Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass, CD! Very nice! We don't see many of the long tubes in this model.


Del guesses 1919 and he is probably right. .32 R.P. serial 276746 was shipped in May 1919, and 32 R. P serial 296264 was shipped in October 1919. So that puts your RP somewhere in the summer of 1919, unless of course, S&W left it in inventory and shipped out later serialed units, as they were wont to do.


During that pre WWII era, .32 Hand Ejectors have round butts. What makes the Regulation Police models different is, although the butt is rounded, there is a rebate (notch) is the backstrap that mates to the stocks and allows for an extended and square grip. Many folks preferred a square butt for better grip when shooting. Even though the Regulation Police .32's and .38's were called that, these guns were never really marketed to police forces. BTW, the patent number on the grip panel is for the grip design.

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629