Help dating 1905 hand ejector 4th change .38 special

[wmgunguy]

Need help to date a model 1905 4th change hand ejector. Serial number 615xxx.
I believe it could be from the 1930s but wanted to try and find a more exact date. Dont have a catalog

Other details:
5in barrel
Blued
.38 special
Has all matching stamped numbers on yolk 32xxx
5 screw
Square frame

 

[glowe]

Welcome to the Forum. Ship dates for this era gun are almost impossible to determine without a factory letter. Your gun was made after the stock market crash of 1929, so the S&W factory had lots of inventory and few sales. The best estimate of the ship date range would be from 1930 to 1935.

Exterior clues for 1930s era guns are that they usually had silver medallion walnut stocks if a square butt gun and a barrel shaped extractor rod knob.

 

[wmgunguy]

ok great thanks for the help.

The grips are not original but they are from the 30s stag grips and was used as a service weapon for a sheriff in Alabama.
Original holster still with it was also from the 30s.

 

[Absalom]

An easily remembered benchmark is that production hit 600,000 sometime in 1929.

And as Gary pointed out, it then slowed down significantly during the Depression.

The M&P reached only the 680-thousands by 1940, less than a third of the previous decade's production numbers. And known ship dates indicate the 1930s decade was somewhat front-loaded.

So without a history letter, no more can be said than that at 615-, your gun was produced early in the decade, probably around 1930/31.

 

[wmgunguy]

Any advice on how to polish this? Only 1 small spot the size of a bb that looks like beginning stages of rust, other than that just normal holster wear.

Is 0000 steel wool OK to use with CLP?
Any polish recommendations?
Polish Method recommendations?

Thanks!

 

[glowe]

Blued guns are difficult to "clean" without removing some of the bluing, often resulting in more damage. Bronze wool is available online and in larger hardware stores. Do not confuse very fine textured bronze pads to the coarse copper pads sold in the grocery. Those are actually steel with copper plating and will destroy your gun. 0000 bronze wool can remove rust spots if not pitted, but go very gently or you will leave some bronze on the gun, changing the appearance.

It is often best to just leave that history on the gun and regard it as part of the life your revolver has had. Besides it would certainly not be correct to own a police carried revolver that looked like it had never been carried or used.

 

[wmgunguy]

Welcome to the Forum. Ship dates for this era gun are almost impossible to determine without a factory letter. Your gun was made after the stock market crash of 1929, so the S&W factory had lots of inventory and few sales. The best estimate of the ship date range would be from 1930 to 1935.

Exterior clues for 1930s era guns are that they usually had silver medallion walnut stocks if a square butt gun and a barrel shaped extractor rod knob.

Does anyone have any pictures for reference of the barrel shaped extractor rod of a 1930s hand ejector?
Or any other years extractor rod to compare?

 

[glowe]

For those models with a barrel lug, there were two types of extractor rod knobs. The first was a mushroom shaped knob, made from 1902 to 1927. The second was a barrel shaped knob that started in late 1927 and ended in the early post-WWII, 1947-1948. After that the end of the extractor rod only had a knurled section at the tip.

You will also note that the barrels for these three extractor rods are different and not interchangeable. The mushroom knob required two cuts to the barrel, the barrel shape required one cut, and the knurled rod did not require any cuts. Probably one of the reasons why these changes were made was cost & time savings.

 

[wmgunguy]

For those models with a barrel lug, there were two types of extractor rod knobs. The first was a mushroom shaped knob, made from 1902 to 1927. The second was a barrel shaped knob that started in late 1927 and ended in the early post-WWII, 1947-1948. After that the end of the extractor rod only had a knurled section at the tip.

You will also note that the barrels for these three extractor rods are different and not interchangeable. The mushroom knob required two cuts to the barrel, the barrel shape required one cut, and the knurled rod did not require any cuts. Probably one of the reasons why these changes were made was cost & time savings.

Wow great info! thanks for the help. Exactly the info I was looking for.

 

[lamarw]

I have two of these wonderful old 4th Changes. One is SN: 373350 from the 1921 period. The second one is closer to your revolver. It's SN: 577063 and it was shipped on November 19, 1929 to Allen & Jemison Company, a hardware store in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I acquired it as a police trade-in from Memphis, TN Police Department on March 11, 2014.

The newer of the two is in the lesser of condition and top revolver in the pictures compared to the older one which is the lower revolver in the two pictures. The younger revolver pictured may of had ties to LE since it could of been used for tacking up wanted posters. Or, it could of belonged to a farmer/rancher who repaired fences with the butt of the revolver. (See Last Picture).

 

[DWalt]

Based on my M&P SN list I'd say yours shipped sometime in 1930, possibly 1931. I show no serial numbers that low as being shipped after 1931 (which doesn't mean that there aren't any).

 

[chiefdave]

ok great thanks for the help.

The grips are not original but they are from the 30s stag grips and was used as a service weapon for a sheriff in Alabama.
Original holster still with it was also from the 30s.

A picture of the whole rig would be nice. Members like old stag stocks and leather.

 

[glowe]

Based on my M&P SN list I'd say yours shipped sometime in 1930, possibly 1931. I show no serial numbers that low as being shipped after 1931 (which doesn't mean that there aren't any).

. . . except 587XXX shipped 1934, 597XXX shipped 1935, 598XXX shipped 1936, 609XXX shipped 1935, 612XXX shipped 1934, 614XXX shipped 1935 . . . and many more.

 

[wmgunguy]

Here's pics.

 

[wmgunguy]

More in the holster.

 

[chiefdave]

Do you have any history on T. G. Kirby?

 

[wmgunguy]

I don't know much about him other than what was previously stated. Looking into more history soon. I plan on doing a small write up and keeping it with the pistol.

 

[Kansasgunner]

Neat old gun with some history. The grips are jigged bone, not stag. Thanks for sharing it with us.

 

[wmgunguy]

I have seen other model 1905s from the same time period with these types of stocks. Does anyone know if S&W ever offered aftermarket stocks like these?
Or what company they may be from?

 

[glowe]

They look plastic to me. Whatever they are made of, the factory never offered them for any model.