I recently purchased a prewar 38/44 Outdoorsman that shipped in 1934. It is my first 30's vintage revolver. I took it apart for a deep clean and came across a couple parts that puzzle me. First is the hand which has a finely machined blade-like appurtance riding piggyback on it. I have never seen one like this before.



Second puzzle is the hammer block. I couldn't seem to remove it (perhaps staked?). It is 2 piece and seems to be made of spring steel.





I suspect these 2 puzzles interact somehow?

A couple of neat aftermarket features included were a King Cockeyed hammer and King white outlined rear sight blade.

The hammer block is staked in, non removable. The blade on the hand pushes the hammer block sideways out of the hammer path when the trigger is pulled and the hand is in the uppermost position.

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protocalldesign.com

I suspected as much, but kinda hard to confirm since you can't see any interaction once side plate is on. Thank you!

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That hammer is just... Special!

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Randy
Provenance nerd

Glad to see someone on the forum bought it!

I had been looking at that gun quite a while very tempted.

I hope you enjoy that gun. I always thought putting a King red post front blade on it would set that gun up sweet.

I really like the King Cockeyed hammers. I've tried for a few years to obtain a .38/44 Outdoorsman Transitional from a friend of my son's. It's in pieces in a box, missing some parts (rear sight and original stocks), but is in pretty nice condition otherwise and has a King Cockeyed hammer. We just can't seem to agree on a fair selling price...he believes he has a rare and extremely valuable revolver and I can't convince him otherwise.

That hand may be the one used in Reg Mags if i'm not mistaken (and also in 1917's)?

Roger

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Eph 2:8-9

Thank you, to my surprise, I think it is in better shape than the auction photos indicated. I was the only bidder which to me means i paid too much. It has a stout turn ring and some muzzle wear, but for 1934, not too bad. I haven’t had the right light outside for glamor pic's but here are the best I've grabbed so far. First one is in the parking lot of the FFL pickup!





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Well that's a keeper for sure and certain!

There is one unfortunate thing to check for---that being some folks who were too frugal to buy a 357 Magnum may have reamed the chambers to accept Magnum cartridges. The gun is more than capable of handling them, so there's no danger involved; it's just that it's one of those things that just ain't right!

So sayeth ME!

As an aside, this is the model Philip B. Sharpe used as a test bed during his development of the 357 Magnum cartridge----and while he experimented with loads FAR beyond today's fodder, the gun stayed together---and he almost certainly got to take it home with him.

Ralph Tremaine

Not to worry Ralph, not chambered for .357, appreciate the kind words my friend!

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Nice gun. I bought 1 1,400 some odd serial numbers earlier without original stocks. Yours shows me the stocks to look for

That is a beauty! Thanks for sharing the photos.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Do you have a shipping date for your revolver? There is a possibility it shipped later than 1934 and if so, there is a chance it shipped with Magnas.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!