I was hoping to get some information on a .32 long I just received from my grandmothers estate. Serial number is 324XXX.

Thanks for you help

That's probably a .32 Hand Ejector, third model. It would have shipped from the factory around 1920-21.

There is a variant of the .32 Hand Ejector called the .32 Regulation Police. The .32 RP has a larger, square-butt set of grips that wrap around the bottom of the grip frame. On these, the serial number is stamped on the forestrap of the grip frame, right behind the trigger guard. There may be a Patent date of June 5, 1917 on one of the wooden panels.

The standard .32 Hand Ejector has a smaller round butt, and the serial number is stamped on the bottom of the grip frame.

There is also a very rare variety called the .32 Regulation Police Target Revolver. These guns have six inch barrels and an adjustable rear sight instead of a simple groove in the frame. Odds are you don't have one of those because there were only a few hundred made.

Can you post photos? A lot of us here like the old prewar .32s.

__________________
David Wilson

The .32 Long CTG is a cartridge, not a gun.
DC has kindly given you information to use in talking about the gun with other people so they'll know what you're refering to.
Denis

Thanks for the information. I have upload some pics. It's not in the greatest shape. The grips are chipped and some of the nickel has warn off.
If the pics give you any more info, please elaborate.
I'm thrilled to hear that is probably a prewar Model 3. How can I verify or get a factory letter? Is there a charge? I'd love to verify and get any history that I possible can. It's my first handgun and knowing the history behind any item I own increases its value to me.
Oh - I forgot to mention that the serial number is on the bottom of the butt of the gun.

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wtk-apcbc,

Another thing to help identify what you have is the barrel length. With S&W revolvers the length is measured from the front face of the cylinder to very front end (muzzle) of the barrel.

Your revolver should either have black, hard rubber grips, or checkered wood grips if they are original... as David already said, they could be either the small, rounded bottom grips that follow the profile of the frame, or the longer, square bottom grips that extend below the grip frame. Of course after 80-90 years, your revolver could well have had its grips replaced. Pictures and details of description will make for a much more complete ID.

Oh yeah, and welcome to the forum!

Regards,
Froggie

Thanks Froggie.

The barrel is 4 1/2 inches in length. The grips are a hard black plastic which do not go around the bottom of the grip - so I assume "small round" grip. (still learning terminology). If you look at the butt, the serial number is engraved on the metal frame between the black plastic grips.

Definitely getting an education already - Thanks

Those pictures confirm it as a .32 Hand Ejector, third model, from the early 1920s.

You can order a factory letter for $50. For that you get some general history on the model and a specific shipping date and destination for your actual gun. Usually the destination is a regional or local distributor, but sometimes you will find a gun shipped to a specific store or individual. You can get a request form for a letter from the "Downloads" link in the menu bars at the top of this page.

If you want to replace those broken grips, you can sometimes find old grip sets available in the classifieds on this forum, or even on Ebay. You are looking for hard rubber round butt I-frame grips. They should be black. If the ones you see offered are brown or tan, they have lost some of their color through sun fading or washing.

I can't tell from the photos -- are the trigger and hammer nickeled, or are they sort of drab with maybe some ghost case-coloring left on them? Case hardening leaves some brown and pale blue swirls on carbon steel, and that's how S&W shipped all their guns. They never nickeled or blued their hammers and triggers; if you see nickel on those parts, the gun has been refinished.

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David Wilson

The trigger and handle are not nickel. The hammer is pale blue. The trigger I believe has some "?case-coloring?" left on the left side and pale blue on the right side. My grandmother's second husband was right handed so it makes since that the right side has more wear than the left.