.32 Long M&P Arrived Today - Letter Update

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AKtinman

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The LGS called today to say that the .32 Long I won at auction had arrived. Tom K started a thread about this auction last week.

It looks better in hand than from the photos on GB. And much better than my hasty photos show.

It is a K Frame M&P, .32 S&W Long, 6" barrel, pinned front half moon sight, barrel ejector rod. Serial number 677992 is in the pre-war K32 Target series according to the SWCA Database.

Serial numbers on butt, barrel flat, yoke, extractor star, and cylinder match.

The non-matching grips bear the number 672521 on the right grip and the left grip has the word "Slugger" written in ink on it.

The front of the ejector rod barrel is white. Side plate screws show some evidence of an ill-fitting screwdriver. No rework dates on the sides of the grip frames.

Overall good shape, sharp rifling, some freckling on the sides of the frame, blue wear indicates it spent some time in a holster. Tight lockup and smooth action.

I need to get some photos printed to enclose with the letter request.
 

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congrats, very nice looking revolver. i would be proud to add it to my little collection. krs
 
I have to say that is a very nice revolver. Very classy, I am more than a little envious.
 
Good for you for recognizing and getting it! Please post the letter results if you are able?
 
That is a great gun. I doubt we will ever see another one from that late 30s era.
BE SURE to describe and send pics of both sights to Roy.
BE SURE to ask what kind of grips it shipped with. They might have been magnas.
After you get the letter, BE SURE to check with the SWHF for correspondence about the gun.
 
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Lee, thanks for the advice on what to emphasize in the letter request.

I have the letter request, attached amplifying information, and the photos ready to mail tomorrow.

And I definitely will check with the SWHF after I receive the letter.

The letter contents will be posted here. This forum has been invaluable in broadening my S&W education.
 
I have never seen a pre-war .32 Long M&P, only the Target model. But there were some of them made in the postwar period and they are very seldom encountered as most were exported. Could be that yours was a special order.
 
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Two concerns about this one? How can it come from a lot of K32 Targets without being a target? Frame is that of a standard Military & Police. Second, there should be no reason to have a pinned front sight?? Standard M&P barrels came with a forged front sight.

If there is no sign of sleeving of the cylinder, the frame and barrel likely go together and it would still make it a 32 Long M&P, just not a Target. Is there any such thing?
 
glowe said:
Two concerns about this one? How can it come from a lot of K32 Targets without being a target? Frame is that of a standard Military & Police. Second, there should be no reason to have a pinned front sight?? Standard M&P barrels came with a forged front sight.

If there is no sign of sleeving of the cylinder, the frame and barrel likely go together and it would still make it a 32 Long M&P, just not a Target. Is there any such thing?
Click to expand...

Good questions, and I am hoping all will be answered in the letter.

The gun was advertised as a Regulation Police, which it obviously is not.

The S/N does fall within the range of the pre-war .32 Long Target models, and, as you point out, it is in fact a M&P frame.

As to the pinned front sight, from photos I have seen of the pre-war .32 Long Target models, it appears that the pinned front sight is a standard feature on that model. Assuming this was a special order, I think S&W would have used a barrel and cylinder from the .32 Long Target model on the M&P frame.

The post-war .32 Long M&P's appear to have front sights forged as a part of the barrel, rather than pinned, but these were planned and produced as a production run of M&P .32 Longs.

Was this gun a one-off special order, or perhaps one of a half-dozen ordered for an agency?

I'll share the contents of the letter, when it arrives, and any info that may be provided by the S&WHF.

As is often said of S&W products, "Never Say Never." That's part of what makes all this interesting, if not a little frustrating. My hunt for an inexpensive K-Frame .32 Long shooter has resulted in quite unexpected twists and turns. I'm more of a shooter than a collector but I really enjoy learning about the older S&W revolvers and this Forum has been an excellent resource to further that education.
 
The barrel is, of course, the same as the 32-20 except for the front sight height. Perhaps, the factory used left-over 32-20 barrels and the forged sight was too low, so installed a higher sight blade to accurize the 32 Long? I am sure that all rough forged barrels had forged sights and when used for target barrels, the factory simply milled off the round sight and fitted the sight base with a target blade for all calibers pre-WWII.

I seem to recall other 32 Long M&Ps on this Forum, but it would be hard to find them.
 
glowe said:
I seem to recall other 32 Long M&Ps on this Forum, but it would be hard to find them.
Click to expand...
Here's one, but not prewar. It shipped to Sloane's on April 21, 1948.
jp-ak-albums-miscellaneous-revolvers-picture19835-32-m-p-1948-a.jpg
 
The letter could be interesting. It seems yours may have been a one-off non-cataloged example. I wouldn't argue about the 1939 date provided. Please provide the letter contents when received. BTW, I have a postwar .32 Long M&P identical to the one pictured above, but no box. There is a bit of mystery about where they all disappeared to. Some have shown up in Mexico and South America.
 
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32 Long M&P Letter Update

I received the Authentication letter from Mr. Jinks and he confirms that this revolver is a .38 Military and Police, Model of 1905 Fourth Change, Special Order Variation, .32 S&W Long caliber.

Per the letter it is the only fixed sight standard .38 M&P in .32 S&W Long documented prior to WWII, and its production was authorized by Douglas Wesson, S&W Vice President.

It was shipped to Col. Alfred J. Handel, U.S. Marine Detachment, Norfolk, VA on April 18, 1939.

I researched Alfred J. Handel on ancestry.com and find no reference to a COLONEL by that name, but there are numerous references in the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps Registers to a CORPORAL Alfred J. Handel. Perhaps there was a transcription error in the original records?

Corporal Handel was the Clerk to the Squadron Marine Officer stationed aboard the USS New York, BB-34 and he transferred to Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Philadelphia, PA, in April 1939, before the date this gun was shipped from S&W.

The Squadron Marine Officer at the time was Major Benjamin W. Gally. I am inclined to think that Corporal Handel , as the clerk, was the addressee to receive the gun, but question whether a Corporal in 1939 might have sufficient funds or political / social connections to convince the S&W Vice President to authorize production of this one-off handgun.

A search by the S&W Historical Foundation did not turn up any additional documentation on this gun. I appreciate their efforts.

The Letter of Authentication confirms that the gun is in the configuration in which it shipped, with the exception that the grips, though the correct style, number to an earlier gun.

Post WWII both long and short action M&P's were produced in .32 S&W Long. It appears most were in 4" and 5" barrel lengths, with a few 2". Are there any documented 6" guns postwar?

It has been well cared for by previous owners though it has some obvious holster wear and freckling in the highly polished blue finish.

Someone asked the inevitable question - "how does it shoot?"

Very well, considering both the gun and owner qualify for "Geezer" status ;)

I have only gotten it to the range twice and the load used was the Accurate Molds SWC bullet #31-100R over 2.0 grains of Bullseye. That load, in the Bisley 6.5" barrel chronographs just under 750 fps on the Oehler 35P.

I put about 40 rounds through it and it was a real treat to shoot. Since receiving the letter, and documenting its rarity, it has been retired to the safe.

Attached are a few new photos though I still need to work on my photography skills.
 

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