A pre 10 I think, need help

[Tony Marbury]

older 4 inch barrel smith and Wesson, no model number
I believe it has been refinished, has 8187 in side yoke and serial number of 2960XX. No a bad price on it, some of it is nickel and some of it is gold plated. grips are ruff and gun has been carried a lot, and shot a lot. My issue is I don't know what it is? says 38 special cartridge on top of barrel. If want I know is correct its maybe a model of 1905-4th change, square butt, but the barrel is labeled on the top side?
Thanks

 

[Lee Barner]

tony, what is stamped on the sides of the barrel and is the ser number from the butt also on the rear of the cylinder and under the barrel, visible when the cylinder is open? is this at the pawn shop just off south highland? lee

 

[Tony Marbury]

Serial number on butt does match rear of cylinder, the writing or stamping on the barrel is on the top not the sides, I did not even look for serial on barrel. no that is not where the gun is located. My info says the square butt is rare, me finding rare is hard to believe.

 

[DWalt]

That SN would put that M&P probably from 1919 - Right after S&W resumed civilian production. It is from a long time before there were any pre-Model 10s. While it would be a Model of 1905 4th Change, S&W stopped using that terminology in their catalogs prior to WWI.

 

[gordonrick]

The square butt being rare is a typo/error in the SCSW. The round butt is less common. Nickel finishes were very popular back then so you see a lot of them from this era.
I have one just a few thousand numbers later. This is from before they started heat treating the cylinders on the M&P so stick with mild commercial loads.

 

[DWalt]

I have always wondered about that so-called "Typo" in SCSW. Perhaps they really meant Model 1902. The typical Model of 1902 had the rounded butt, but there were in fact some few 1902s made with square butts for a short time. Early 1905s with square butts are much more common than those having round butts. In fact, until about 1917, round butt K-frames were called the Model of 1902, not the Model of 1905. After that, they became either round butt or square butt M&Ps. There is some debate as to whether those revolvers chambered in .32-20 should be called M&Ps or not, but catalog evidence indicates the later K-frames were all called M&Ps by S&W no matter the caliber.

 

[Tony Marbury]

Yes I think this gun was originally
A nickle gun, it has a nickle cylinder
And nickle trigger and hammer, but has
A gold plated frame. Has been shot and handled
A good bit and has chipped wood grips on it.
Thanks

 

[DWalt]

The nickeled trigger and hammer indicates an aftermarket plating job, and so's the gold plating. If it's something you are interested in buying, I don't think I'd pay any more than a "Shooter" price for it. Maybe $300-350 if in solid working condition and I really like it.