I have no history on this revolver. It was a gift from a good friend that has since passed away. I've had it for at least 40 years. There are British proof marks all over it and the words "NOT English make" are stamped on the barrel and frame. S/N is 817xxx. It is .38 S & W, not .38 Special. Condition is pretty good considering it's age. Some pitting and bluing is thin. I have shot a box of ammo through it since I've had it. Works good. Needs good Cleaning and oiling, then put away. I am proud to have it. Any thoughts? Thanks for looking.

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Very nice! Congrats!
I have one just like it, and one sent to Australia.
I love mine!

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

It appears to be a typical BSR ( British Service revolver ) that was sold as surplus after WW2 to a British dealer who, under English gun laws, was required to have the gun proofed to make it legal to sell in Britain. Your gun was probably one of the many commercial S&W M&P revolvers purchased probably by the British Purchasing Commission,circa 1940-41, and had the commercial blue finish and originally had standard checkered walnut stocks rather than the wartime dull finish and smooth stocks. The "Not English Made" stamp was most likely applied in 1940-41 time, as that stamping was not usually seen or applied after WW2. Ed.

The 817xxx serial does place the gun in later 1941. It would indeed have had checkered walnut stocks, although not these, which are post-war from much later; actually, left and right don‘t match. The originals would have been the smaller service stocks (see attached). The finish looks well weathered but original.

I have to disagree with Ed here. The serial time frame places this gun firmly in the period of orders shipped to the British Purchasing Commission in New York in 1941, continuing until Lend-Lease began late that year. Also, the NOT ENGLISH MAKE is most certainly a post-war commercial proof; it just indicates this gun was released from service before 1955, when the Rule of 1925 was still in effect. The new Rule of 1955 eliminated it, which is why we don‘t see it often; most BSR‘s were commercially proofed in Birmingham in the later 1950s.

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HELP! the left and right grip are different eras.

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Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

Yes. And both are wrong.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

I do know that s/n 8279xx was a late commercial shipment in 10/41 and s/n 8333xx was a BSR shipped in 10/41.

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Mike
S&WCA #3065

You can‘t by any chance confirm the caliber on that one? It‘d be very unusual if that had been a .38 S&W.

Many thanks to all who made comments about the gun. I learned a lot by reading them. The grip comments surprised me. Of course I have no idea when they were changed and also didn't know they were different. Ha. Very interesting. Thanks again.