I picked up a 38/44 transitional OD recently. No picts but I find it an interesting gun. The barrel has the serrations of a post war, but the sight and ejector head of a prewar. The gun is mostly a post-war frame setup, but pre-war action.

The gun appears not to have been fired but handled a bunch. The problem from the dealer was the hammer safety locked up the gun so you can cycle the action but the firing pin won't hit the round. The dealer would not sell the gun until it was repaired and they had to find a new safety to put in. That took a few months.

Nice gun though. it fills a hole in my collection. I did not have a transitional OD prior to that so easy buy.

Now I just need to photograph it.

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SWCA 1646

Waitin' for the pictures, and Merry Christmas there Podner.

Same to you Iggy. I never made it north to Wyoming this trip west. I stayed south in southern Utah and Colorado. Maybe next year.

I will get shots of it up this week. I just have to clean up the forums first.

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SWCA 1646

No fair teasing!

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Vaya con Dios

Ok enough teasing.

This one is interesting. Where is Jerry to fill in the details?

First off the serial number is S 7124X and all parts match including grips. Serial number is on the frame, cylinder, crane, grips, extractor.

The transition is the middle gun between a pre-war and a post-war 38/44 OD for comparison.




Ok, interesting things.




The front sight is a pre-war style but it is on a post-war style barrel with top serrations but note that it is offset back in the prewar style. Compare the front sights on the shots above to see the differences.



Note that the trigger is smooth face with no serrations, yet the ejector head is a pre-war style and it matches the barrel cutouts. All of my other OD's have a serrated or checkered (?) trigger face. Note also that the trigger is not polished and some of the case hardening is still visible.

Another oddity that I did not dig into is the crane appears to have a hold open latch on it like a pre-war should have but I have not seen that in a post-war frame.


So this appears to be a very interesting little mix of pre-war and post-war features. It is a nice piece in general and I bought it just to add a transition OD to the collection but I find it quite fascinating. I am not sure what I will do with it other than just add it to the 38/44 collection and continue the quest for the next one. It certainly makes me want another want to compare it too.

Jerry, if you see this thoughts comments, and is what I see normal?

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SWCA 1646