Sorry for the poor photos but the light was fading fast. I just traded for this one and would like info on it please. There is no stamping/engraving on either side. There is no emblem. the RH side of the barrel is marked 32-20 ctg. Left side of the 6" barrel is marked Smith & Wesson with the odd looking "&". Top of the barrel has two lines, the top reads Smith & Wesson Springfield Mass USA and the second line reads Patented Feb. 6, 06. Sept. 14, 09. Dec. 29, 14. The barrel and cylinder are numbered to the frame, the stocks do not appear to be. There appears to be a "*C" in front of the serial number in the butt. Serial number is 778XX. Bore and chambers are clean. Plenty of holster wear along both sides of the barrel, surface rust and light pitting on the frame.

I know little of older guns, but I think this is a model of 1905 fourth change, produced 1915-1940, serial number range 65701-144684. Probably made around 1919-1920. How close am I? How strong is this gun? Does this gun basically have the same innards as my 1953 K22? The blue that is left on it is very shiny, would this be correct? Thanks for any help.

This thing sure would look great nickeled with a set of stag stocks.

You pretty much nailed it. I would put the date closer to 1917. You are correct that those are not the original stocks. Those date to the 1930s, and the stocks on a gun shipped in the mid-'teens would have gold (brass) medallions. Some of those pre-WWI revolvers had a really nice high-polish deep blue finish on them; sounds like yours started that way.

Do you know you should not shoot .32-20 ammo marked "for rifle only"? If ammo is marked "for revolvers" or "for rifle and revolvers," it's OK to shoot it. I use cowboy action ammo in my old shooter; nice low pressure loads, but still makes a satisfying noise and throws a slug a little faster than you can achieve with .32 Long.

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David Wilson

"Does this gun basically have the same innards as my 1953 K22? The blue that is left on it is very shiny, would this be correct? Thanks for any help."

1st question: Yes and no. The basic action appears the same-hammer rebound slide, trigger, mainspring. However, this a pre WW II action that is "longer" than in your postwar K22. It also has a different hammer block.

2nd question: Yes, it is correct.

__________________
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WAR EAGLE!

Colby,

That is a nice old gun and David is wise with his counsel on the ammo.

You mentioned how nice it would look in nickel. I encourage you to reconsider that. It certainly doesn't look abused...simply shows the signs of a good and well used life.

Without comment on the value of your gun I will restate something that I heard long ago. "When you take an old $500 gun and spend $300 on refinishing it, you end up with a $200 gun."

Bob

Thank you both for the info. I got a full box of Black Hills 115 FPL cartridges with the gun. It is not marked specifically. Since this is not pristine, no harm in refinishing it, is there?

For a lot of us here, what you've suggested - twice - makes no sense.
You just traded for the gun, so it has no family or heirloom value, to
you. Assuming its finish is original, worn but original, it still has some
collector value. Perhaps not a lot, but some. If its refinished, it loses
all of its collector value, plus any damage done to the markings
during the refinishing. There is no upside to what you want to do.

If you want a nickel 32-20, sell that one, and find a reasonably nice
nickel one. While this gun is not rare, presumably its still original.
These don't grow on trees, so why mess that up ?

Mike Priwer

I did not figure it to be anything special, as it was made for so many years. However, I did say I know little of the older guns, but I am paying attention and appreciate the input.

BTW, I traded this even up for the .32/20. How badly did I get taken?

you did fine!

I didn't think the 32-20 ctg was used on the barrel until about 1921 after the heat treating change? I know there was a s/n range different from the 38 m&ps but my books are out in my shop.
Larry

And this he asks with tongue firmly planted in cheek.
f.t.

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South Carolina-God's country

Unless that is an early .22 semi-auto Ruger, which it does not appear to be, you did well on the trade. Please do not re-finish the revolver.

While this revolver was manufactured before 1920 there are several clues which point to my comments above.

1) The barrel is cut for the barrel-shaped ejector rod head instead of the "Trumpet" shape of guns made before 1928. The rod-head change was ordered in 1928.

2) The extractor rod has the straight, barrel shaped head instead of the "trumpet" shape of a pre-1920 gun. See 1 above.

3) The stocks have the large matte chrome medallions which were not used until 1929-1930.

Conclusion: This revolver was returned to the factory sometime after 1928, and after all the old style parts were exhausted. It was re-barreled with a then-current barrel which was cut for the barrel shaped extractor rod head, which necessitated replacement of the rod head and/or extractor rod of that period to accommodate the new barrel. Whenever the factory replaced a major, serial numbered, component such as the barrel they stamped the guns SN on the new part. Matching numbers on a factory re-worked gun are not necessarily an indicator of originality, but simply that they were factory replaced. There may be a * on the bottom barrel flat too.

The late style stocks may, or not, have been replaced at the same time. If they have no number this is likely. If they have a mis-matched SN written on the inside of the Rt. stock in pencil they could have been added at any time. The stocks are likely correct for the date when the barrel was replaced.

Since the gun was re-barreled it is likely it was re-finished at the same time. The factory did not necessarily stamp a re-finish code under the Lt. stock at this time as became common practice later. The re-work star (*) and date code are usually all that will be seen on a re-finished gun.

