My LGS called this morning and said that they have 2 old timers in the shop and wanted to know if I was interested? Turns out one is an 1895 Flat Side Winchester in a caliber that I don't know about, asking was 4K. The other old timer was a S&W 32 Long, serial number 206341, nickel (60%) with MOP grips. My question is: did factory MOP grips have the dished upper part? It went home for $150, action is like new, not so with the finish. Timing is 100%. Your thoughts!
32 S&W Long
- Thread starter delta-419
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If the action is solid and functioning you got a bargain. It should be a .32 Hand Ejector 5th change and dates to between 1910 and 1917. "Most" pearl grips of that era would have had S&W medallions, but many distributors would substitute pearl grips when selling. Some pearls were furnished w/o medallions, and possibly with dished upper's. Only a letter from the historian ($50) would confirm or deny how it left the factory. Ammo is still available and these little I Frames are a ball to shoot.
For me, any working $150 32 HE is worth buying. Of course, the value on a 60% gun is as a shooter and not a collector grade gun, so if you shoot, your money was well spent.
I will go a little further than H Richard and state any non-medallion MOP stocks after 1893 would not be factory. Catalogs of that era had sections specifically stating that only S&W pearl stocks had medallions and were far superior to other pearl stocks. Your 32 HE would have shipped around 1914, so any gun of that age with pearl stocks containing no medallions would be post-factory. Still, a set of non-medallion pearl stocks in good condition should still bring $100, so you actually have a gun that you only spent $50 to get!
I will go a little further than H Richard and state any non-medallion MOP stocks after 1893 would not be factory. Catalogs of that era had sections specifically stating that only S&W pearl stocks had medallions and were far superior to other pearl stocks. Your 32 HE would have shipped around 1914, so any gun of that age with pearl stocks containing no medallions would be post-factory. Still, a set of non-medallion pearl stocks in good condition should still bring $100, so you actually have a gun that you only spent $50 to get!
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DWalt
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Depending upon condition and caliber, a flat-side (collectors sometimes call them "slab-sides") Winchester 1895 could be worth $4k. Those are rare.
