Gun gods seem to be smiling on me lately . Managed to snag this one . As I've been schooled here are the mandatory pics . Please excercise control NO DNA on the keyboard ( hehehehehe ) . BTW S/N 138929 . Anyone got an idea on DOB ?

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That is a beautiful .32-20. Non-medallion grips and a mushroom head on the ejector rod puts it in the 1920s. It may have shipped much later though. Production ended in the 144,000 range, around 1939.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Another beauty. My envy knows no bounds. Congratulations! That is about as pristine a .32-20 as you will find.

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David Wilson

You taught me well my friend .

Simply outstanding.
32/20 are raely found in high condition.
They are even more rare in the original box.
You found a true prize there.
Is the box numbered to it? I have no doubt it is.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

The mushroom extractor rod head places the gun as no later than 1928 as I recall. Since it is less than 6,000 from the last acknowledged Winchester Model serial number of 144,684, this tends to reinforce my belief that very few, if any, of this model were actually produced after 1930, even though they were cataloged until 1940.

As Lee said, very nice.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

At the OGCA show in November, David Carroll had its brother on his table priced at $1600. Thats asking price, and I didn't see it sell for that much.

My gun showing pard Joe bought one at the end of September in about as good a condition as you can imagine for $700. That's your range of prices. Its only your selling ability, your range of contacts, and how much they'll pay you for your treasure.

So how much did you pay?

Its a good one, I'd keep it if I were you.

But I dislike the ammo. I'm in the midst of one of my winter reloading projects. And its fighting the thin little 32-20 cases. I've been reminded of how difficult a little case it is. They aren't hard to reload, but the rate of case damage is much higher than I'm used to with 38s, 357s, 44s, etc.

Its a cartridge you almost must reload for. Ammo is prohibitively expensive, with new ammo usually priced at about $40 a box of 50. That's 80 cents a shot, and out of the casual plinker price range. My buddy Joe keeps raving about what a great round it is, how good it feels to fire it. No recoil to speak of, but more satisfying than any 22 (he's never made noise with a Jet.)

The guns I've seen over the last year or so seem to fall into two distinct categories. The clunkers have terrible flaws in their finish, and often have eroded or corroded bores. Just nasty old guns (but some still shoot well). And the beauties. The OP here seems to have landed one. My buddy Joe found a cheap goodie. I found a pretty nice target model a year ago. Just a little finish wear (looks honest), and it is a target.

The 32-20s have been given up for dead recently. But if you roll back through the posts, you'll find a great long running thread on these guns. We here at the S&W forum seem to have the unique ability to bring this caliber back to life. I would suggest the OP here read the thread (if he hasn't already done so) and then move from there. It appears the gun in question is not just a goodie, but a goodie with a box. We really like boxes. Its about as good an accessory as you can get with a fixed sight gun.

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Dick Burg

Thanks . We all get lucky . It's like the carrot in front of the jackass , keeps 'em going . Those old WCF rounds are a PITA to load .32-20 , .38-40 & .44-40 etc . This one's too pretty to shoot . One day someone'll make me an offer I can't refuse . I paid more than I wanted too , but with the condition , box & rarity couldn't say no . Had to think about it though . I will seek out that thread . Sounds like interesting reading .

Great looking gun! As mentioned by other posters these seemed to be working guns and are hard to find in good condition. I was lucky to find a nice one that is not too pretty to shoot. I was interested to read Dick's comments on re-loading problems. One of my main incentives to reload was the cost of 32-20 ammo. My very first reloading effort was 32-20 and I had no problems at all. Probably a case of beginner's luck on my part although I have reloaded many since with no issues.

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John. SWCA #1586

Outstanding piece. I've been capturing data on the 32-20s since 1991. So far I have details on a little over 400 guns. This is one of the very best service-sighted models I've ever seen. Hang onto it!

The nearest serial numbers in my database that I have confirmed ship dates for are:
136691 - 6/2/1927, 143607 - 10/27/1931

Some guns were shipped way out of chronological order as evidenced by s/n 141611. It was one of 7 guns discovered in a S&W vault in 1965. The seven were 5 inch nickeled models and were shipped to H.H. Harris Co, Chicago.The owner in 1991, when I saw the piece, lives in Boise.

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Jim Sebring

Hello N7BLW
You want another one to catalog?
Model of 1902, Target, 5", blued.
Serial 8037.
Shipped March 15, 1904.
Hope this helps.
JP

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Jack
SWCA #2475, SWHF #318

That is a sweet 32-20! A friend of mine just picked up a old colt 32-20 army special double action at a gun show that is dead mint for 600.00.What a beauty that is. I have been trying too talk him out of it.Now you need to match your s&w 32-20 up with a winchester lever in 32-20

Have one with original box, never been shot, not a scratch or fingerprint anywhere!!! SN 138343

you Sir have done very well, thanks for shareing.

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Stay safe people!

boatbum101 - I agree . . . you have acquired an "Outstanding piece". Congratulations!

N7BLW - feel free to add 141399 with 5" barrel & fixed sights which shipped in June 1929.

Russ