Inherited a prewar .38/.44 HD

sparkledyne · #1 11-21-2016, 11:23 PM

I'm looking for information about an old S&W .38 my brother and I inherited from our uncle, a WWII Navy vet. From what we can gather, it looks like it is a .38/.44 Heavy Duty. It has a 39xxx s/n, which apparently dates it to 1932.

I haven't had a chance to look at it yet, but my brother is shipping it out and I should be able to pick it up at my local FFL later this week. Unfortunately, at least from the pictures I have, it also looks like it was subjected to a not-so-great plating job somewhere among the years, and the original grips were swapped out for some stag-style Franzite ones - which he said had a loose grip screw. (see attached pictures)

I'm not too worried about collector value, since it belonged to a beloved uncle, but I would like to clean it up and get it into better shape as a gun I could shoot at the range. Questions people could help me with are:

1) Are there any S&W or good quality aftermarket grips available at an affordable price, and what sources would you recommend? (I'm assuming that any original pre-war S&W grips would be ridiculously expensive and hard-to-find?)

And how would I know which N-frame grips are going to fit this pre-war gun? (I get the impression that the pre-war frames were sized somewhat differently than later N-frames?)

2) Any recommendations for the initial cleaning up, and then caring for the plated finish? I have no idea is it is nickle or chrome, or how to tell other than comparing colors, or if that would make a substantial difference in how to care for it.

I should be able to take some better pictures of my own after the holidays, and I'll post them up when I do.

Thank you very much for your help.

1Aspenhill · #2 11-22-2016, 12:44 AM

Check under the grips when you get it. On the right side of the frame there should be either a "N" or "B" which should tell you how it left the factory. Original grips would be service grips which would be several hundred dollars. There are grip makers out there who can make grips for HD, again several hundred dollars. If the finish has a "bluish" tint it is probably chrome. The hammer and trigger left S&W case hardened. Just clean it up and have it checked by a gunsmith for any play or front end shake which they can fix then have and shoot it.

Timberpigeon · #3 11-22-2016, 06:51 PM

Agree with Aspenhill, have a GS check out and tighten up the mechanics, but I wouldn't do anything with the grips. It is in memory of your uncle so I would use it as he did.....

Go to the range and have fun... You have one of the sweetest shooting .38s ever sold to the general public!

DWalt · #4 11-22-2016, 08:43 PM

39xxx would indicate probably 1932-33 shipment. Pre-war N-frame grips are dimensionally slightly different. Correct factory grips would be round tops (not Magnas) with diamond checkering and a silver S&W medallion. Those are difficult to find and will be expensive. Check eBay. You might get lucky.

sparkledyne · #5 02-17-2017, 08:31 PM

Well, I cleaned up the horrendously tarnished nickle with a light application of Mother's Aluminum Polish, and after much searching and asking about, sourced some affordable pre-war N-Frame M1917 repro service grips from Numrich that fit nice and tight - nearly perfectly except for the corners of the butt. For $50 I'm not complaining at all. Though the finish is what it is, the cleanup and new grips made a huge improvement. I had a smith at a local shop look it over for a safety check and took it out to the range, and it shoots great.

The cylinder seems to want to sometimes override the stop on the frame when it is open and tilted back though, so I'm going to see if it's possible to have a smith correct that by tightening it up. (Anyone have any experience with that?) If not, it's still a fun gun to shoot. That pre-war lockwork is very smooth, and the single action break is really, really nice.

Grips, Square Butt, Diamond Checkered Walnut Gun Parts | 979450 | Numrich Gun Parts

Jack Flash · #6 02-17-2017, 08:45 PM

Looks fine as is. Shoot it and enjoy it.

Muley Gil · #7 02-17-2017, 09:29 PM

"The cylinder seems to want to sometimes override the stop on the frame when it is open and tilted back though, so I'm going to see if it's possible to have a smith correct that by tightening it up. (Anyone have any experience with that?)"

The frame lug was probably polished a bit too much when it was plated. In the past, I have just SLIGHTLY tapped the lug out, working from the inside. It takes just a tiny amount of movement. The lug can also be replaced.

sparkledyne · #8 02-17-2017, 11:00 PM

Thanks for the info. That's exactly what I was thinking, that the lug was probably polished out too much back in the day, though the cylinder also has a tiny little bit of side-to-side play in it when it is open. Good to know that it is potentially a replaceable part - that isn't obvious just looking at it.