After my mother's death we were cleaning out the house preparing to put the house on the market. In an old box I found this revolver. I can't pin down exactly which model this is. I have no idea where it came from but I will guess it belonged to my father. The serial number is 393743 and the number on the crane and frame is 18160. It is marked 38 S&W SPECIAL CTG. The action is very nice and lockup is very good. So what did I wind up with. Any help would be appreciated.

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Sorry to hear about your mother.

Looks like a .38 Special Military and Police Target to me. Decades before model numbers were issued. Awesome pre-war (WWII) magna stocks! Can I poke around some in the attic?

Post better pics!

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"I also cook."

If the old box is a S&W, DON'T UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES THROW IT AWAY!

Nice find.

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Guy
SWHF #474 SWCA LM#2629

No it was an old shoe box. I wish it had been the original box then I might have known what model it was.

Adjustable rear sight and partridge front sight. 6" barrel. 38spc.
Looks to be a Pre Model 14 aka the 38 Target Masterpiece.

Yes, .38 Military & Police target from about 1922. The stocks are from the 1935-1940 era, but everything you see is from before WWII. Very nice specimen, probably worth about $800 at auction; the stocks alone would sell for more than $300.

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David Wilson

Sell those stocks and replace them with these.



f.t.

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South Carolina-God's country

Man I hate it when this doesn't happen to me...

Congratulations on your find.

GS

This one has a ship date from sometime in the early-mid 1920s, or slightly later. As Chad noted it has later stocks, from the mid-1930s to just before WW II. Are you aware of any family story behind it?

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Those are close to the proper stocks, same appearance except no medallions.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Sorry to hear about your mother. Congrats on your find....

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Lt. Dan, what R U doing here?

I have no idea where it came from or anything about it. My father did serve in Korea and grandfather did serve in WWll. From the date I assume it may have belonged to my grandfather.

Back when that one was produced all S&W used was names for the various revolvers. Unfortunatly the glare in the pic you posted obscures clear detail of the rear sight so I cannot tell if you have an adjustable target sight or a simple notch in the top strap of the frame.

That detail is a real key to making a proper identification.

If your rear sight is a simply notch in the top strap what you have is the Military and Police model with I believe a 6 inch barrel. Basically a standard Police revolver back in the first half of the 20th century with a barrel slightly longer than issued by most police departments. BTW, standard barrel length for city police in this period was normally 4 or 5 inches because the shorter barrels were easier to carry. The closest derivative model of this particular version of the M&P would be today's Model 10.

If it has an adjustable rear sight it's a Military and Police Target. Oddly enough another revolver quite common in Police usage. However in the case of the Target version it was used most widely by the various Police Department shooting teams around the country. The closest derivative model of this particular version of the M&P would be today's Model 14.

As for value, Condition is everything with these older revolvers. In perfect 100% new condition I would expect that it could get as much as 600 dollars in an auction. If it's acquired a bit of rust and shows a moderate amount of wear then figure 200-300 dollars depending on how pretty it will clean up.

Howdy

Looks pretty obvious to me. I can see the target rear sight, and the front sight, although out of focus, has the correct profile for a M&P Target Model.

In this photo, my M&P Target Model is the revolver at the bottom. The revolver at the top of the photo is my K-38, which is what the M&P Target Model morphed into about 1946. Notice the different profile of the front sights, and the larger screw on the rear sight of the K-38. In 1957, the K-38 became known as the Model 14 when S&W changed over to model numbers instead of model names.




Your revolver should have a tiny screw on either side of the rear sight. The way to adjust the rear sight is to loosen the screw on the side you want to shove the sight to, then tighten the other screw to push the sight over. Don't try pushing the sight without first loosening the screw on the other side.

38 S&W SPECIAL CTG is the cartridge your revolver is chambered for. CTG simply means cartridge. Yours is chambered for the standard 38 Special round.

The number on the crane and frame is an assembly number, it does not have much significance. The number on the butt is the serial number. It should appear in three other places; rear of the cylinder, underside of the barrel hidden by the ejector rod, and underside of the extractor star. This spot is hard to see. If the numbers in all four places agree, it means your revolver left the factory with those parts in place.

My M&P Target Model's SN is 2646XX and it shipped in 1917 if that is any help.

I'm no pro but this speculation seems very low. Do you have any examples to support these prices?

I'm not calling you out - just learning. On instinct alone (looks and feel) I think I would pay closer to what Mr. Wilson quoted.

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Is this heaven? No, it's Iowa.

Scooter may have been quoting prices for a standard, fixed-sight M & P. I would approximately double his estimates for a Target model. and even a little higher at the lower end due to the stocks.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

All I find are bats when I poke around in an attic!

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Dennis
SWCA #2409, SWHF #353

Please note the correct term for the front sight is Patridge, not Partridge.

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No life story has happy end.

That is definitely a target front sight and therefore is a target model. When looking at photos, click once to change the thumbnail photo to a larger size, click again on that photo and usually the photo will enlarge once more. Just an FYI for those of us with failing eyesight.

That is a very nice revolver and especially so since it has family history. I have all of my grandfathers guns and all of my dads too. They will never see the auction block. Everything goes to the kids and the grandkids.

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James Redfield
LM #497

Target model and fixed sight M&P. Very nice find and gun...

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George Jamison

I think the round top stocks shown in this picture would be correct for your m&p target.DSC_0004.jpg

Agreed. Below are photos of SN 393657 (less than 100 SN from the sumo61's gun) and the stocks on that one number to the gun. As worn as it is, the pencil numbers are still visible. I think this one shipped in late 1921 or early 1922 and was probably on the line at the same time as sumo61's gun:





BTW: I love these early M&P Target guns with the, "mushroom" ejector rod knob, the smooth trigger face and the smooth backstrap - very classy.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

George:

The stocks on that target model of yours are very unusual in that they appear to be large medallion K-frame stocks. I believe that they were some of the earliest silver medallion K-frame stocks that were replaced shortly thereafter by the smaller silver medallioned stocks. I would expect that the stocks are numbered in the 611XXX range (as all three sets that I am aware of have been) and the one set that I saw on a gun with matching numbers was a 4" 1905 4th M&P fixed sight gun in the 611XXX range. I own one set in excellent condition, I just have not fount the "right gun" to put them on.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Point me in the direction! No way would an earlier (that sight was before the more common patridge style of the 30s) be worth $600 in 100% new. It would sell for over $1000 online, you can bet on it. Why? They are HARD TO FIND 100%. I bought a few beaters and was happy to get them. They're much more sought after than most post war K-38s. Also target M&Ps of this vintage are rarely seen for $200!

They are great shooting guns, K frame 38 target guns

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}-----Jim----->
~SWCA #2732~

Well I sat down with the sisters and brothers today and it looks like I'm going to have to sell it. The house is going to have through probate. We were lucky that the lawyer said we could have the personal possessions in the house. So do you think that if I ask $600 I would be okay? Have to pay the bills on the family mess we are in.

The scarce pre war diamond magna grips on the gun are worth 400.00 if there in excellent condition.500.00 if there mint.I would ask at least 850.00 for the gun and grips.Mike

It has been placed on the forum under classified ads for $600 OBO so we can pay some bills. Thanks everyone for all the help. I wish we could have kept it but lawyer bills and such are killing us.

Well congratulations on the find anyway because it could have been up there for a long time if the new owners of the house hadn't gone up in the attic.