34/35 Just Curious

[wrangler5]

I finally decided to just go-ahead-and-get a 22/32 Kit Gun. Have wanted one for years - ever since getting a Taurus 94 which I've never really liked. Anyway, I found one on Gunbroker that matched my wants. It was described as made in 1950, so I got it delivered direct on my C&R license. Just the gun, no box, accessories or papers. As you can see it has a pinned barrel, flat latch and diamond Magnas (numbered to the gun.) I'm very pleased with it (except for the sometimes sticky cylinder release). It was an absolute delight to shoot, the one time I've taken it to the range so far.

Curious thing is that it's marked Mod-35 (no dash) under the yoke although it has a 4" barrel with a ramp front sight. The listing noted this, and said a 35 normally had a longer barrel and Patridge front sight, so this was really more like a 34, which is what I wanted. It has a hammer spur that is wider (at ~0.365) than the hammer body, but the grooved trigger is the same width everywhere (~0.25).

So how common was a mismarked frame like this? I'm a shooter, not a collector, and this one is going to get carried a bit and shot a lot. (I expect that the nice pancake holster that Ed Rodek made for me will wear some of the blue off over time - it was an interesting experience working out the differences between this I-frame and the Mod 63 blue gun he had for a pattern.) And I'm hoping that one of my kids will want to keep it when I finally stop shooting.

So as I say, I'm just curious.

I believe this is my first post on this subforum, although I've been on the newest revolver subforum for about 4 years - since I started making the BK grip adapters, which I suspect a few of you here may have. Anyway, this is my first "old" S&W revolver since I disposed of my mid-50s K22 a decade or more ago. I expect this one will get a lot more use than the K22 ever did.

 

[colt_saa]

Your improved I-frame might not be mismarked.

It could be a model 35 that had it's barrel changed

 

[murphydog]

If it is model stamped, the frame is from sometime between 1957 and '60. If you see a different number on the barrel flat than the SN, it is an earlier than 1957 part, but if there is no number there the gun may have well been mis-(model) stamped. The blue matches up pretty well between the parts, so I would guess the latter.

 

[Engine49guy]

Besides what the guys have Identified a factory barrel pin is normally "Domed" or rounded on both ends,

Unless replaced at the factory once the set pin is driven out and back in to replace a barrel it usually becomes somewhat flattened .

Hard to tell from your pic but put it under a magnifying glass and look for telltale signs of being struck.

 

[H Richard]

Irregardless if it is really a 34 or 35, It will be a great shooter. I've got both a 34 and a 63 (same as a 34 but stainless), and they are just so much fun to shoot and weigh next to nothing to carry around in the woods. Some of these older ones are famous for really tight chambers and causing sticky extraction. Having the chambers reamed with a finishing reamer has seemed to have solved this for many many people. I bought a reamer and did 5 of my S&W .22's and a couple for a few friends, and all have been very successful. (Do you ever go to the St Charles gun show?)

 

[wrangler5]

Thanks for all the thoughts. It probably has had a barrel swap. Under a loupe, the latch side of the barrel pin has a small flat with a tiny (raised) dimple in the middle, while the other end of the pin is smooth and round (like all the other pin ends). Also, the area around the sideplate end of the barrel pin looks a bit buggered - I can't see it with my (old) eyes, but under a loupe it looks like the pin was struck with a larger-than-pin punch of some sort, that left a small divot in the frame next to the pin.

BTW, the S/N is 54XXX, if that gives a clue as to the official age of the frame. There are no marks on the barrel flat above the ejector rod.

Whatever its history, it's mine now, and regardless of what its model number is/was it will be a treasured shooter.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Hondo44]

The other clue that it's a barrel replacement is the square butt; standard on all Mod 35s but pretty scarce on the Mod 34 New I frame until the M34 was made on the J frame beginning Oct 1960.

But so what, a great gun nonetheless!

The frame is Improved but its improvements came after the Improved I frame 1952-1953; it's made on the Model of 1953 "New" I frame., a new and different frame forging.

All 22/32 Mod 1953 kit guns and targets had the new wide target hammer standard.

Your serial # indicates a possible shipping date of June 1962. And yes, these were shipped long after the intro of the J frame version in 1960.

Great piece and enjoy!

 

[wrangler5]

Many thanks for that info, Jim. Especially the ship date - nice to confirm that it was indeed a C&R gun, if a bit closer to the cutoff than the "late 1950s" that the seller listed.

And you're absolutely right - who really cares about the intricacies of the frame changes over time for a gun that's just going to be used how it was intended to be used? But I must admit, it is fun to know this stuff.

 

[Muley Gil]

The wider hammer was standard back when I bought a M34 in the early '70s. I don't know when it was introduced.

 

[Hondo44]

The wider hammer was standard back when I bought a M34 in the early '70s. I don't know when it was introduced.

Post #8. 1953. This is one of the few times that there's a nice clean finite starting point with no transition period! The wide coarse checkered hammer was first used exclusively and simutaneously with the introduction of the Model 0f 1953 .22/32 New I frames. There are no exceptions that I've ever observed.

However, the early .32 and .38/32 1953 New I frames are found with pre 1953 hammers many times, before the new narrow coarse checkered hammer is used exclusively.