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S&W Hand Ejectors: 1896 to 1961 All 5-Screw & Vintage 4-Screw SWING-OUT Cylinder REVOLVERS, and the 35 Autos and 32 Autos


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Old 09-12-2017, 08:27 AM
Stopsign32v Stopsign32v is offline
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Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start?  
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Default Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start?

I'm wanting a 1st-4th change square butt in 38 special as mainly a collector and shooter, I'm wanting to shoot it a good bit. What should I know about these? How rare was nickel? I see many in really good shape but I'm assuming these would probably be refinished.

Also price seems to be everywhere! $400-1,000
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Old 09-12-2017, 08:45 AM
Stopsign32v Stopsign32v is offline
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I also saw one from the 1920s with a lanyard ring. Would this be factory?
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Old 09-12-2017, 08:49 AM
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I bought one about 15 years ago sitting on the shelf in a LGS going out of business. He just cleaned out the store's safe and put the last of what was in there on display for sale. It was unfired (except for testing at Factory) and in 100% pristine condition. It was marked $250 but the owner of the shop said to me as I was looking at it, "yea I know.... no one wants those damned old fashioned Revolvers any more". I looked at him without saying a word and he said "buy it now and you can have it for $175". My wallet came out faster than Paladin's Colt! When he handed the gun to me he said "I have another one with a longer barrel - should I bring it out"? He did but I felt so guilty I gave my friend who was with me the opportunity to buy it and unfortunately for me - he did! NOS also - and same price!

My point here is I looked for one over many years and gun shows but when I was not even trying, one (two) just popped up! That's how it seems to happen for me

I would suspect if you want one sooner than later you might try the usual places like GB, GA, LGS's, Shows, etc. or place an add here in the Wanted Section. I'd also advise looking at the Bulletin Board (if there is one) at your Shooting Range or Club. We have several at my Club and there is always something that catches my attention. many guys just walk right buy it and never understand what Gems can be found there.

As far as price - depends what venue you score it in. A private owner might save you money over a LGS or website seller.
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Old 09-12-2017, 08:59 AM
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Actually you can find these in carried a lot but not shot a lot condition . I like the police department used ones as they generaly practiced with light target loads back in the day .You can still find deals on decent shooters as people are trading them in on automatics daily it seems .I am not a collector so I realy cant help you there but it's hard to beat a good S&W revolver chambered in 38 special for an all around gun .I do know the ones with pinned barrels and recessed cylinders are more desirable as far as collecting goes but I put shooters and true collectible guns in different categories that said a shooter in good condition well kept and not abused with too many heavy loads will generaly hold it's value and maybe even go up in price as the years go by .Goodluck and let us know when you get yours .

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Old 09-12-2017, 09:38 AM
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"...recessed cylinders..."

S&Ws in .38 special didn't have recessed cylinders. Only Magnum and rimfire revolvers had recessed cylinders.
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Old 09-12-2017, 09:50 AM
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Okay. I am getting some experience in this area.

1922


1924


1926


I've only shot the 1926 so far. Paid $180 for it last May. Shoots okay
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Old 09-12-2017, 09:55 AM
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I'm still waiting to get ahold of this guy. Don't know if he is a 1942 or 1947 yet. Depends on an "S" prefix or not. But I am expecting him to be a good shooter.

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Old 09-12-2017, 09:59 AM
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I'm still waiting to get ahold of this guy. Don't know if he is a 1942 or 1947 yet. Depends on an "S" prefix or not. But I am expecting him to be a good shooter.

Straight extractor rod and no notch in the barrel for the rod end, so if the parts are original it is post-WW II.
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Old 09-12-2017, 10:02 AM
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Originally Posted by murphydog View Post
Straight extractor rod and no notch in the barrel for the rod end, so if the parts are original it is post-WW II.
Great news! It was offered as a 1942 with a 944xxx serial number. But this shot of the cylinder had what appeared to be a "S" stamped on it. That's when I got interested.



I'll know more if it ever gets here.
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Old 09-12-2017, 10:03 AM
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To the OP: you have several hundred thousand guns from which to choose, so take your time .

Any you find in good mechanical condition should make an excellent shooter. It is rumored that different heat treatment started in the late 1920s, but all should be safe with standard pressure lead .38 Special.

The Target models of this era would be at or about $1000 but perfectly nice (95%) guns are more along the lines of $400 or so. The rule of about 10-15% nickel guns produced sounds about right. Good luck in your search.
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Old 09-12-2017, 07:18 PM
Stopsign32v Stopsign32v is offline
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Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start?  
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How do you guys tell if they have been reblued or renickeled? I've been looking at a few which I guess had early refinishing because I would swear they were original. The only way I'm trying to decide is how crisp the rollmarks are. Some that I've seen that have CRISP rollmarks the sellers claim have been refinished. I know the trigger and the hammer should be color cased and the ejector of a nickeled gun will be blued or black. But other than that what are some pointers?
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Old 09-12-2017, 08:04 PM
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If it is too good to be true it usually is. This forum, asking questions and gaining experience.

