Defender 38

I have a Defender 38 S & W c.t.g., serial #10573. I need grips for the gun and have not been able to locate anything that fits. The rear of the gun has an approximate 1 inch screw that that extends out.The grip comes to a point longer than what I'm finding. Also, when identifying the gun I noticed the front side has an elevation screw. I have not seen this before. Any help would be greatly appreciated! BTW, the gun is in a law enforcement, leather basket weave type holster. I really have no clue what this gun is or how I'm going to get the proper grips. Can they be made?

Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass! I can't decipher what you're describing so I can't help you. Perhaps if you posted some pictures of your gun, someone can help you.

There are old Defenders and new Defenders. The older ones were the Model 25 (1940s-early 50s), the newer ones were the Model 925 (1960s-early 70s) and most 925s have brownish plastic birdshead style grips (very distinctive) and adjustable sights. Some later examples came with wood grips. For both models the front and rear sights are adjustable, the front sight for elevation, the rear sight for windage. From the description you provided you may have an older Model 25. I think the 925 serial numbers had letter prefixes while the Model 25 did not. Most of the 25s came with sort of fat black rubber or plastic grips. I have seen those at gun shows. I don't know if grips for the 25 and 925 will interchange, but probably not.

The newer 925 Defenders were chambered in .38 S&W but briefly available in .22 also. They all came in both 2.5" and 4" barrel lengths, with most having 2.5".

I'd check the usual places - eBay, GunBroker, maybe the larger gun parts houses like Numrich Gun Parts, or some of the custom grip makers. I wouldn't think grips for either model would be that difficult to locate as they are not rare guns. Regarding making your own, if you were a good enough woodworker, or know someone who is, it might not be that difficult. But it would help if you had a pair to use as an example.

A picture of what you have would allow the model to be pinned down.

One other item - If you have a 925, it would be a good idea to buy a new all-metal hammer spring strut from Numrich Gun Parts. The original struts use a Nylon component in the strut which breaks easily. The part is fairly inexpensive and is easy to install.

I have a 4" 925 from 1964 and it is one of my favorite fun guns. The only downside is the .38 S&W caliber ammo which is difficult to find and expensive when you do. I reload for mine. It's a good gun, but it would not be my first choice for self defense. Nonetheless it would serve if needed, far better than throwing a rock.

I have read that during WWII, the Model 25s saw some service as weapons for defense plant guards, and possibly even for some US law enforcement agencies. If you were a civilian during WWII, handguns were difficut to come by, and you used whatever was available. Also during WWII, the British used a very similar H&R revolver for London police service, and it was called the "Bobby." See: Harrington & Richardson Bobby

I can't tell you the edition, but one of the old issues of Gun Digest, I think from the 1980s, has a fairly comprehensive article about the H&R Defender revolvers.

Since the OP states the gun is a 38 S&W, I don't think it could be a post-WWII S&W revolver?? I believe you might be talking about an Iver Johnson Defender revolver made in around 1900. These were considered pocket revolvers. Is the revolver a 5 or 6 shot? Is the word Defender stamped on the metal? Are there any other stamps on the gun barrel or frame?

Iver Johnson made revolvers with adjustable sights and a one piece stock that was held in place by a single screw from the bottom, but I don't think they were called Defenders? We need pictures and more details to help you out.

As DWalt presumed, I believe correctly, this is most likely a Harrington & Richardson Defender of WW II vintage.

If that’s what it is, the grip situation appears pretty bleak at least based on a cursory search of the usual sources. The H&R original and reprod grips on offer that I could find seemed to all be for the earlier pocket topbreaks

Posting a picture of the pistol would be very helpful. What barrel length is yours?

According to Bill Goforth's H&R book, which I am looking at while writing this, H&R made a couple different versions of a pistol using the Defender name with a 38 S&W caliber. The first one was made in very small numbers prior to WWII. Barrel is marked as Defender Special on right side. It was basically the same as the Sportsman model, but with a 2" barrel. It has small, one piece rounded walnut grips. Information about this pistol is on page 159 of the book. If this is the one you have, I have seen these grips on eBay at times.

The second version is like the one pictured above that Absalom posted. This one is discussed starting on page 98 of the Goforth book. And yes, those black plastic one piece grips as shown above are a bit hard to find.

I'm no expert on H&R pistols, but I think you have one of the two versions I described.