So...I walked into my favorite firearms emporium and under the glass I saw, what was labeled as: "S&W .38/.32 Terrier." It has some blue wear in places it should for a properly used, but not abused revolver. It had a four digit serial number, so I thought, "Neat! It definitely must be a Pre-War Terrier!" So I bought it.

Back at the hacienda I began to inspect it further and to look at the photographs I have saved from this forum and learned some "stuff".

"My Terrier" does not have a serial number located on the butt as every picture I have of a Terrier does. But it has a four digit serial number located on the front of the grip-strap which every Regulation Police in every picture I have does.

I saw that the barrel was indeed a Pre-War .38/.32 Terrier, but it had no serial number under the ejector rod. And...the frame has no "Made in USA" and no S&W trademark stamped on it. As do the Regulation Police's of circa 1917-1919 (1920?) do not have.

I consulted my Supica 3rd Edition and it said the Pre-War Terriers would all have much higher serial numbers than mine.

I came to the Forum and read what I could find on the two revolvers in question as well.

So eventually I figured I had a Regulation Police frame that had been round-butted and fitted with a Pre-War Terrier barrel. As well the trigger-guard had been "Semi-Fitzed" with a small amount of material removed so that the finger can find the trigger faster. A very neat, and well done conversion. And I suspect when it was done it was for someone who was a "police", or maybe "gangster"? persuasion. I don't think your average gun owner of a long time ago would have created such a perfect carry piece.

A friend in the gunshop told me that original seller to them was no Cop. So maybe it came to the seller as is?

I shot it with a load of the 145 grain GOEX bullet and Bullseye and it grouped offhand at 15 yards into 5 inches for 5 shots. It was 2 inches left at that distance. I will reload and find a more accurate load. I also fitted it with a cut-down pair of Chief Special stocks and so here it is.



Note the "Semi-Fitz" on the right side of the trigger-guard.



I already have the "Snap-Brim" to wear with it when I go "downtown".

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

Somebody that knew what they wanted and needed built the ideal carry piece, or had it built. I like it. Try some Buffalo Bore ammo.

Does the trigger guard relief actually work?

Actually it does. I do not have very long fingers but it appears to be necessary for my digits.

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

All you need now is two fingers of bourbon, a cigar, and an office with your name on the frosted glass door. "Take that ya mug...!"

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NRA Cert. Inst. RSO

Snazzy little revolver! I like it.

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Goose
I'm still standing.

Three fingers of Jameson's, a bubble gum cigar (I quite smoking in 1983).............

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

Nice catch, and not an unheard of way to have a 'homemade' snubby.
It wasn't round butted because even the sq butt guns had round butt grip frames, but with a rebate milled into the backstrap for the patented stock design However, if it doesn't have a rebated backstrap, it didn't start life as a Regulation Police with RP square butt stocks as shown:



So what was it? Since it's numbered on the forestrap, clearly its original stocks covered the butt. Therefore the only other possibility is that it must have been special ordered with the more hand-filling extension Target stocks with two screws, that do not require the rebate cut. These are more commonly found on I frame target models in .22, 32, or 38 S&W (rare!), like this 22/32 pre war Kit Gun:



What kind of stocks did it have when you bought it?

I can't help but notice the trigger guard has taken a blow (or someone took a blow from the trigger guard) that has left it out of round.

Simple to fix however, but only if it's something that bothers you.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Very nice. I wish S&W would bring that one back in 9mm.

Hondo44,

The stocks that came with it appeared to be old Jay Scott mahogany roundbutts. I gave them to a friend in the gunshop as he wanted them for his Post-War Terrier.

I suspect the backstrap was "roundbutted" (in my in-exact term) by removing the step on the frame of an original Regulation Police. The butt strap had been reblued and already worn off. The frame is definitely a fixed sight frame.

You are correct and I did not notice the trigger-guard until your mentioning of it. However the revolver functions in both double-action and single-action mode so I will leave it.

Maybe somebody said, "Take this you mug!" as they wacked someone else on the head? Or maybe, "Shut yer trap!"

We could probably write a whole crime novel about this gun.............

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

Why would someone want that? It isn't original. It doesn't have the modern tolerances for ammo. It's certainly no target revolver that you could shoot accurately. If I walked into my LGS and saw that, there is NO WAY, I would have left without it! Cool little gun!

You did a fine job. Good hunting and research, too.


My downtown cover is a high crown fedora



Semper Fi
Mike

Ok, I got it now. Yes, I can see a little shaving off the back edge of the stocks. That worked well.

Yeah the trigger guard story alone could probably be an entire chapter in a Sam Spade detective novel.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Looks like a terrific little pocket carry piece, all business.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Thanks all for the nice responses and to Hondo44 for enlightening me further.

I will speculate (a very stretching speculation) that this piece was probably put together before WWII or at least before Chief's Specials were readily available.

Somebody wanted a very nice concealed carry piece, or backup. Since they couldn't find a real Terrier, or a Colt Banker's Special they had, or made this one up.

Might have been a case of, "I have this Regulation Police frame but need a shorter barrel."

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Have guns...will shoot'em.

I knew a couple old gunsmiths the the Dallas area that had mandrels for straightening out trigger guards if a suspect accidentally bumped into it with thier head.