38 Hand ejector question

[mulepacker]

Posting this for a friend that recently acquired a 38 Hand ejector , he feels after shooting and looking at the gun is that it is a smooth bore, serial number 1151XX. Is it possible that
this was made with no rifling and if so why ?

 

[red9]

I can think of three possibilities:
1. The rifling has been shot out due to corrosive ammo and poor mainanence.
If this is the case, the bore will be rough with little or no rifling visible.
2. I have seen guns (not S&W) that mistakenly left the factory without the barrel being rifled. Technically, these are short barreled shotguns. I don't know what can be done to make them legal.
3. Some guns were special ordered for exhibition shooters to be used with shot cartridges. If this was the case, you should be able to document this with a factory letter. The next step is to send a copy of the letter to BATF and they should exempt the gun, leaving the owner with a very rare and legal revolver.

Good luck,
Bob

 

[mikepriwer]

The first thing that ought to be done is to request a factory letter. 1151XX is probably
a 1908 to 1910 gun - the guns close to this serial number are not well correlated with
their shipping date.

While its always possible, its highly unlikely that it was originally made as a smooth-bore.
It would have to have been a special order, which is why a factory letter is needed.

I own a 44 smoothbore, and I know a bit about having to get it through the BATF
process. Mine is from the 1950's, and because of its historical significance, BATF
classified it as a C&R. This is unique to 44 caliber; there is something in the regs
that exempts 38 caliber smoothbores. You would need to check this out.

If it really is a smoothbore, and not just a worn-out bore, then the cylinder chambers
should be bored completely through. Your friend can check that out. This is one way
of confirming what the gun actually is.

Sending a copy of the factory letter to BATF is only one small piece of the BATF
process. Depending on the current regulations, they may not even care about a letter.
One of the problems with a letter, from 1908 - 1910 era, is that the invoices may not
exist, and so it might not be possible to fully document the gun. But - you have to
go through that hoop first.

Mike Priwer

 

[H Richard]

There is one other possibility. The barrel is so leaded up the rifling is not visible. Has the gun been cleaned up well?

 

[mulepacker]

The gun appears to have been fairly well cared for, he is doing some more research into it's background, thanks for your help.

 

[glowe]

Yet aonther option or two. These guns made great rat and mouse guns and shot cartridges were popular ( and are still in manufacture) in this caliber. Did you check the barrel serial number under the ejector rod to see if it matches the one on the butt? Maybe a gunsmith bored out a non-matching barrel and put it on the gun, or the old barrel was shot out and someone bored out the remaining rifling to make it a vermin shooter?

 

[Muley Gil]

"2. I have seen guns (not S&W) that mistakenly left the factory without the barrel being rifled. Technically, these are short barreled shotguns. I don't know what can be done to make them legal."

When I was in Afghanistan, the US Gov't bought 70,000+ 9mm S&W Sigmas for the Afghan police. While training the weapons instructors, one of them kept missing. He was normally an excellent shot. Checking the target showed a few scattered holes and keyholes. We pulled the barrel and it had one, very faint land. It was basically a smoothbore.

Mistakes can happen.

 

[mulepacker]

All serial numbers match, he is contacting S&W.