Hi all,

My father passed away in late 2014, and among the weapons I found (we were a big hunting family) was a Smith and Wesson .38 special ctg revolver. The gun has a silver finish, and the serial number that I see on the bottom of the handle (656237) matches the number that is stamped on the yoke that swings out.

I'm not looking to sell; it has much more sentimental value since it was my fathers.... But can anyone help me identify exactly what I have? I'm assuming a .38 special, but I don't know enough about the serial numbers to put a time range on it. I'm well versed in shotguns, but not Smith and Wesson handguns. Could anyone provide me some insight to my father's pistol?

Thanks in advance!

Welcome to the Forum.
Condolences on the loss of your dad.

Five shots or six?
When you open the cylinder, do you see MOD followed by some numbers on the frame in the yoke cut? If so, what are they?

Those pieces of data will help us identify your revolver for you.

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

Pictures would help a bunch. Also, I'm guessing there wasn't a letter before the serial number as stated?

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

Hi Jack,

It is a six shot. When I look at the left side of the pistol (the side the yoke swings to, there are 5 numbers: 56084

The underside of the barrel has the same serial number as the yoke and bottom of the handle.

My dad was a Vietnam vet, and served in the Air Force for 20 years before retiring, so I don't really know when or where he got this pistol. He taught us all to hunt, but this was hidden in a different cabinet; I assume he kept it for his protection, so no need to tell us like with his shotguns and rifles that we all used as we grew up.

I'm considering having it restored (it has some brown scratches on the right side); I don't really care what it's worth..... It's one of those priceless things that I know can remember my dad by.

Thank you!

Condolences for the loss of your father, and I thank him for his service.

I personally wouldn't restore it. It won't affect functionality and any marks or wear on it were the result of your father ownership.

If you refinish it you'll have a nice sterile firearm that once belonged to your father.

As it sits, it used to be your fathers gun.

Most likely a pre-war M&P, someone will give you a closer date.

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SWCA #2817

I think that may be for the best. Since I have a 9mm of my own, I won't be firing this .38, just something to remember my dad by. The scratches give it "character". I'm trying to post a picture, but haven't figured out how yet, lol.

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I side with Jimmyjones, those scratches are the history your dad had with the gun. As Jimmy says, once redone it is no longer your dads gun, it is just another shiny gun. My father-in-law was the best man I ever knew and when he died young our family was devastated. I was given his little knife he carried forever that his daughter, my wife, had given him for his birthday. The first thing I did was reshape the main blade and clean and polish it. I now know how wrong that was as all I have is a shiny knife with all of his history and evidence he ever existed or used it FOREVER gone.

Hey, cypress, sorry to hear about your loss. Been there, and I have a few of my dads guns as well. I would trade them all to have him back for a day.....

Anyway, it looks like you have a pre WWII M&P model, probably refinished at some time. I would highly recommend taking it to the range and shooting some standard velocity lead wadcutters through it. Think of your dad when you do.

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Even older, even crankier....

The experts will chime in but that gun can't be stainless. Gotta be nickle. The first stainless revolver S&W put out was the model 60, and your gun surely pre-dates that. Looks like a early M&P to me. Front sight is a dead giveaway to its early vintage.

So clean it with a product safe for nickle and shoot it some in tribute to your dad. I have several guns and love shooting 9MM, but I think you will thouroughly enjoy shooting a K frame smith. Even more so than you like shooting whatever 9MM you have. I bet you like it so much that you start shooting it regularly. And I think your dad would like that.

As for ruining it by restoring it, I get that if your dad used that gun a lot, but if this is the first time you are seeing it, he can't have carried or used it much, so it isn't so much "my dad's gun" as "a gun my dad left me". Still sentimental, but if you want to pretty it up than go for it. I'd want to take care of any rust that was in there and those brown marks look like rust to me. Not to mention S&W would take care of any issues the gun might have. For me, I would at least pop the side plate off (the CORRECT WAY) and hose out the inside of that gun. Again, use something safe for nickle. Was the gun stored in that holster in the picture?

I'm looking at a great old gun with lots of character. My guess, though not an expert one, is that at some time its bluing was covered up with a nickel plating job. The grips, however, appear to be correct. Do a little research on how to safely clean a nickel gun, keep it wiped down with a treated rag and don't store it in a leather holster. If in doubt have a smith check its functionality and then shoot it with standand velocity ammuntion. You'll have a great time and it will remind you of your father every time you handle it. Then at some point pass it and the many memories of your father on to the next heir.

