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Looks like a revolver to me. Don't know if it is a S&W or what caliber it is. Insufficient information.
What number is on the butt? Also, what caliber stamp is on the side of the barrel?
I will say up front that the stock medallion is odd - not factory original.
I will say up front that the stock medallion is odd - not factory original.
The cylinder release looks somewhat Smith-ish...
...Ben
...BenSome basic information will help us help you. That which is roll marked on the side of the barrel and the serial # from the butt is the very least.
What does your friend call it?
Aside from not knowing much about it, it appears to be an M&P (Military & Police) model from the early 20th century. Once you've been able to respond to the several inquiries up above, it's more than likely we can tell you more than you asked to know. As an aside, I seem to recall what I'll call a preamble to this section that tells you what we want to know so as to tell you what you want to know----just regular stuff---nothing all that complicated.
As it stands now, we can tell you what it isn't!
Ralph Tremaine
As it stands now, we can tell you what it isn't!
Ralph Tremaine
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OP
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5 screw
71281 serial number
Will get a better pic this week
71281 serial number
Will get a better pic this week
So far, so good!
It's a 38 Hand Ejector M&P Model of 1905. It was almost certainly made in 1906, and was among the first of what turned out to be S&W's most popular model----production numbering in the millions, right up through WWII.
If/when you take it home, and open it up for a good bath, you will count your blessings it's not a Model of 1902, its immediate predecessor, whose action is the same only different---A LOT different---and what one might call irksome in polite company---and something else entirely different in not so polite company!! I call it the monkey motion action---in polite company.
Should you ever be cursed by owning one of those, take heart; for one of our more enlightened members came up with a special tool which will save you from the necessity of uttering a whole bunch of bad words!!
Ralph Tremaine
It's a 38 Hand Ejector M&P Model of 1905. It was almost certainly made in 1906, and was among the first of what turned out to be S&W's most popular model----production numbering in the millions, right up through WWII.
If/when you take it home, and open it up for a good bath, you will count your blessings it's not a Model of 1902, its immediate predecessor, whose action is the same only different---A LOT different---and what one might call irksome in polite company---and something else entirely different in not so polite company!! I call it the monkey motion action---in polite company.
Should you ever be cursed by owning one of those, take heart; for one of our more enlightened members came up with a special tool which will save you from the necessity of uttering a whole bunch of bad words!!
Ralph Tremaine
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Well, maybe. That assumes it is chambered for the .38 Special, which is something we do not know.
If it is a .32 Winchester, it is about 10 years younger.
That said, it appears to have a 6 1/2" barrel. If so, it is almost certainly a .38 Special.
What he said---and he has forgotten more than the rest of us know about these things!!
Ralph Tremaine
Definitely a post-1905 gun with the rebound slide stud showing on the left side. The Model 1905 "No Change" was manufactured from 1905-1906 in serial number range 62450 to 73250. I bet the stocks are concave pre-1910 with a tack in the top to "update" it to look like the 1910s stocks. If the stocks are original, it should be a 38.
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We definitely need new blood around here who can remember stuff about - uhh - what was the subject again?...
...BenOdd indeed, I would like to see the inside of the stocks to see how they are attached, the medallion looks like a recessed Brass Freeze Plug!
I believe it is a 32-20 4th change,, because the ejector knob is plated. Hope to see more pictures of this S&W to satisfy My selfish curiosity.
I bet the stocks were the convex 1920s style and bored out
Jim Watson
Member
The front sight looks low... like a .32-20.
At 71XXX, in 38 caliber, the gun would still have the early hammer and trigger mechanism. This gun shows the trigger rebound slide spring stud on the left side, so it must be a 1905 4th change 32-20. made sometime after 1915.
Regards, Mike Priwer
Regards, Mike Priwer
StrawHat
Member
Alk8944
US Veteran
Both the .38 Special and .32 Winchester models of the K-frame H.E. were made at the same time as 6 1/2" barrels. Production of 6 1/2" models ended in approximately 1910. Jack knows better, why he made the above remark is beyond me! I agree with another post that the front sight appears to be a .32 Winchester Model as that sight is very noticeably lower than the .38 front sight. There were far more .38 Special guns made than .32-20 however.
Assuming the serial number 71281 is correct (probably the assembly number!) if it is a .32-20 it would date to ca. 1916, far too late to have a 6 1/2" barrel! If it is a .38 it would date to ca. 1905-06.
I would ask O.P. to simply look at the gun and tell us what the SN, from the butt, is for sure, and what the caliber marking is.
I still own a 6 1/2" Winchester Model that I bought ca. 1961. It was one of my very first S&W revolvers. It cost me either $12 or $15 when I bought it!
My money is on this being a Winchester Model with a 6 1/2" barrel. I don't have an answer for the odd Copper disc where the S&W medallion would normally be! However, Mike Priwer's observation about the rebound slide stud is exactly correct. The gun has to be a Model 1905. I overlooked that until re-reading the entire thread.
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The cylinder release looks somewhat Smith-ish...
The cylinder release looks like it was hand checkered, like with a graver & hammer.
The left portion of the lines are over-run onto/into the edge of the solid area where the screw is positioned.
Did they hand checker them back then?
The bottom angle of the butt of the grips seems angled to the rear and downward in the pic. Maybe it's just that,,the pic. But it seems a bit more than I would expect to see. Isn't the bottom of the grip about parallel with the bore?
The hammer face appears cut way back to nearly the rivit hole for the firing pin.
You can see the white color of the 'tag' that is placed behind it in the photo.
Again maybe just the way the pic came out,,been fooled before!.
Is the Diamond around the grip screw a little large for a comon S&W produced grip panel?.
But just some things I see.
You can better see the hammer & cyl release checkering issue by enlarging the pics.
Can't make out the markings on the bbl,,maybe an '&' but that's all.
Could the revolver be a foreign product?
DWalt
Member
The serial number will be stamped on the butt, the rear face of the cylinder, and on a flat at the barrel bottom. If all SNs match and the caliber stamped on the barrel can be provided, your revolver can be correctly identified and approximately dated. The grips appear unnatural and you should provide a clear closeup photo.
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