checked with s &w got mfg yr 1900 with ser # 414356 model 4 with 6 in barrel. here is better pic.

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S&W 38 PIC .jpg (141.0 KB, 121 views)

That's a beauty. I've been stuck on hand-ejectors forever, but I really like those top-breaks. Yours definitely has my "gotta-have-it" gland working. How's the mechanics?

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Why, I aughta.....

I've noticed several postings where the poster says " Checked with S&W and got a manufacture date, etc" Interesting, as the factory does not have any records of the manufacture dates for S&Ws prior to around the 1920s, so I'm assuming the date quoted by a factory staffer in Customer Service is the shipping, or sold, date and is in response to the question "When was my S&W made?" and somehow in the response, the ship date, which are the only records the factory has, becomes the manufacture date. In the case of this .38DA, posted above, the manufacture date is late 1899. Ed.

Yours is called a S&W .38 Double Action (DA), Fourth Model. Serial numbers of these at or below 382,002 are considered to be "Antiques" (defined as manufactured prior to 1899), therefore yours is not legally an antique. Wherever the 1900 date you have came from, it is probably very close to being correct. I'd say 1900-01. It is chambered for .38 S&W, NOT the same, and not interchangeable with, the much more common .38 S&W Special cartridge. .38 S&W ammunition is available, but difficult to find in most areas.