hello, I have a couple questions. I bought a little hammerles 38 special I found in a gun shop to carry. I noticed the model number was different, I open the cylinder and it says, A then 3414 no dashes, it has a four digit serial number on bottom of grip and bottom of barrel #1136
any help would be appriciated

hello, I have a couple questions. I bought a little hammerles 38 special I found in a gun shop to carry. I noticed the model number was different, I open the cylinder and it says, A then 3414 no dashes, it has a four digit serial number on bottom of grip and bottom of barrel #1136
any help would be appriciated

Welcome to the forum. The gun looks to be a very early pre-40 or Centennial, maybe even first year of production in 1952. S&W did not use model numbers in the crane until 1957. The grip adaptor and grips are aftermarket. The finish is really unique as it appears to be a high quality bead-blast followed by a plating of some type.

The refinish will ruin it for the collectors here but the original finish was most likely shot before it was redone and you plan to use it anyway. No harm, no foul.

Bob

What bk43 said. I would have bought it also in a heartbeat. That is fine of a gun ever made for pocket defense. I have one. Collector wont like the refinish though. But looks like about perfect for the real job.

You got a nice piece of history with class and function in that one.

Good find.

was $250 to much? also what is a pre 40 or centenial, Im kind of new to the old smith &wesson thing. it also has the s&w logo on the opposite side tht my 629 and 686 dont have and it has 4 side plate screws and no trigger guard screw

AZFred, did you find this in an Arizona shop? If so, where? $250 is cheap for about any S&W revolver these days!

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COURAGE=Fear+Prayer

yes, picked it up in a used gun shop in AJ, the grip screw on the after market grips was interfearing with the hammer spring, its the coil type not a leaf. they thought it was "broken inside"

Before 1957 S&W's had names, or number designations as opposed to model numbers. Your gun was introduced in 1952, S&W's centennial year, so the factory named it the Centennial. In 1957 S&W assigned model numbers to the entire line and yours became the Model 40. These guns will be marked with "MOD" followed by the model number in the crane. Pre-40 is a collector's term for a Centennial manufactured before 1957 like yours. You may run into collectors at some point who object to use of the pre- but most will accept it.

It is not particularly unusual for a given S&W to have three or four names and/or numbers that can be used almost interchangeably. Guns from the 1800's are especially confusing, at least to me.

Bob

I saw your post were you were wanting to buy/trade for a set of J Frame grips in the classifieds..
Your gun is a Pre-40 with a low serial # as indicated by the flat latch, pinned barrel & fourth sideplate screw..
Good Luck finding a set of those High Horn Centennial Grips..
Here's your pic from the other thread..
It appears to also be Hardchromed..
It may also still have the extra black pin under the grips to pin the grip safety in a seperate hole..
Gary/Hk