the forum. That would be a .38 Military & Police from 1948. In the condition you describe it is a $400-500 gun depending on the part of the country where it would go to market.

I agree with Jim about use of +P -- no steady diet, but it won't grenade in your hand with occasional use.

[Bugatti]

Sorry, yes, the grip and wheel C48XXX are the same.

Thanks for the heads up on the +P. It's older than I expected it to be, as it's in great shape.

[DWalt]

+P ammunition is not that bad or unsafe in even the older (1920s or later) M&Ps. But my main concern is why anyone would want to use much of it in the first place. It provides very little ballistic advantage over standard loadings (assuming the same bullet designs) and is somewhat more expensive. I guess many just assume +P means it is vastly more powerful and deadly. It is not. In fact, +P loadings of today are essentially the same as standard loadings of many years ago, before the ammunition factories reduced their loadings over 40 years ago.

[flagman1776]

I agree that limited use of +P would be fine. When +P was introduced, it was indeed loaded to higher pressures to get higher velocity. Powder devolupement has allowed these same "higher" velocities at reduced pressures but the cases are still marked +P for sales reasons.