Looking through ads for estate sales, I somehow came across an ad for a gun auction in Ohio, over 2.500 miles from where I live. I searched for “Smith & Wesson” and one of the guns that up was a nickel .38 Safety Hammerless 5th Model with a 2” barrel. Engraved on the side plate was “Asheville N.C.”, which somehow jogged my memory. Somewhere, sometime, I had read about a shipment of S&Ws to Asheville. I did a quick search on this site and found this 2012 message from Roy Jinks:
“I lettered an interesting .38 Safety Hammerless Fifth Model today. It was serial numbered 254xxx serial range. It was nickel and engraved on the side plate was Asheville N.C. When I researched it I found it was shipped November 28, 1925 and the shipment was for 60 units. This is one of the largest shipments for a police department that I can remember lettering.”
The serial number of the auction gun was #254037, exactly in the range Roy was describing. The top ramp appeared to be set back from the muzzle more than is usual, so I suspected that the barrel had been cut. The right (walnut) grip looked like it had been carried quite a bit. Maybe this gun had been part of that police department shipment. I collect top-breaks and thought that this was an interesting gun and ended up with the winning bid.
Waiting for the gun to be delivered I asked Roy for a ship date, and his reply was:
“.38 Safety serial 254037 was shipped in November 1925. It is an interesting police revolver.”
So apparently it was part of that shipment Roy had described earlier and I was eager to receive it. The auctioneer took their time shipping the gun, and after some urging by me it finally arrived three weeks later. Sure enough, the barrel had been shortened after the gun left the factory, but it was still an interesting enough gun that I decided to letter it. Roy’s letter is attached, along with the original order from Chief of Police W.R. Messer. The checkered walnut grips appear to be original, as the serial number is written faintly in pencil. Apparently the barrel was shortened somewhere along the line, and I like to think that perhaps it had been done for a detective. What I find interesting is that “Asheville N.C.” was engraved by the factory. It would have been easy enough to have that done locally. I also find it interesting that a police department would buy 60 New Departures – an odd model to use as a service revolver. Also, there must be a few of these still out there somewhere! As Roy has lettered two of these, there are probably another 3-4 around.
I have eleven of these little double-actions in both .38 and .32 calibers. This one by far has the best action of any of them. The top-break action locks up tight and the gun groups well, but at 20 feet it shoots low, particularly compared to my Centennial. You just learn to compensate for it – the New Departure tiny sights are a joke to begin with.
“I lettered an interesting .38 Safety Hammerless Fifth Model today. It was serial numbered 254xxx serial range. It was nickel and engraved on the side plate was Asheville N.C. When I researched it I found it was shipped November 28, 1925 and the shipment was for 60 units. This is one of the largest shipments for a police department that I can remember lettering.”
The serial number of the auction gun was #254037, exactly in the range Roy was describing. The top ramp appeared to be set back from the muzzle more than is usual, so I suspected that the barrel had been cut. The right (walnut) grip looked like it had been carried quite a bit. Maybe this gun had been part of that police department shipment. I collect top-breaks and thought that this was an interesting gun and ended up with the winning bid.
Waiting for the gun to be delivered I asked Roy for a ship date, and his reply was:
“.38 Safety serial 254037 was shipped in November 1925. It is an interesting police revolver.”
So apparently it was part of that shipment Roy had described earlier and I was eager to receive it. The auctioneer took their time shipping the gun, and after some urging by me it finally arrived three weeks later. Sure enough, the barrel had been shortened after the gun left the factory, but it was still an interesting enough gun that I decided to letter it. Roy’s letter is attached, along with the original order from Chief of Police W.R. Messer. The checkered walnut grips appear to be original, as the serial number is written faintly in pencil. Apparently the barrel was shortened somewhere along the line, and I like to think that perhaps it had been done for a detective. What I find interesting is that “Asheville N.C.” was engraved by the factory. It would have been easy enough to have that done locally. I also find it interesting that a police department would buy 60 New Departures – an odd model to use as a service revolver. Also, there must be a few of these still out there somewhere! As Roy has lettered two of these, there are probably another 3-4 around.
I have eleven of these little double-actions in both .38 and .32 calibers. This one by far has the best action of any of them. The top-break action locks up tight and the gun groups well, but at 20 feet it shoots low, particularly compared to my Centennial. You just learn to compensate for it – the New Departure tiny sights are a joke to begin with.
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