In 1957 S&W personnel found a small stash of prewar I-frame parts that had never been made up as firearms. Matching them with pieces of more modern design (thumb releases and knobless ejector rods, for example), they were able to make up a total of 196 .32 caliber revolvers with four-inch barrels and adjustable sights. These were marketed as Regulation Police Target revolvers, which was a bit of a misnomer (or at least a redefinition) because the prewar RP target revolvers all had six-inch barrels. (I acknowledge that special order prewar guns with shorter barrels may exist, but I don't know about them.) Serial numbers all lie in the bottom half of the 657xxx range. Roy Jinks says that four inch barrels were used because the supply of six-inch barrels had been exhausted. Roy also reports that the serial number range for these guns is 657174 to 657369. Known ship dates range from 1957 to late 1959.

With the assistance of our Dear Leader Handejector, who has been known to sell a gun from time to time when he is not managing this forum so the rest of us can brag about the guns we have bought from each other, I now own one of these uncommon revolvers.

This is 657356. It shipped in April, 1959.






These guns have flat mainsprings rather than the postwar coil springs, so they are definitely design throwbacks. They have RP stocks that match a rebated frame, though the checking is in the coarser postwar style, and the checked field has round corners.




These guns employed the old style small rear adjustable sight.




This gun and at least a couple of others that I know about came in the uncommon "Sun Ray" box.



There are at least a couple of varieties of this box. This one obviously has a solid thick border with ornamental corners. Another variety has dark diamonds within the silver band.


The box was numbered in the familiar way in grease marker.




I would call this one about 98%, but you have to look past the dust motes to see that in these photos. The ejector rod is a little worn, and there is a light turn ring. I suppose the gun was fired some, but not a lot.

Most of the specimens of this model that I have heard about seem to be in pretty good shape. I haven't heard of or seen a single one that is worn enough to have been a working gun. I think they may have been purchased mostly as collectible "retro" revolvers, though collectors would not have used that term half a century ago. This design was definitely out of step with what the company was turning out in its improved I-frames and J-frames at the time.

Many of you may know of my fondness for prewar .22/32 Kit Guns, some of which came with Regulation Police stocks on them. This is like one of those, but in .32 S&W Long caliber instead of .22 LR. In the 1990s S&W again briefly made a four inch .32 with adjustable sights -- the model 631 -- but it was not wildly successful.

I-frame .32 target models were always scarce in S&W production. Only a few hundred, or perhaps just over a thousand, were produced in the .32 Hand Ejector First and Second Model lines. Adjustable sight .32s in the .32 HE Third Model series were given square butts mounted on the rebated frame, and were called the .32 Regulation Police Target Revolver. Probably only a few hundred of those were produced over the next 23 years, and then after WWII no adjustable-sight small-frame .32s were produced until these 196 guns were made up from the newly discovered prewar parts.

An interesting little model. I am delighted to have one in my collection at long last.

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David Wilson

Very nice. That high front sight blade and small rear sight really draw the eye.

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Old revolvers are works of art

Great acquisition and a beautiful, rare example of S&W workmanship. Thanks for sharing with the "I" frame fans!

It is beautiful. I am afraid I would make it a shooter. I may need to make my rp a set of grips. How far so those extend below the frame?

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Front sight and squeeze

I will be firing a few shots with this one myself, so I understand the temptation.

The wood of the RP stocks drops about 3/8" inch below the revolver frame. If you look at the first two photos above, you can see the full extent of the forestrap. That's the lowest extent of the steel.

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David Wilson

Dadgummit David, now I have to replace another keyboard. Every time you get a new showpiece like that and post pictures, I short out another keyboard on my computer from drooling while I'm looking at it. I'm gonna have to quit looking at your posts altogether or have you warn me when you're going to show another treasure.

Congratulations on finding one of the all time great hard to find pieces of S&W history as well as one of the neatest guns in creation. I'm looking forward to hearing shooting reports, but will probably wear a bib as I read them!

Best Regards,
Froggie

Another beautiful piece.

I like that one very much. If I ever read or heard about the stash of I-Frames later made up into .32 Targets I don't recall it. Thanks for posting.

