You all must get tired of these 38 Special CTG posts. I read all the ones here. I'm no different than the others. I looking to date my S&W that has been handed down through my family. I'll let the photos do the talking. The barrel length is 5". Under the ejector pin is the letter "A" or "B" followed by the same number as on the butt.
Thanks for your help.
Welcome to the forum! CTG stands for cartridge. Your gun is a .38 Military and Police Model of 1905 4th change. Do the stocks number to the gun? The stocks are the style used in the twenties. The serial number is probably in the range of the late teens to early twenties. These are very common but very fine revolvers. Someone probably has a better handle on the serial number than I do.
The problem about grip numbering is that back then, the SN on the grip panel was not stamped, but penciled. And over the years, it often fades away (or is obscured by oil) and is often not legible. I have three pairs of such 1920s grips, and I cannot make out SNs on any of them. In any event, the grip style is correct for the 1920s.
I looking to date my S&W that has been handed down through my family. I'll let the photos do the talking. The barrel length is 5". Under the ejector pin is the letter "A" or "B" followed by the same number as on the butt.
Welcome - looks like 1920-1921 ship date. In 1922, S&W started stamping the right side of the frame "MADE IN USA".
The stamp on the underside of the barrel is a "B", indicating the revolver was originally made with a blued finish. There also looks like some sort of mark on the butt next to the serial number. Can you make out what it is?
You all must get tired of these 38 Special CTG posts.
No, what some may tire of is not the question, but having to explain that CTG is an abbreviation for "cartridge." That marking on the barrel is the caliber for which the weapon is chambered, not the model name of the revolver.
I saw that earlier, but it's not unusual to see initials stamped or engraved into the metal.
I think the M&Ps made between the wars are the most interesting, but that's just me. Back in those days, the revolvers had the old style "Long Action" which many consider to be smoother than the post-1948 "High Speed Hammer" short action. The shape of the hammer is quite a bit different before and after the change. And as noted, the lack of a "MADE IN U.S.A." stamping on the right side of the frame ahead of the cylinder is a quick indicator that the gun is from 1922 or earlier.
Due to its condition, yours is not very valuable, but any family connection makes it much more valuable to you. Don't consider re-finishing it - just clean it up as best you can with solvent and keep it waxed. It should be perfectly safe to shoot providing everything locks up tightly.
No, what some may tire of is not the question, but having to explain that CTG is an abbreviation for "cartridge." That marking on the barrel is the caliber for which the weapon is chambered, not the model name of the revolver.
Last night at dinner, I asked my wife, who knows next to nothing about guns, the question, "If you saw .38 S&W Special CTG on the barrel of a revolver, what would you think it meant?" After swallowing her bite of taco salad, she replied, ".38 Smith and Wesson Special Cartridge?" If she, who has never owned a gun, and only shot one once, could figure that out in the midst of chewing her dinner, I don't really understand why people find it so difficult to understand that that is not the name of the gun. Oh well...
Help dating a S&W 38 Special CTG
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