Need info on my D-frame S&W pistol.

[hduffey]

Here are the markings:

Gun Barrel - 38 S&W Special CTG.
Marcas Registradas

Butt - C 343498

Cylinder - 343498

Frame - D
11528
8

Can I get some info help, history, and perhaps a price range? Anything is appreciated.

[Art Doc]

There is no D frame Smith. D frame is a Colt. You have a K frame Military & Police Model made in the early-mid 1950s.

In good shape a 4" M&P brings $300-$400. More if a 2" barrel. Slightly more if a 5" barrel. This model becomes the Model 10 in 1957.

All those letters and such are factory assembly numbers. Not significant to us.

[bmcgilvray]

Welcome to the Forum. Sounds like a mid-1950s K-Frame Military & Police to me. Smith & Wesson can provide a shipping date and original destination. Such revolvers became the Model 10 a few years later.

As to price range it could be worth anything from $75.00 for a shootable, but poorly refinished clunk to perhaps $800 for a new-in-the-box 2-inch nickel cream puff.

Does it still have it's original finish? How worn is the finish? Is it blue or nickel? Does it have a 2, 4, 5, or 6 inch barrel? Has it been modified by a former owner?

We love photos!

[hduffey]

Thanks for the welcome and info!

Yes, my 38 has the original blue finish which is slightly worn down the barrel and on the cylinder edges from being carried in a holster. (I'll get some pictures up tomorrow or Monday.)

It's a 5" barrel. No modifications and has the original wood handles with the round, brass S&W insignia.

It's the straightest, smoothest shooting handgun I've ever shot. It's not out-of-the-box perfect, but it's in good condition.

Which set of numbers is the actual serial number (on the butt & cylinder, or on the frame)?

Does it cost to do a background check with S&W?

What's the purpose for leaving off the last 2 or 3 serial numbers when I post?

Do you need any further info (beside pics) for a tighter price-range?

Thanks, again, for all the help!

[Muley Gil]

Welcome to the Forum.

The number on the butt, which should match the numbers under the barrel and on the back of the cylinder, is the serial number. The number stamped on the frame behind the yoke, seen when you swing out the cylinder, is an assembley number.

Some folks feel that using xx's instead of the last two numbers of the SN gives them a bit of privacy.

A letter from the factory historian, Mr Roy Jinks, costs $50. It will tell you the original configaration of your handgun-barrel length, finish, type of grips. It will also tell you where it was shipped.

[Mike.n.oregon]

Gun serial number 263326
5 shot cylinder
Barrel stamped with ".38 S.& W. SPL."

Cylinder 58 8 13
2
.
D ?

? is a crooked J, half an O or a badly stamped U.


Gun was inherited from my grandfather and has a Tyler grip and Tyler holster. Tyler was located on Britton Road in Oklahoma City at the time and my grandfather also lived in OKC on Britton road in the fifties.

I believe it is a J frame, 2 inch.

Anybody know when it was built?

[Texas Star]

Originally Posted by Mike.n.oregon

Gun serial number 263326
5 shot cylinder
Barrel stamped with ".38 S.& W. SPL."

Cylinder 58 8 13
2
.
D ?

? is a crooked J, half an O or a badly stamped U.


Gun was inherited from my grandfather and has a Tyler grip and Tyler holster. Tyler was located on Britton Road in Oklahoma City at the time and my grandfather also lived in OKC on Britton road in the fifties.

I believe it is a J frame, 2 inch.

Anybody know when it was built?

Your photo is too dark. Is the cylinder release flat and grooved, or the later usual sort?

Either way, if the frame is steel, it is Model 36 (after 1957). If a light alloy frame, a Model 37. These guns are also called the Chief's Special, a name now misused (I feel) on an S&W auto pistol. Yes, these are made on the small J-frame.

The shape of your hammer is that of the later guns. Early ones had smaller hammers, in several shapes. They evolved into the shape that your gun has.

Not being able to see the cylinder release, it wouldn't surprise me if your gun dates from the 1970's. It probably has no connection with Melvin Tyler, although it has the grip adaptor. And your relative may certainly have known him.

The best bet to date it is the serial number. Someone will be along with data on that.

[laytonj1]

"Gun serial number 263326
5 shot cylinder
Barrel stamped with ".38 S.& W. SPL."

Serial numbers ran from 125000 in 1957 to 295000 in 1962.

Jim

[Hondo44]

Originally Posted by Mike.n.oregon

Gun serial number 263326
5 shot cylinder
Barrel stamped with ".38 S.& W. SPL."

Cylinder 58 8 13
2
.
D ?

? is a crooked J, half an O or a badly stamped U.


Gun was inherited from my grandfather and has a Tyler grip and Tyler holster. Tyler was located on Britton Road in Oklahoma City at the time and my grandfather also lived in OKC on Britton road in the fifties.

I believe it is a J frame, 2 inch.

Anybody know when it was built?

Welcome to the forum with your 1st post!

It is a J frame and a letter will tell you when it "shipped" but they can't tell you when it was "built" and the dates can be weeks to years apart.

The following can almost pin down when it was bulit:

The large diamond around the grip screw tell us the gun was built before 1968, if the serial # on the back of the right grip matches the gun.

The 3rd style flat latch is before 1966 and after c. 1956.

The serial # is before 1962.

The absence of "Model 36" stamped on the frame with cyl open tells us before 1957. (The D stamp is an inspector's or assembler's stamp.)

If it has 4 screws holding on the sideplate (including the one covered by the right side grip), more likely early 1956. If only 3 screws, more likely late '56.

Your model was 1st introduced in its configuration in 1953.