Outstanding little gem...thanks for sharing.

Congratulations, David! That's a very neat little gun. I couldn't figure out it's heritage until you explained it. I like the old style rear sight and rounded top strap. Thank you very much for the tutorial - shining a bit more light into the ingenuity of S&W at not wasting a thing if they can help it!

Jerry

I don't expect to shoot this one a lot -- I have other .32 Target revolvers that are a little less well preserved and better candidates for adventures at the range -- but I wanted to shoot it a little just to establish a working relationship with it. A couple of cylinders full let me adjust the sights slightly, and then I fired 13 shots at a target 25 feet away.



First time I have ever had more than six shots from a .32 end up in the red or on the ring. At least a few of these would have put a squirrel in the stewpot, and any one of them would have caused great distress to a coiled rattlesnake.

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David Wilson

Very nice find. Let us know how it shoots! Yours looks just like mine.
Serial No 657245. I'm now looking for a pre war .32 Target with the 6" barrel. or better yet, a post war .22/32 Target prior to the 1953 version. Anybody seen one?

Don't have any Post War S&W's but do have a Pre War 6 inch 32 Target that I've been thinking of selling, let me know if your still interested.
Regards
H. M. Pope

Definite interest in pre war .32 Target. Can you provide pics and condition to E-Mail [email protected]?
Thanks

I neglected to reply to this question when this thread was active, so I'll defrost it for one more go-around.

Despite occasional references to the fabled postwar transitional .22/32 target revolver, I don't think they exist. I have never seen a photo of one, let alone the real thing. I suspect S&W intended to manufacture some, but, with the possible exception of a couple of super-rare prototypes, never got around to it. Somewhere I have a postwar six-inch tapered .22 barrel that would have been installed on such a gun, so the intent to produce seems to have been there. If you can find one of those barrels and a postwar transitional Kit Gun, you can build your own.

Good luck with the prewar I-Frame .32 Target. I bought two off of GB, but I haven't seen one listed there for a long time. I think they have all gone to ground.

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David Wilson

DCWilson,
This is supposed to be the top rear end of a transitional .22/32 target revolver. I haven't had time to compare it to a Pre War 22/32 Target to see if there is something different about it.
Regards
H. M. Pope

Attached Images

S&W 22-32 Transition Kit Gun Hammer & Rear Sight.jpg (40.4 KB, 95 views)

That is good shooting!!

David,

I guess it's a good thing that such a well preserved and historically significant piece is in your hands rather than mine. If I had something that looked that good and shot that well, I would be out at the range WEARING IT OUT!

Seeing that group is like bringing home a movie star and finding out she can cook too. Congrat... dadgummit, my keyboard is getting soaked again!

Froggie

Excellent piece for your collection David. Makes me wonder what other goodies you have in your collection. I know you have some really nice N frames...

You guys are some serious collectors

Very interesting read and we thank you kindly for posting.

Please continue practicing your affliction.

I am a new member hoping to get some info about a Police Regulation 38 5 shot not sure if serial number found in three place , 10067 on grip, same on cylinders, on the barrel B 10067. I got the gun when my mother in law passed. Trying to find out age and value.
southern63

Southern63, welcome to the forum.

The .38 Regulation Police is a sister model to the .32 Regulation Police. The guns are basically the same, except for the difference in caliber and the fact that the .38 was a five-shooter instead of a six-shooter. Also, the .38 RP had only a four-inch barrel, while the .32 RP came in 3.25, 4.25 and 6 inch barrel lengths.

The Regulation Police models were introduced in 1917. Production was suspended in late 1917 and through 1918 so the company could produce large frame revolvers for the US Military effort. Production resumed in1919, and with that serial number your gun is probably of late 1919 or early 1920 production. But S&W did not have a policy of shipping in serial number order, so the gun may not have left the factory until a year or so after it was made.

The .38 RP was given its own serial number sequence, and the numbers in that run got to about 55,000 before production was shut down again for WWII. Production of the 38 RP was begun again about 1950, and within a couple of years a slightly redesigned version was introduced. But the .38 S&W chambering was not as popular as the .38 Special chambering available in the Chiefs Special family of small-frame revolvers, and the 38 RP, renamed the Model 31 in 1957, eventually faded from the company's catalog.

