Quote:
Originally Posted by Smee78
I bought one of the little I frames a few years back and shot it once and put it in the safe and did not really think about it untill I was reorganizing my safe and I pulled it out and was looking at it. I found this thread and was looking at the little pre 34 and found that it is a 4 screw, with matching serial numbers on the bottom of the barrel, the cylinder and the bottom of the frame with no model number stamped in the frame. SN 190XX. I'm guessing it is a 1955 model? The grips that came with the gun were aftermarket plastic grips and the were cracked and taped, so I put a set of j frame grips on it. The double action is real stiff and the single action is great. I prefer the double action of my Smith 34 vs the pre 34.
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Double action operation of these small frame guns can be pretty stiff. I have a couple of prewar Kit Guns (the ancestor of the Pre-34 and Model 34 KGs we're talking about here), and they are not easy to work smoothly in DA. On the other hand, as you note, SA operation is sweet.
The larger square butt or extension target stocks help with hand geometry and smooth out the pull a little on these tiny revolvers, but I think you would get most benefit from opening the gun and cleaning the action thoroughly. In particular the trigger rebound slide and spring could use some attention if oil from decades ago has mixed with carbon residue and dust to become a varnish-like deposit. If the frame or trigger rebound slide is rough where the two surfaces slide on each other, you might want to dress that up too.
Yes, about 1955 for your gun, or early 1956.
My two kit guns can be seen in my album, along with a contemporary .22/32 Target model with extension stocks:
S&W Forum - DCWilson's Album: I-Frames