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Join the NRA today

Agree that the gun doesn't look that bad, but the rust has to be dealt with or its gonna get worse. I've never owned a nickel gun but I do know you can't clean them like a stainless or blued one, so I'm not sure how to remove rust on a nickel gun, but if it is possible without redoing the whole gun I would do that and not refinish it. I'd also have it checked out by a qualified smith armorer.

Then I'd shoot it. And not just once and then put it away. A couple hundred rounds a year at least of standard load .38. Your dad thought enough of that gun to keep it to protect you when you were growing up. Shoot that thing!

That is a a great old gun. I'd just take care of that rust and go shoot it. No reason it couldn't continue it's home protection service for generations to come. I also have an S&W that belonged to my father. We know he bought it new in '55 or '56. At some point I expect it to pass on to my son. Hopefully a few decades ...

It'd be interesting to know if it's factory nickel. More pictures would be fun. Both sides, grips on and off, blah, blah.

Congratulations!

What was your dads job in the Air Force? Did he have a military holster at the house?

Looks like the hammer and trigger are nickel finished .......... that an indication it's was after market refinish, not factory..........factory they would be "case hardened" = "multi-colored".

That gun didn't spend it's whole life in a sock drawer.........it's seen some hard use......carry........

let me throw this into the mix ...... I wasn't there; but there are lots of stories of "non-issue" weapons used in RVN.......a nickeled .38 would have made sense in that environment.... was your Dad a pilot ????

It appears to be a Military & Police Model from the middle to late 1920s. It is refinished as the hammer and trigger look like they are plated and the factory didn't do that. This would be a K frame model with a square butt. The caliber (and it should be "38 S&W Special") is stamped on right side of barrel but this may have been polished off during refinish.

No reason not to shoot this revolver. I would not even spending the money to refinish it. Would cost more than the value and would not really help much.

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No life story has happy end.

You'll have to excuse me; I'm just a ordinary Cajun from way down in south Louisiana, but Good Lord everyone here is SO NICE! I never expected these type of quality, caring answers.

To answer some of the questions:

Short history of my dad: Born in 1941, drafted in the Air Force in 1961, stayed his "20". He worked in FTD (Field Training Dept.) at first working on jets, then instructing, then being the supervisor. He would regularly call us to the "flight line" to see the latest and greatest. He worked on everything from B66's to F-4', F-100's, F-105's and many more. I think one of his proudest achievements was installing the training system for the A-10, replacing the aging A-8 at the base he retired from. I can remember him smiling watching the A-10 become everyone's favorite during the first gulf war. I still have dummy bullets from the A-10 He Refused to stay in after 20 years in 1981 and turned down a chief master sergeant promotion because he knew none of his 3 sons or wife would want to move to Korea. He taught us to all hunt responsibly. I'm the youngest of the three sons and the closest (by mileage and contact). I never went through the "my parents are stupid" phase, and have the utmost respect for my father. We all knew where the gun cabinet was, it held rifles and shotguns that he had purchased along the way. He had a set up where all three of his sons would start off hunting with a 4-10 (after proving yourself with daisy BB and pellet guns), then move up to a 20 gauge. Once you were old enough for a 12 gauge he'd buy you your own. I still have the Remington 1100 12 gauge he bought me and a Remington .243 auto he bought as well - over 30 years ago.

My father never carried this pistol, or any other, for that matter. I believe he thought of pistols as a self defense tool, where the shotguns and rifles were for hunting with the family. I found it in the leather holster pictured. It is not stainless, but it does appear nickel. I will upload more pictures as I have time.

I have three children of my own now; the youngest is 11. I've already started him with the 4-10, and last year he killed his first squirrel. Family traditions are very important to me; I try to keep up my part of the bargain by passing on what I learned. The "holy grail" of our family is a .22 bolt action rifle that my great grandfather had. It's not mine, I'm just the caregiver for the current time until my son has his turn.

Thank you all!

More pictures of the .38; I believe the holster is S&W as well.

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Sorry, I can't seem to attach more than one picture at a time

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A couple more

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Cypress43
Sounds like your Dad taught hunting and gun safety to his family the old school way. We tend toward "old school" around here. BTW, in case you didn't know, do not store your gun in that leather holster. Leather tends to collect moisture and lead to rust and flaking of the plating. A better option is a zippered gun rug or a gun sock.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

Congratulations on being raised in- and raising- a fine family full of tradition. Hopefully this revolver will be paired with great grand dads .22 and held in the same regard. I'd have a pro look at it to address the finish. More important than "prettying it up" is making sure the existing rust is arrested and further rust prevented. If that means a re-finish then so be it. From your last post I'd guess the proper story would be told along with its handing down and it will still be your dads gun as far as the family is concerned.