Regulation Police revolvers are distinguished by the rebated frame, which has a step in the backstrap to mate securely with the oversize square butt wooden stocks seen on both the .32 and .38 RPs. There is another .38 caliber model called the .38/32 Terrier which was introduced in 1936 and is kind of a descendant of the RP; it was numbered in the .38 RP series. It has a round butt on an unrebated frame, and a two-inch barrel.

Value depends on condition. Shooter grade guns (very worn finish, but still functional if a little loose) are probably $200-250 guns; a high condition gun in its original box would be close to a thousand dollars. Most guns that are mechanically sound and have 80% or more of their finish left are probably in the $300-350 range. The guns are not rare and don't have a lot of collector charisma, so prices are not extravagant.

Can you post a couple of pictures? We could give you better info on value if we could see what the gun looks like. And don't be afraid to start a new thread in the 1896-1961 section to discuss your gun.

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David Wilson

Thanks David; at this point I am not sure what I going to do with it.

WoW D.C. I like that one a lot. Adjectives don't exist to describe my admiration.
Stunning and cool begin to.

Congratulations on this one.

Now, we need a group shot of all your I and J 32s together. Please.

Su Amigo,
Allen Frame

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NRA cert.instructor&R.S.O.

They don't make a wide-enough angle lens to get them all in. All that earthquake action Kalifornia gets is due to the excess loading on the continental plate there at David's gun room. Haven't you wondered why the rest of us have a hard time finding I-frames?


Just kidding (but only a little.) I'd like to see such a family picture my ownself. From comments made both publicly and privately, I know David has some real heart stoppers there. He has a few on my "Bucket List" and a couple on my "Holy Grail" list!

Regards,
Froggie

Hey David, for the purpose of adding to our historical knowledge, how "retro" did they go? Specifically, does your new treasure have the post-war hammer block safety seen on the early release post-war non-target models, or did they go all the way back to the pre-war innards? Inquiring minds want to know!

I wonder whether S&W could ever be persuaded to take their current J-frame platform, recut the grip frame to take the flat spring action, and build a modern version of this as an ultimate woods walking gun? I'm sure they could get a lot of folks interested, but probably sales wouldn't satisfy the bean counters. More's the pity!!

Regards,
your 'phriend the 'phibian

Allen and Froggie, thanks for the interest. I don't actually have that many, but it may sound like I do because I keep alluding to them and recycling the photos. I'll try to put together a couple of family portraits of the small-frame .32s and .38s in the next few days. I posted a group shot of some prewar Kit Guns in another thread a couple or three weeks back.

Froggie, this "retro" .32 RP has the postwar hammer block. Looking down from above as you pull the hammer back slowly, you can see the block move straight down until it is below the falling hammer's path of travel. I probably won't try to take the sideplate off for a photo because the action can't possibly be dirty and the screws look as though they have never been turned.

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David Wilson

That's yet another reason it should be in your hands instead of a Philistine like me... I'd probably have to have the side plate off to drool into the innards and since it has the perfect combination of new and old design parts would have to try to wear it out shooting at the range and in the woods. Enjoy the pride of ownership, my friend, but do let it come out to play on special occasions. It deserves nothing less!

Froggie

Now that is something special. If S&W would ever put something similar out I'll be in line to get one. .32's are becoming more frequently to my attention. I seem to have accumulated over a half dozen, starting with a 1865 Mod. 1 1/2 1st Issue, up to a 1953 shipped Pre 30. They just have that "something" that attracts me.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

That is a superb gun, with excellent photos and an interesting, informative text. Posts like this make me realize why this forum is so neat. Never really thought about a .32, but I'd take that one for sure! Thanks, David.
Bob

David:

As an aspiring Bullseye shooter I'd like to have a .32; you mention you have other guns in that caliber - are these S&W's also or some other make?

I'd love to get a K32 - as would, I suspect, virtually everyone on this board - but was wondering if there are other less costly guns you have been satisfied with.