AMMUNITION:

Don't be concerned about the dire warnings to not use "rifle" ammunition. This dates back to the days when a Winchester 1892 specific high-velocity load was available. The cartridge is easy to identify, but since it has not been manufactured since the 1960s, at the latest, and was never terribly popular, you are not likely to find any casually offered for sale, especially at a gun shop or sporting goods store.

The ammunition of concern is clearly marked on the box, and head stamp, as being high velocity. It has a distinct 80 grain round nosed, jacketed, hollow-point bullet. There is no exposed lead, the jacket runs right to the hollow point, which is about 1/16", or slightly less, in diameter. As long as you avoid factory loaded jacketed hollow point ammunition you have nothing to worry about from any factory ammunition.

Someone is invariably likely to post that the warning applies to all jacketed bullet ammunition, this is simply not true!

I was sitting here staring at the ejector rod head, and then went to "page 2" and saw the comments posted by Alk8944. What he says makes lots of sense, given the star in front of the serial number. It explains the late cartridge identification. A 4th change gun made in the teens should have the 32 Winchester designation on the barrel.
Also, I want to chime in on the refinish idea. Putting nickel plating on this fine, old .32-20 Hand Ejector is a terrible idea, in my opinion.
Finally, I would have traded straight across for a Ruger Mark I in a heartbeat - unless, perhaps, it was a red eagle Mark I (which yours was not). Even then I would have considered it.
Regards,
JP

I sincerely appreciate all the info and opinions on this .32/20 as I know very little of the older guns. However, there were obvious discrepancies in this gun that even the more knowledgeable folk missed, and of course my photos were very poor. I took some more photos, again not the best, but better.

I found no date on the inside of the frame, but there is a diamond on the left rear inside of the butt and I noticed a diamond behind the serial number on the barrel flat. It appears that this old piece is nothing more than a "Frankenstein" shooter grade revolver that requires costly ammo, nothing to get excited about. At this point, would it still be blasphemy to have it refinished?

I swapped a Ruger standard .22 pistol even up for this. 4.75" barrel, FS, one magazine, no box, 1980 manufacture. I was in it cheap. Figuring the box of Black Hills ammo I got with the S&W to be worth $40.00, I would spend almost what I had in the gun to letter this thing. 1/4 of the cost to refinish it. Granted, this .32/20 could of belonged to FDR, as he had a home here in Georgia. The only way to find out is to letter the gun, and I am really not interested in that, at $50.00. I would rather spend the money on a Wonder Sight for the gun.

Again, I thank you all for your input but wish I had traded for a #10, LOL!!

A mod 10 trade could happen!!

Colby,

You are correct that it is a shooter grade gun, however, I think that it is far from being a "Frankenstein" gun. It has had major parts replaced, but they are the proper parts and they were replaced by the Factory. It certainly isn't a "kitchen table" hack job.

The gun is what it is. It was a working gun that, for whatever reason, the original user had the factory rework. Perhaps he just wore out the first barrel...certainly an honest life. Remember that that gun was a tool for its owner, no more, no less. If he had used an axe and the handle had needed replacing or the blade reground, would it make the axe any less useful?

If you are into the gun as inexpensively as you say I think that is an incentive to get a letter, not a disincentive.

It is certainly your gun to do with as you please. But you have asked for our advice and recommendations and I don't think that any of us have encouraged you to refinish it.

Bob

Thank you. I was into the Ruger for slightly under $90.00, after I bought a magazine. The previous owner offered me the trade, I took him up on it. His photos were even worse than mine, I was not too impressed at first and basically swapped with him as a favor. I will see how it shoots tomorrow.

Don't refinish it. (For the reasons others said)

ColbyBruce, you are no stranger to a finish challenged Smith and Wesson....My nickel 32WCF Smith looks about as bad as yours, and it seems magnified since it is nickel....
32-20 is fun to shoot....and I know you well enough to know you will scrounge up some ammo at a giveway price....

I am glad you folks like it, it deserves some love as I have little for it at this time. Perhaps it will turn out to be a shooter after all.

Here's the data I use with my 1905 3rd Change Mode:

__________________
WWSSD?
What would Skeeter do?

In deference to everyone's feelings, I listed the Frankenstein .32/20 in the classifieds for trade. Cheap or not, it does not suit me as is.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/guns-sa...#post136087299

I bought a Winchester 42 skeet for $200 from a friend's father who had died, and traded it for a S&W 32-20 CTG with $450 to boot. The Winchester had some custom work done to it so I was told. I believe this S&W had been refinished, or atleast the hammer and trigger. Was it a good trade or could I have gotten a better deal ? Don't know too much about either one!

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This may help in ID. The last date on top is Dec 2014.

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Mike,

The Smith is refinished and it was badly pitted prior to the refinish. It's not clear to me if you gave the $450 or got the $450 boot. If you got the $450 you aren't as bad off as if your gave the $450. In either case, I would walk it back if possible.

A M42 Winchester, depending upon how it was customized, is worth more than that Smith.

Bob

Thank you very much for the quick responce. I got $450. So the big question, What do you think it is worth?

IMHO, your .32-20 is worth $275-$350. A lot depends on your location.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!