Just acquired a 3" Pre-30 in blue.
I've been looking for that "just-right" revolver, that
fits my hands and my sense of what My revolver
should be. I had gotten a Pre-30 from one esteemed
member of the Forum, and a Terrier from another. Those
are my kind of revolver. However, as has been noted in
other threads, if you ever have to use one for real, it
probably won't go home with you, it'll be evidence for
the forseeable future. Didn't want to take that chance,
so I've been looking for another I-frame.
Ended up with a nice Pre-30, with "character". Lots
of freckling on the cylinder and dings on various other parts.
No matter, it works for me. Nice and tight, POA is POI at
25 yards, matching numbers. S/N 671,9xx.
Surprising to me, is that, not much newer than the 2",
it's a 3-screw vs. 5-screw, glossy vs. satin, and only numbered
in two places vs. four. Otherwise, they both fit me.
Thanks to the members who brought me to this point,
I'm loving it! Both carried in Lobo's Offset Clip IWB.
The 3" came in a Brauer Bros. flap holster. Now, all I
need is a 3" pocket holster. TACC1

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TACCI,

You picked up a little sweetheart pre 30 there. It's officially a Model of 1953 32 Hand Ejector and one of the changes of this new model was the elimination of the 5th screw from the trigger guard. Then around 1956 the 4th screw, the top sideplate screw was eliminated, so the 4 screw guns were only around for a short time. It should have 3 serial # locations: butt, backside of ejector star and backside of right stock panel.

How much lower is the serial number of the 2" 32 Hand Ejector and for the .38 Terrier snubby. They could be post war I frames or Improved I frames with new coil mainspring like your pre 30 3". It should have 6 serial # locations. In addition to the three above, it's under the barrel, rear face of cylinder and rear face of the yoke viewed thru one chamber.

I presume by "use it for real" you mean for self defense. If I'm correct than be sure to load it up with 32 ACP self defense ammo. This ammo is not only much cheaper than 32 S&W Long, it has advanced with quite a few improved loadings and bullets for defense. The 32 Long has not.

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

No reason at all why a man shouldn't carry a couple of diamonds around in his pocket. Great idea.

Very nice!

I think I may need one of those. Or two.

__________________
David Wilson

TACC1:
I just picked up a .32 HE Improved with a 3 1/4" barrel last week myself. Can't wait to try it out. It's my first I-Frame in .32.
Leo

__________________
Living a dream - S&WCA #2364

You'll love it. You know you're not shooting a 22 but it's still very comfortable even though it's such a small gun. And the 32 long is so inherently accurate. I've never been dissapointed with any of the Smith I frames.

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

Hondo, the 2" version S/N is 594 3xx. The Terrier
S/N is 70 1xx.
I hadn't known about using .32ACP. That's a good
thing to know.
I think LEO is on his way to a collection enhancement.
TACC1

Tacci,
Sorry, my mistake, I understand now that you were talking about two different guns: a 2" 32 and a 38 Terrier. I corrected my post.

The 2" version .32 S/N 594 3xx is just about a cinch to be an Improved I frame with coil spring. The Terrier is most likely as well but there's a chance of it being a leaf spring model.

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

Very cool Terrier. I love my I frames. I have a 1927 Regulation Police
.32 and a 31-2 snubbie.

__________________
SV,14,17,21,28,29,39,66,586

TACC1, I have mentioned my diminutive niece and her little 3" Model 30-1 a couple of times, but in this context I will say that although quite athletic, she is also downright tiny, that's why when this gun came to me from the estate of a good friend, I knew it would be just right for her. The friend was a gunsmith who specialized in competition pistols and he had tuned this one up for himself. An added bonus was the grips which were a custom pair from our mutual friend, Roy Fishpaw. This is the gun she used for her pistol safety class then received for her 21st birthday. She is trained in unarmed self defense from an old Secret Service guy plus has a friend in her purse... I worry a lot less about her now! May yours provide just as much security and I pray that neither of you find yourself in a situation where you have to use it!

Froggie

HONDO, all three are Improved models, and it looks like there is a slight difference in frame bulk above/behind the trigger. When I
super-pose one above an old I-frame, though, there's no visible
size difference. I believe the trigger-guard on the Improved might be a hair wider than the older I-frames. Fascinating...
Froggie, I appreciate the sentiment, and though I have no say in some of my destinations, I try to be observant enough to stay out
of harm's way. That attitude has been working for me for a loooong time, and I hope it works for me still. I'm just glad that I don't have a LEO's job, and have to deal with the bad crowd on a regular/daily
basis. TACC1

The 3" is actually a different I frame, the newer Model of 1953; larger egg shaped trigger guard and the grip frame is the longer J frame size. The stocks won't interchange with the other two.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Sure enough, the 3" has the longer grip, although the
cylinder window measures 1-1/2 on 32, 2", also on 3", and on
a 1930's era 32 H-E. You sure know your S&W's.
Thanks to the MAG-NUM tutorial on grip refinishing, I have
an extra set of I-frame grips on hand, and just as you said, they
don't reach the bottom of the butt. Live and learn....
TACC1

Believe me, it took awhile and buying several guns to get these I frames figured out. I don't think there are any Smith models with a more convoluted evolution. The evolution to the full J frame finally ended as you probably know, in Oct 1960 for the .22/32s and in 1961 for the .32s and .38s S&Ws.

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

Well, you guys were right about how much fun it is to shoot the little .32 S&W's. I got out to the range today and I'm still grinning ear to ear.

__________________
Living a dream - S&WCA #2364

LEO,
I'm in the process of installing the late model
wooden grips on my I-frames. I've set aside the numbered grips for them, but for shooting, the increased width changes the whole experience. For even better results, I also install BKGRIPS
grip adapters.
"Hunter" holster made a holster markrd 1100 17 that fits the
I- and J-frames. I got my holster pretty much by accident,
but if I ever see another, I'll glomm on to it. TACC1