Ned

Ned, my only real .32 caliber shooting experience is with S&Ws. I have an early Pocket Positive in .32 Colt, but haven't shot it because I don't have any ammo. I have a couple of .32-20s made by both Colt and S&W, but they have fixed sights. I have a prewar Colt Officers Model in .32 Long that I haven't shot but probably will some day.

My impression is that a model 16-4 might be an excellent Bullseye revolver. As you may know, it is basically a K-32 with a full underbarrel lug and chambered in .32 H&R Magnum. I have never even held a 16-4, let alone fired one; it may be a fine revolver in its basic configuration, or it might benefit from some gunsmithing to achieve its full excellence. Forum member Hammerdown has a customized 16-4 for which he has developed some hot loads. It is astonishingly accurate. Prices on 16-4s are rising, but they are still less than the early Model 16s and pre-16s.

It may be heresy to say so on this board, but I have been able to get better accuracy in my experiences with the Colt Officers Model revolvers in different calibers than with S&W's K-Masterpiece series. This may be because the OMs have a slightly larger frame and weigh a bit more; I find I do better with heavier guns. The .32 OMs are rarer even than K-32s. Nevertheless, they are still a little less expensive when you can find one. Please understand that doesn't mean they are cheap. They just are not as much in demand.

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David Wilson

Thank you David.

Ned

As luck would have it there is a Colt OM "Fitz Target" .32 for sale on Gunbroker.

Has a buy-it-now price of $4,450!!

A tad rich for my wallet.

Ned

Thats an awsome little .32. I would have to shoot it!

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S&W Accumulator

David (and anyone else with access to one of the 196 I-frame Targets "born out of time") I am curious now about the sights. Are all of the rear sights of the pre-War style, or did some post-War adjustable sights get used too? While classy, the pre-War sights just aren't that easily adjusted. I'm starting to feel another "dream gun" come on, even though Project 616 isn't all that close to finished yet.

Froggie

Charlie,

I have not seen or heard of any sight variations on the 196 or any other variations; all the same with pre war sights. The sights do take a little extra effort when one is used to the newer Microclick. But once I dialed mine in to my handloads I never touched them again. I do constantly check the screws for fear of having them work loose and lose them. Smith used the same SAT for them as the transitional KGs, on the left:


When I first heard of them but hadn't seen one I just had to find one and was a bit disappointed to find it was almost all a pre war style gun. I was looking for a match to my Model of 1953 22/32 Kit Guns. But still glad to have it since it's a great match to my pre war KG. And my solution was acguiring the 30-1 target.

Thanks for resurrecting this great old thread.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Uh, uh, yeah, OK. I understand that... hey wait a minute! There's a "30-1 target" variant?? Where did that come from? What is the barrel length of the 30-1 Target? What other features does it have?

You guys keep throwing me curves with all of these exotic variations I have never seen. Where does it end??

Froggie

Sorry, not factory, you've seen this one; I added the target hammer, trigger, stocks, front sight base and pre war thumbpiece:

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Jim
S&WCA #819

So, I think I have one of these special revolvers. It's serial # 657308
Has the 4 inch barrel, adjustible rear sight and target front sight. Condition is about 97+ condition.

Glad to know it's a unique firearm. I haven't fired mine, but it is used and has been fired in the past.very little cylinder wear on it.
so my question is: what are the value of these nifty guns on today's market if one was to sell it ?
Anybody know ?

Condition is important, and collectors would find value in the box as well, if that is available. I would guess between $2000 and $3000, depending.

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David Wilson

So how would the best way be to sell my treasure ? I'm interested in
selling it, but to a good home.
thanks
Dave

Use the classified section of this forum. Most of the interested buyers are members here anyway. Read the rules, which are not oppressive but are definitely to be observed, provide some high quality photos, and see what happens.

Bear in mind that you may end up shipping out of state, so learn what the rules are where you live if you are not familiar with them already.

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David Wilson

Ah. So it does exist!

My biggest S&W regret is that they did not make (enough of) a .32 kit gun.


I'll still probably never get to own one.

Yes, they do exist but Only 196 were made. See some here: .32 Regulation Police Target

Easy enough and much cheaper to have one made and you get to choose your favorite barrel length and the much improved post war micro click rear sight.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Night of the Living Threads - The Zombie Posts.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.