If on the up and up the gun is stamped as refinished. In the case of this Victory the chromed trigger and hammer was a dead give-away.
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Old 09-12-2017, 09:42 PM
Stopsign32v Stopsign32v is offline
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Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start? Wanting a 38 special Hand Ejector, where to start?  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Targets Guy View Post
If it is too good to be true it usually is. This forum, asking questions and gaining experience.

If on the up and up the gun is stamped as refinished. In the case of this Victory the chromed trigger and hammer was a dead give-away.
That one I would say looks refinished due to the screw areas looking sunken in.
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Old 09-13-2017, 09:56 AM
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Sorry about the recessed cylinder thing I guess I was showing my lack of recall as I remember reading that exact thing on this forum recently .
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Old 09-13-2017, 10:43 AM
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Prices are all over the map. I bought a M&P (4th Change) last year that was finish-challenged but was mechanically in very good condition. That was a $200 gun.

Very early ones might be best shot with light loads, as their cylinders were not heat-treated. The ones made before about the middle of WW2 may not be drop-safe. As I recall, S&W made an engineering change after a sailor dropped his revolver and it fired, killing him.

If you're new to buying used revolvers, guidance can be found elsewhere on how to inspect them to lessen the chances of buying a trip to your local Smith smith.
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Old 09-13-2017, 02:19 PM
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There are still a lot of high condition old guns out there. If it looks nice don't just write it off as a refinish. There is good info here on the forum on how to tell if original or not, easily searched at the top of the page, using the Google search for the forum.
Some things that I look for in an aftermarket refinish.
Look at the S&W stamp on the sideplate, is it crisp with sorta raised edges? It should.
Are pins that should be pertruding buffed flat or are they still rounded.
Look at the cylinder flutes, do they have sharp edges? They should.
Front frame edges and other edges should still be sharp and not rounded off.
Are the hammer and trigger case colored hardened? 99% of the time they will be on a early S&W.
The sideplate seam should be almost invisible, with no noticeable gap and with sharp edges. Rounded edges and a gap are a sure sign that it was buffed with the sideplate off.
If there is pitting there should be no bluing in the pits.

Now for a factory refinish remove the grips and look for a date, written like 5.49 or a rectangle with letters starting with R N (Nickel) or R S (standard blue). Other than that factory refinish can sometimes be tough to tell.

There are other ways to tell, using good lighting, etc. other folks may have more.
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Old 09-13-2017, 03:14 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Targets Guy View Post
Great news! It was offered as a 1942 with a 944xxx serial number. But this shot of the cylinder had what appeared to be a "S" stamped on it. That's when I got interested.



I'll know more if it ever gets here.
the first short action was assembled on October 21, 1947, serial number S924878 ....with your serial number S944xxx being one of the last "long action" revolvers in this series.....
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Old 09-14-2017, 04:16 PM
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Originally Posted by S&WsRsweet View Post
Sorry about the recessed cylinder thing I guess I was showing my lack of recall as I remember reading that exact thing on this forum recently .
Not a problem. That's just one of the little things you learn about S&Ws the longer you read and study about them. I know a feller who used to think that an "S" SN frame and a "N" SN frame revolver were two different types of revolver. I kid him about it every now and then, only because I learned that it was only a serial number/engineering change about six months before.
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Old 09-14-2017, 08:13 PM
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Originally Posted by Targets Guy View Post
Okay. I am getting some experience in this area.

1922


1924


1926


I've only shot the 1926 so far. Paid $180 for it last May. Shoots okay
Is the top revolver re-barrelled? Or , front sight modified?

Heck of a nice bunch of revolvers in any case.
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Old 09-14-2017, 09:07 PM
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Is the top revolver re-barrelled? Or , front sight modified?

Heck of a nice bunch of revolvers in any case.
You noticed that too? I don't know yet as I haven't received it yet. They got their money two days ago and I haven't heard if it shipped yet. Those sights were not common back then and I still am not firm on the s/n. Fonts are hard to read sometimes. I am hoping the latter.
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Old 09-15-2017, 11:40 AM
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Put an add in the want to buy section here. There were several million made and there's bound to be a few sitting around on this forum waiting for a new home.
The post war and pre model 10 guns would be ideal for lots of shooting fun. I bought a finish challenged pre 10 dating from 1957 last year for $200. It's as good as you can get for a reliable 38 Special revolver.

If your wanting an earlier pre war M&P there's a million of them to chose from as well. S&W began to heat treat the cylinders at about number 316648 in this series, if that is a concern. But the older guns are still a good choice if you stay with mild loads and lead bullets. I feed my pre WWI 1905 4th with a steady diet of home cast 158 gr RN lead over 3.5 grs Bullseye. It's an accurate, mild load, and what the old M&P was made to shoot.
Murphydog is right, take your time. You will find one.

John
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