Hi, I need help identifying this gun if anyone can help me out. So this gun belonged to my grandfather, from what I've been told he had it since he was young living in Dallas, Tx. At some point as its been passed down through my family the back of the hammer has snapped off and I would like to try and find a replacement.

So i looked in the usual spot for a model number behind the cylinder arm and the number i found was 25559 which doesn't seem to correspond with any S&W Revolvers I can find. I tried looking in the preview of Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson and reading a little but there wasn't any information in the preview that really helped me much. I currently can't afford to spend $60 on the entire book in the hopes that it helps identify the gun (though it looks like a really neat book).

I've taken about a dozen pictures of the gun in question and all the markings I could find on it. The barrel is about 4" in length and everything is original except the grips, the originals were lost in a house fire when my dad was a child.

I have uploaded the pictures to Imgur and will post the link below. If more information is needed or if I need to upload the pictures here just let me know.

Any help would be appreciated as id really like to try and replace the damaged hammer.

Album of pictures (15 Total):
38 S&W Special - Album on Imgur

Attached Images

IMG_20170501_211311.jpg (55.6 KB, 119 views)

You don't see a model no. because the gun is too old for one. That marking began in 1958, authorized in 1957.


The gun is a Military & Police model, and I think has a five-inch barrel. Measure from the cylinder face to the muzzle, as some barrel is inside the frame.


This barrel length in this gun was used by the RCMP and by Detroit police, among others.


Yours was made after WWII, proably in the 1950's. The missing part of the hammer doesn't let me see if it had the "squiggle" or Speed hammer, but if you post the full serial number, someone else can give you the date it shipped from S&W.


I hope that you can replace the damaged hammer. S&W hammers can break if the gun is dropped on the hammer. Colt used to advertise that their hammers were heat treated differently, to prevent that.


This was S&W's most common gun, so you should be able to find the part. But it may need hand fitting by a skilled armorer.

Additionally: because it was in a fire, do not shoot the gun unless S&W or a competent gunsmith examines it and gives their okay.


I think the gun is now just a family keepsake, and I probably wouldn't bother replacing the hammer. I'm glad that I re-read your post and saw that about the fire.


Because I have no idea when your grandfather lived in Dallas, that doesn't help to date the gun. But I guess you know the dates?


My best guess is that the gun was made between 1948-1953. The front sight shape is a factor in this guess. It probably had the squiggle hammer.

I don't think the gun experienced the fire. I think OP was speaking strictly about the original grips. That's how I read it anyway, and the included pic shows a gun that I don't believe has been through a fire. I could be mistaken however.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

It looks pretty bad to me, and why would the original grips not have been on it? I guess it could have had replacement grips on it, but the OP didn't state that.


Maybe it just needs wiping off with an oily rag?


I hope the OP knows if it was in the fire. If not, yes, I hope he can replace the hammer. If he can't find a squiggle hammer, I think the later hammer will fit, and I think it looks better.

The serial number is S854515. It can be seen on the rear face of the cylinder, the butt and on the barrel flat in your pictures. I knew from your first picture that it was postwar and that it had to be from before 1948 because of the extractor rod knob. But the serial number confirms it. Yours probably left the factory in November, 1946. At the time, it was called the .38 Military & Police, no model number.

The stocks are post-1967. The barrel is 5" long.

When you go looking for a hammer, it will have to be for the long action. High Speed hammers were introduced in the autumn of 1947, on the late S prefix guns.

__________________
Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

You have a post-war 38 M&P made about 1946-47.
It is called a Transition model because it still has the long action of pre-war guns. In 1948 a shorter action was designed.

__________________
Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Thank you everyone for the responses!

To answer a few things it probably was a 5" barrel, as I didn't know to measure all the way to the cylinder.

It was in the fire to some extent, my father said the grips were charred. However the gun has been in regular use since then as my family target shoots a lot. I don't know if they ever had it inspected after the fire, I wouldn't have thought to but I see your point.

As far as when he lived in Dallas I know he spent his childhood there and I assume he came back to Dallas after his time in the Army Air Corps. I'm not sure when he left to move up north.

I had read about the "S" prefix being those right after the victory model but I couldn't tell if that was actually a prefix to the serial number or something else since its spaced so far away from the numbers in all of the places its marked. Full number is S 854515.

I guess I'll begin the search for a replacement hammer, I'll probably hang on to the old one but i would like a full hammer for functionality.

Thanks again everyone.

Welcome to the Forum.

Sometimes parts just drop in. Often, they don't. When changing hammers it helps to swap out the double action sear, which is spring loaded and fits in the front of the hammer.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

The S was spaced to the left of the number on the butt to allow for a hole to accommodate a lanyard swivel. This was standard practice on the V and the earliest S numbers continued having the hole. The earliest S civilian shipments had the hole plugged. When they stopped drilling the hole, they continued with the space (I doubt anyone really knows why). This continued for a while even into the C prefix numbers.

On the cylinder, the S was placed between charge holes one away from the number simply for spacing reasons (too crowded between charge holes for six digits plus the letter).

I have no idea why there is a space on the barrel flat. There just is.

__________________
Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

It's been well established that you have a postwar M&P. Based on serial numbers on my list, it probably shipped during the late 1946-early 1947 period. The non-original grips on it date from 1969 or later, and are of the type called "PC" (for plainclothes) by most collectors. Nothing unusual about that, and identifiable by the rounded bottoms intended to minimize wear on clothing when carried concealed. Numerically, there weren't that many S-series M&Ps made, fewer than 200K, before the C-series began. Not rare, but not exactly common either. It does have the improved hammer drop safety first introduced in early 1945.

Serial # 38 S&W. C. 166xxx

Welcome to the Forum.

You are better off starting your own thread, rather than tagging onto an existing thread.

What you wanting to know? Please read this thread for ID questions:

To IDENTIFY your Gun >

The number stamped on the butt is the "official" serial number. All other markings should be posted as well. Pictures are always helpful.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Thank you , John