Hey guys been looking for a nice K frame 2.5 19/66 & I came upon a very nice S&W 38/44 .38 special N framed sized gun Nickle finish 4 inch barrel fixed sights. This gun looks great the mechanics of this gun is very good. Comes with stag grips that really make this gun stand out! Seller is asking $600.00 is this a fair price for this gun!

$600 is probably a very good price, but you don't provide much information about the revolver to go on. As described it's probably the HD (Heavy Duty) model. What is the serial number? Are there any pictures available?

Pre war or post war? Is the finish original? Possibly an awesome deal, possibly not.

It would be hard for me to pass up. Under any circumstance it will take the most powerful 38 Special rounds and would be a good H D gun.

I would buy it regardless....If they are Sambar Stags they can be worth up to $300,Thats a 4" Nickel 38/44 for $300...

Was this gun purchased in Cedar City? If so, you beat me to it by about 1 minute.

No I haven't bought it, I saw it still listed today. Just know these 38/44 heavy frames ought to have some value to them & wanted some opinions!

How much is an old ford worth?

You see the problem? Maybe worthless, but maybe it's a pristine shelby mustang. No way to know based on the description.

Based on your description it could be worthless or it could be worth $1500, no way to know.

If you want a worthwhile opinion- you need pictures or a better description.

This thread needs pictures. That said, in this part of the country, $600 is a LOT of money for a .38, even an N frame .38. One sat in a gun shop up in Jonesboro for years priced at $475.

When you go to sell it (if you do, and you always should consider that eventuality), you will be in competition against .38 Specials. And it will be tough, asking $600 for your .38 when everybody else at the gun show has .38s for $250-300 or so and maybe a bit more for a VERY nice one.

In most places, an N-frame .38/44 (HD or ODM) will be in a different (and higher) price bracket from a .38 Special K-frame in similar condition.

I follow a rule of thumb that was first mentioned here about a year or two back: any mechanically sound N-frame with a halfway decent finish on it (which basically means not pitted, rusted or abused) is at least a $400 gun. Then you start adding dollars for model scarcity, better condition, value-added features, general desirability in your own eyes, and so forth.

I would look hard at a 60-year old nickel gun in top condition, because there is always the chance it has been refinished. That's a value-killer as far as collectors are concerned, but may mean nothing to someone who just wants a utilitarian large-frame .38 for general purposes. If it has had its chambers lengthened to take .357 Magnum rounds, that kills not just collector value, but collector interest as well. A dead givewaway for a careless refinish would be plated hammer and trigger. They should ALWAYS be case-colored. If they remain CC, that's good -- but look for other refinish hints like an overpolished gully where frame and sideplate come together or light/missing rollmarks.

Can you share the serial number, or at least tell us whether it had an S prefix? With the S, it is either a postwar transitional HD or a Pre-Model 20. (I'm assuming you would have told us it was a Model 20 if it was model marked.) A nickel transitional with a good original finish is easily worth $600 (and possibly a lot more), and a Pre-20 may be worth that much. If it is a somewhat uncommon prewar four-inch gun with original nickel finish, so much the better.

Sorry about the conditional answer, but at this stage there just isn't enough detail to give you a simpler one. Pics would really help.

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David Wilson

True. A PERFECT K-frame .38 might break $500. Maybe. With the box and no drag line. A nice honest one is really a $400-425 gun at best. I am going on real-world experience here, and the nice 4" HD that sat for YEARS in a shop in Jonesbourough for $475. Or my 24-3 I only got $250 out of, as nobody wanted it as it was "only a .44 Special."

Take it to a gun show, and 9/10 of lookers won't even want to look at it once they find out it's a .38. In East Tennessee, a nice HD would at best be a $450 gun. Might be a regional thing, as prewar .32-20s are significantly more common than .38s here, but that's my experience.

It sounds like a good opportunity to buy them "right" and put them on GunBroker or here in the classifieds and make a few dollars.
In SE Pa, they easily bring 1 1/2 times what you are describing. And that's if you can find one for sale

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Rick
SWCA #2727 , SWHF #435

Ok guys first off this gun is not mine I am just purely looking at it! Thanks DCWilson you have given me more information that helps thanks and I really appreciate it I could take a .357 magnum shell and see if it chambers in the cylinders to know if its been bored out or not and to look for things if its been refinished or not. I am thinking its original finish though.

Ignoring the fact that that's "engaging in the business" and in a more philosophical vein is very similar to what Turner Kirkland did to Trapdoor Springfields and Krags in pricing them out of the market for plain working folks, there's the fact that Heavy Duties and Outdoorsmen apparently weren't popular in Appalachia when they were new. City policemen carried K frame .38s (Knoxville went from Model 13s to Glocks), and their country cousins carried .32-20s.

Admittedly the same logic behind the HD was behind the .32-20, "hard shooting gun." But a .32-20 was considerably cheaper than a .38-44, and "For Model 92 Only" .32-20 Winchester High Velocity was in almost every hardware store. A very important consideration for a county sheriff deputy that had to buy his own gun and ammo.

Around here out of 10 prewar Smiths, 6-7 will be K frames (slightly heavier on almost always HEAVILY used .32-20s) and the other 3 will be 1917s. In 20+ years of collecting I have seen one Heavy Duty, one Outdoorsman and one Third Model .44 Special for sale. The Third Model had a 5" barrel and was probably a 6 1/2" when made. Looked it had had a rung barrel, and instead of replacing it, somebody cut the rung section out, brazed it back together and nickel plated the thing.

But to get back to the OP, here in East TN, $600 for a .38 N-frame is pretty chesty.

I know the gun you are looking at. Finish is not original. It's a Arkansas State Police gun that likely was well used and then refinished. The hammer and trigger are nickeled also. Still, if you can get it for $500 or less, I think you make a good buy. Good luck.