Thank you for the advice Peak, I have a couple of zippered pistol cases. It'll go into one. I have a feeling that I'll be firing the pistol frequently, the more I think about it. My father also bought me my first car, a 1973 Mustang, which we restored together. When we were done, he told me to get busy driving it; some things are better used instead of being a museum piece

Hi Cypress43:

Welcome to the Forum. My condolences on your loss.

Peak53 beat me to it, you should not store your pistol in the holster as it could damage the finish even further. The same goes for knives, by the way.

Regarding the discoloration you mentioned, especially as seen in the photo in post #17, I don't think you are seeing rust. Instead, I think this may be a reaction from the acids and chemicals used to tan the holster. I would recommend cleaning the revolver thoroughly with a soft cloth (an old T-shirt), and a good gun oil (Rem-Oil, or Break Free CLP), and you should be good to go. I like Bore Stores to store my firearms in:

Protective Gun Cases Silicone Treated - Bore Stores

Best of luck,

Dave

Thanks for those recollections about your Father and his life. I enjoyed reading them. He must have been a very fine man to be around and you were wise to be able to appreciate him when you were a young man. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you M29since14!

I've always thought highly of my father, but I'm biased, lol!

I think the passing down of family history is so important - especially today. I feel it's my duty to teach my children (2 daughters and one son) about where they "come from". We are a combination of French (in approximately 1800) and Acadians (from Nova Scotia Canada) moving to Louisiana. Really important to know who you are, and where you came from. So many people, just like my dad have their story lost. I can't help but wonder of the countless thousands of military and police officers that made this country great having their history lost and be somewhat sad. Now everyone is so politically correct, and military & police officers are betrayed as the enemy out to harm. This country worries me at times. I'm 46; what will we leave to my children's generation? I make it a point to thank anyone that has served. There is no more noble a task.

Welcome, and sorry for your loss. Your serial number puts your revolver in the mid to high 1920 range. Some of the members here have lists of shipment dates that would give you a better idea. The revolver is a Military & Police 1905 4th change. It is commonly referred to as simply a M&P. Your grips look like the original. One way to find out it to take the grips off and look inside both grips and see it you can find a number written in pencil. If you do, compare the number to the number on the butt of the frame. If the number matches all the better. S&W made a lot of these revolvers. So the value is low. I am including a pictures of mine which was shipped around 1923.Yours looks to me later.
Note, my side plate screws are not original. Yours looks correct.
Howard.

Last month I posted a thread about .38 revolver that my dad had left me. I received a really heart warming welcome on this forum, and wanted to again thank you all and to give an update.

I have had the pistol looked at by a professional, and he recommended - just as many of you - that I NOT refinish the pistol. The sentimental value would be destroyed with such a refinish. I am glad to say that I took most of your advice and fired the gun. Well, that's an understatement. I've probably gone through 5 or 6 boxes of ammunition already. I've started a new tradition: My children and I almost weekly drive the Kawasaki mule behind the house (we have around 80 acres of pasture land - I have about 30 head of cattle), and fire at least 18 or more times at targets on the ground. I've since fell in love with S&W revolvers, and now I'm searching for another .38 revolver to fire more frequently.

I also took a conceal and carry training course using my father's pistol at the range (here you have to "prove" your competency by firing the weapon.)

So, again, thank you very much for the warm reception. You now have another convert. I haven't fired my 9mm at all; but have become addicted to the smooth action of a revolver over 80 years old

"Keep up the good work!"

Thar ya go!! You done took a big step out on the slippery slide of S&W addiction.

We'll wait for you at the bottom.

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Eccentric old coot

Excellent follow up on the story of your dad's gun.
Shooting with your kids is a great bonding activity and exercise.
Now to find one that your kids will one day cherish as having been YOUR gun.
And yes, S&W revolvers are definitely addictive. Welcome to the support group!

Sorry for your loss. If I were in your shoes, I'd have a competent S&W revolver gunsmith check it out. It may need some attention to get it functioning correctly. After that, I'd keep it; shoot it with low pressure ammo and pass it down.

Congratulations on your discovery of S&W revolvers. I think it's a great idea to add another revolver and save Dad's M&P for special occasions. I got hooked on an old 5-screw K-frame and have added several which I enjoy shooting even more.

I particularly like the K-frame Masterpiece series, which were target revolvers with 4" or 6" barrels. In .38 Special they were called the K-38 until 1957 when they became the Model 14 (6") and Model 15 (4"). These are very smooth and accurate revolvers with a level of craftsmanship rarely found in products made today. The great news is you can still find them today for $400 - $700 depending on condition.