.38/44s, that is.
I mentioned acquiring a Heavy Duty and an Outdoorsman as part of a batch of six that I had bought, in this thread: http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/148856-sextet-38s.html
Forum member GF wanted to see some more of the heavies.
I just don't get what the appeal is on these oversized popguns. Sure, back in the day you could get .38/44 high-speed ammo, but the .357 put that load in the shade. Nowadays all you can get is regular .38 and +P, which certainly doesn't need N frame iron to be shootable. The .38 is more suited to the J frame pocket guns or maybe the K frame target Model 14, and I guess the Model 10 makes a good house gun for the little lady. But a three-pound .38? Buncha foolishness.
Nope, just don't get the appeal. But I have four. So far.
So here they are. (Please excuse the smudginess on the right side of some of the pictures - I had something on the lens and didn't realize until later.)
From top to bottom:
Outdoorsman, acquired as part of the six-pack buy. It's been refinished and in the closeup you can see it was blued over pitting. Looks like the Patridge front sight has been filed to a serrated ramp (or did they ever come that way?) Grips may be original, I'm not much of an aficionado of the subject. Per my reading of the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, it dates to around 1954.
This is the Heavy Duty that was part of the six-pack. The finish looks original with a bad case of spotosis on the sideplate. Date on it looks to be 1931, so it's an old feller. The grips look somewhat old, but not 1931 old - would these be so-called ivory micarta? I wouldn't have picked them to put on this gun, but they fit well and I see no reason to replace them.
And what's up with the gold-colored paint in the stampings? Is that for people who are attention whores, but too cheap to get actual gold inlay?
This is an Outdoorsman that I bought about a year ago, via Gunbroker. It looks all original, except for the addition of the nasty vibro-engraving marks on it. The Gunbroker ad speculated that the markings had to do with the Washington State Department of Corrections system, so it may have an interesting backstory. The right grip panel is signifigantly darker than the left one, as if a sweaty hand had rested on it for long periods (although it doesn't really show up that well in my pictures). Prison guard gun? The date for it is 1956.
This Heavy Duty is the first .38/44 that I owned. I picked it up at at gun show in Tulsa about two years ago. After making the deal I resisted the urge to run, even though I thought I would hear, "Stop! Thief!" behind me. However after getting it home and looking it over more closely I realized that it just had a pretty decent refinish job, and I had merely gotten it at a fair and just price. Curses, foiled again! It dates from around 1949.
I mentioned acquiring a Heavy Duty and an Outdoorsman as part of a batch of six that I had bought, in this thread: http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-hand-ejectors-1896-1961/148856-sextet-38s.html
Forum member GF wanted to see some more of the heavies.
I just don't get what the appeal is on these oversized popguns. Sure, back in the day you could get .38/44 high-speed ammo, but the .357 put that load in the shade. Nowadays all you can get is regular .38 and +P, which certainly doesn't need N frame iron to be shootable. The .38 is more suited to the J frame pocket guns or maybe the K frame target Model 14, and I guess the Model 10 makes a good house gun for the little lady. But a three-pound .38? Buncha foolishness.
Nope, just don't get the appeal. But I have four. So far.
So here they are. (Please excuse the smudginess on the right side of some of the pictures - I had something on the lens and didn't realize until later.)
From top to bottom:
Outdoorsman, acquired as part of the six-pack buy. It's been refinished and in the closeup you can see it was blued over pitting. Looks like the Patridge front sight has been filed to a serrated ramp (or did they ever come that way?) Grips may be original, I'm not much of an aficionado of the subject. Per my reading of the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, it dates to around 1954.
This is the Heavy Duty that was part of the six-pack. The finish looks original with a bad case of spotosis on the sideplate. Date on it looks to be 1931, so it's an old feller. The grips look somewhat old, but not 1931 old - would these be so-called ivory micarta? I wouldn't have picked them to put on this gun, but they fit well and I see no reason to replace them.
And what's up with the gold-colored paint in the stampings? Is that for people who are attention whores, but too cheap to get actual gold inlay?
This is an Outdoorsman that I bought about a year ago, via Gunbroker. It looks all original, except for the addition of the nasty vibro-engraving marks on it. The Gunbroker ad speculated that the markings had to do with the Washington State Department of Corrections system, so it may have an interesting backstory. The right grip panel is signifigantly darker than the left one, as if a sweaty hand had rested on it for long periods (although it doesn't really show up that well in my pictures). Prison guard gun? The date for it is 1956.
This Heavy Duty is the first .38/44 that I owned. I picked it up at at gun show in Tulsa about two years ago. After making the deal I resisted the urge to run, even though I thought I would hear, "Stop! Thief!" behind me. However after getting it home and looking it over more closely I realized that it just had a pretty decent refinish job, and I had merely gotten it at a fair and just price. Curses, foiled again! It dates from around 1949.
"
] You just want me to put them in the For Sale section so that you can get 'em yourself. 
