I have recently purchased a Smith & Wesson 44 Special and was wondering about the year of production. It is a hand ejector, 6 and 1/2", adjustable sight, five screw, with serial # 308xx. The previous owner re-blued it and put rubber hand grips on it. I prefer my firearms OEM, so I would like to find the proper wooden hand grips to go on it. Any information would be greatly appreciated.

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Welcome aboard.

It seems like today is a day I get to deliver bad news.
That is a Parts Gun.
It started life as a WW 1 .455 for the British contract.
It has been rebarreled with a Post WW 2 44 barrel. Note the block attached at the rear of the barrel rib to help the rib blend with the low cut frame top.
They also added the Post WW 2 rear sight. Because it is so high above the frame, they made the very high front sight blade.

The cylinder could be the original 455 cylinder. If so, it would have to be sleeved. Or it could also be a replacement cylinder.

Sorry!

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

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Have you checked to see if SNs on barrel, cylinder, and frame match? It also seems to me that it is likely a made-up parts gun built on a British .455 service revolver frame which probably shipped around 1916.

Yes, I can see the MK II stamping on the left side of the frame.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Some one built em one..........


And it twern't me.






.

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

And, based on the 3rd of your second set of photos, it appears the rear sight used is from a Highway Patrolman as the leaf appears in that photo to be smooth rather than grooved or checkered. The Highway Patrolman is the only model that ever used that sight. It is also set too far to the rear by at least 1/8". I sincerely doubt the cylinder was sleeved, but is more likely to be an original Model 1950 .44 Target cylinder that is contemporary to the barrel.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

The first thing I noticed was the stamping on the frame, and that could only be a .455 Mk2 HE. Probably makes a great shooter.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Nothing wrong with shooting that one, like every day. As long as you didn't pay the collector's price for a rare gun, you still have a .44 special, which ain't all bad.

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

sjogreda,

Welcome to the Forum. It is always discouraging when we find that something which we have purchased turns out to be less than we thought...but all of us who have followed this hobby for any time at all can relate our own experiences like that.

A couple of questions come to mind: First, did the seller misrepresent the gun to you? If so, I would attempt to have him take it back or make an appropriate (?) adjustment in the selling price. You may use this forum thread to back your request.

Second, if you only want the gun for a shooter, it may be satisfactory, depending upon the cylinder boring. I would have it checked by a qualified gunsmith. If you shoot it, please don't "hot-rod" it. That old frame was not heat treated to modern standards. Finally, I wouldn't spend any money on an original grip. If you do shoot it, you will find the rubber one far more comfortable.

Bob

looks like they were trying to make one of these pre model 24's


Dan

Welcome to the forum.

It's still a .44 Spl and will make a great shooter.

The # 308xx could very well be and is likely the serial # since the frame is a:
".455 Mk II Hand Ejector 2nd Model" from the mid teens made for the British for WW I. They were numbered #5462 to #74755, shipped 1915-17.

The cyl appears to have been replaced also since I see no serial # on the rear face nor obvious sleeving of the chambers.

The rear sight installation could benefit from mounting and finishing like this:


I'd probably redo it: remove the English stamps, mill down the rib so it's smooth and matches the height of the front of the frame, properly shape the front ramp blade, and re-blue it all to match. Maybe even lop the barrel off to 4".

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Good morning, nice looking hand gun no matter what. Put your Magnas on and shoot the snot out of it. I bet it was built to perform.

Thanks for all of the information. Luckily, I bought this at an auction and didn't pay a whole lot for it. The serial # that I included is located on the butt of the gun, which is why I was surprised that there weren't any letters on it. I'm still happy that I was able to get this gun, as well as the S&W 357 Magnum at the auction. I'm always happy to get my hands on some Smith & Wessons, authentic or parts gun!

If you did it it certainly wouldn't look like that.

Paul

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"NUTS"

It's great you didn't go into hock for it. Were it mine, I wouldn't consider spending any significant sums for improvement. It's money you'll not get back. Be happy with it as-is.

...it's an interesting revolver...somebody spent some time and money putting it together...thanks for posting it...

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A Country Boy Can Survive