Is this an I frame?

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silicosys4

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Hello,
Help is requested in ID'ing this gun being sold as a "pre-34", i'm wondering if this is an I frame, and whatever other information can be provided based on the pictures provided.
Thank you

1361532-IMG_3891.jpg


1361532-IMG_3892.jpg


1361532-IMG_3895.jpg
 
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Yes, that's a model of 1953 I frame (note the short cylinder and smaller frame window). It has an elongated trigger guard and longer grip frame, which takes the same stocks as current J frames. The large, upper sideplate screw was eliminated around 1955.

Pre-model 34 is an appropriate term if it's not model marked in the yoke cut. The .22/32 Kit Gun was designated as the Model 34 in 1957. S&W standardized on the J frame at change level 34-1.
 
H Richard said:
With the longer frame wouldn't that be classed as an "Improved" I Frame?
Click to expand...
Not all "improved I frames" had a larger trigger guard and longer grip frame. Those were part of the model of 1953 upgrades, which was also done on the J frame.

I believe the "improved I frame" was the earlier change from a leaf main spring to a coil main spring.
 
H Richard said:
With the longer frame wouldn't that be classed as an "Improved" I Frame?
Click to expand...
As Chad noted in Post #7 above, the Model of 1953 made changes to the Improved I frame. Jim Carter, our resident expert on these models, has dubbed the Model of 1953 the "New I Frame." It is basically an enhanced Improved I Frame.

See pages 144-146 in the SCSW 4th or pages 178-181 in the 5th Edition.
 
Slightly off topic but relevant, this model appears to have what I understand to be a 'flatlatch'. Is that correct and what year did that change?
 
silicosys4 said:
Hello,
Help is requested in ID'ing this gun being sold as a "pre-34", i'm wondering if this is an I frame, and whatever other information can be provided based on the pictures provided.
Thank you
Click to expand...
Hmm the lack of an upper side plate screw and the flat latch means this one is likely a J Frame. We need the serial number please.
 
Model19man said:
Hmm the lack of an upper side plate screw and the flat latch means this one is likely a J Frame.
Click to expand...
1. Tons of I frame units were made after the upper side plate screw was eliminated.
2. The flat "latch" (thumbpiece) first appeared in the early 1950s, while the Kit Gun was still an I frame. It was not terminated until 1966, in the J frame era.

If you go back to the photos in Post #1, you can see that the cylinder is essentially square (as long as it is tall). That is a dead giveaway that it is built on the I frame. Technically, it is a Model of 1953 "New" I Frame. The fact that it is not model marked is also an indicator. The Kit Gun was an I frame all the way up to 1960, when the Model 34-1 made its appearance.
 
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