Identifying the age of my S&W revolver

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UndeadPoet

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Hello,

I am trying to determine the age of my S&W revolver. It was my great-uncle's (and possibly my g-grandfather's). I believe my great-uncle carried it in WWII and it may have been used by him or my g-grandfather as policemen/chiefs-of-police. I will attempt to attach pics of it, but here is the description:

There is no model no. behind the yoke (just an assembly no.).
It is a hand-ejector.
The SN is "378XXX" and there is no letter preceding it.
It is a .38 S&W Special CTG.
It has a 5" barrel.
It has fixed sights.
It has a strain screw.
It is a 5 screw model.

Any help will be greatly appreciated. My son and I ran quite a bit of cartridges through it today and it shoots like a champ.

Thanks!
 

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You have an M&P (Military & Police) Model from the early 1920s, probably 1921. Stocks look correct, finish looks original. You could check the serial number under the barrel for a letter, offset quite a bit from the serial; an N or no letter means the finish was nickel originally. You could also check the right stock panel for a pencilled serial number matching the butt.

This model had no number yet; those did not appear until 1957.

If it's a family heirloom, I'd get a history letter from S&W for it.
 
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Absalom said:
You have an M&P (Military & Police) Model from the early 1920s, probably 1921. Stocks look correct, finish looks original. You could check the serial number under the barrel for a letter, offset quite a bit from the serial; an N or no letter means the finish was nickel originally. You could also check the right stock panel for a pencilled serial number matching the butt.

This model had no number yet; those did not appear until 1957.

If it's a family heirloom, I'd get a history letter from S&W for it.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your reply and this very helpful information. I checked the serial number located under the barrel and it does not have a letter, offset or otherwise, either. My brother has another similar S&W revolver which also came from my great-uncle, but it is a .44 S&W Special CTG.

How would I go about getting a history letter from S&W for either?

Thanks again!
 
Welcome to the Forum. You have a 38 Hand Ejector, 4th Change, shipped in 1921. It is in very nice original condition, by my observation, and looks like it was well cared for by your Great Uncle and/or Great Grandfather. I have the same model, with serial number 380XXX that shipped in May, 1921. You will love the way these guns shoot.

I would carefully remove the sideplate to make sure it is not full of dried oils and greases. If dirty, flush out with carb-n-choke cleaner, dry with compressed air and lightly lubricate it before going to the range.

Get a box of wadcutter target ammo and find out why your ancestors never sold it.
 

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glowe said:
Welcome to the Forum. You have a 38 Hand Ejector, 4th Change, shipped in 1921. It is in very nice original condition, by my observation, and looks like it was well cared for by your Great Uncle and/or Great Grandfather. I have the same model, with serial number 380XXX that shipped in May, 1921. You will love the way these guns shoot.

I would carefully remove the sideplate to make sure it is not full of dried oils and greases. If dirty, flush out with carb-n-choke cleaner, dry with compressed air and lightly lubricate it before going to the range.

Get a box of wadcutter target ammo and find out why your ancestors never sold it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Gary. It does shoot well. I haven't taken it apart yet, but I do note that the ejector hinge is very tight. I oiled it but it didn't seem to make much difference.
 
One dating standard is the absence of the "MADE IN USA" stamp on the left front of the frame ahead of the trigger guard. That did not begin until about mid-1922. You might want to try using some mild metal polish on it like Flitz or Mother's Mag to shine it up. Then keep it waxed. The grips are period-correct, and you MAY (or may not) be able to see a penciled matching SN on the inside of the right panel. Do not get your hopes up about a factory letter connecting it with anyone in your family. It will very likely not provide much more information that the exact date of shipment and the name of some S&W distributor or retailer to where it was first shipped.

Simplest way to clean it up from dried oil and other internal crud is to remove the grips and blast the inside with spray carb cleaner as best you can (using the little red tube). Or give at an overnight soak in mineral spirits. You can easily remove the cylinder and yoke for cleaning by removing the front sideplate screw. The yoke will pull right out. There are several YouTube videos on S&W revolver disassembly if you want to go that far. All of them come apart in much the same way.
 
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Thanks, DWalt. I didn't expect S&W to tell me that my great-uncle stormed some Pacific beach with it, or that my g-grandfather used it to chase Dillinger or someone (LOL), but I may do it just to get a more exact time frame of when it was made and distributed, etc.
 
Personally, I think any family heirloom deserves a factory letter. This is a perfect way to clearly identify what the gun is, the history of the model, how it was configured when it originally shipped from the factory, where it went, and what date it was shipped. That way, the next owner will not have to find someone who may or may not know what the gun is to re-identify it. Well worth the $50 in my estimation.
 
You have a great looking revolver. Its a family treasure. Yours looks like your family took care of it. I have the same revolver only it shipment was in the 1923 area. They shoot great. The action is better than my new model 10-7. I strictly use 148 gr wadcutters. Right now USA ammo has them for around $20.00 a box. I believe Fiocchi is the brand.
again enjoy your revolver.
 
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Model 36 revolver?

Hello all, new to thread here, well to start off ill say i dont have much knowledge about the revolver i question. I will say it shoot 100% no problem, da bluing looks like it has seen better days, i inherited this revolver but no box and not much info on it, wich brings me to this thread if anyone can tell me info on it and maybe a manufacture year i would greatly appreciate it. Da serial number is 2645xx on da bottom of the grips and on da inside of revolver says model 36.
 
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Welcome to the Forum.

Before you do any work on your family heirloom, invest in some gunsmithing screwdrivers. These are hollow ground and have paralel sides, whereas hardware screwdrivers have wedge shaped tips that can slip and mar the finish of your firearm.
 
Kastle85 said:
Hello all, new to thread here . . .
Click to expand...

Welcome to the Forum and I hope you post often, but you did not start a new thread here. At the top of this section, you will find a New Thread orange button. When posting on someone else's thread, replies get confusing and many members will not see your post.

A Model 36 is called a 38 Chiefs Special and with that serial number, it should have shipped in 1962 or 1963. Pictures are always welcome.
 
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