Can someone help Identify this pistol

[patrick_pk]

I picked up a revolver today and I am not sure exactly what I have. I think it is 32 Hand Ejector but don't know much else.

It is indicated '32 Long CTG' on the barrel

The grips are diamond pattern and seem to be hard plastic. The serial number on the base of the butt is 214xxx.

On the inside of the yoke by the cylinder there is the number 179

Across the top of the barrel is manufacturer, location and patent information.

The thing that really confuses me is the S&W trade mark symbol is on the opposite side than any photos of other hand ejectors I have seen.

Any info would be great.

 

[DWalt]

Ir's a .32 Hand Ejector, Model of 1903, 5th Change, from about 1915.

 

[alwslate]

I believe your gun is the .32 Hand Ejector mod of 1903 Fifth Change
made 1910-1917. As to the logo I don't know. S&W moved logos from
side to side at times and maybe someone with more knowledge can
explain why. I have old 38s with the logo on either side.

 

[DCWilson]

Agree on the ID. Don't worry about the location of the company logo. That changed from side to side over the decades, and there were some years around WWI where guns were distributed with no logos on them at all.

Don't lose the screw-on ejector rod tip. Those are hard to find.

You didn't ask, but you may want to know that the gun has been refinished at some point. The hard lighting and reflections of the mottled background confuse my eye, but I think it is nickel now. Is that correct? If so, the gun may have had either a nickel or blue finish to begin. The case hardening finish on hammer and trigger is correct. S&W never blued or nickeled those parts, not even when a gun was returned for a factory refinish.

Those early .32 HEs can be quite accurate. Enjoy shooting yours.

 

[patrick_pk]

Thanks to all. Interesting stuff. I didn't expect it to be that old. It is nickel now and hearing that it has been refinished is good to know.

I shot it a little bit today and it is very accurate and fun to shoot. The interesting thing I found is you have to make the front site disappear from view to be level. I lower the sight till when I just perfectly can't see it anymore and it is dead on. If I can see the site then I am aiming high.

 

[DWalt]

From your description, that means it is shooting high with a normal sight picture. As there is no good way to increase the height of the front sight, or lower the rear sight notch, you'll just have to live with it. You can do a couple of things. Aim low, or use a double target. See if you can determine just how high the point of impact is above your normal point of aim Then staple or paste another target center that distance above the point of aim on the first target. For example, if you are shooting at 15 yards, and your bullets are hitting 4" high, put another target 4" above the first one you aimed at. Or hold low by 4".

Keep in mind that your revolver was not intended for target work, but mainly for shooting people at maybe 5 to 25 feet away. At ranges that close, you couldn't use sights very well anyway.

 

[DCWilson]

Thanks to all. Interesting stuff. I didn't expect it to be that old. It is nickel now and hearing that it has been refinished is good to know.

I shot it a little bit today and it is very accurate and fun to shoot. The interesting thing I found is you have to make the front site disappear from view to be level. I lower the sight till when I just perfectly can't see it anymore and it is dead on. If I can see the site then I am aiming high.

S&W repair personnel used to fix this problem by whacking the barrel with a heavy babbit bar until the POI matched POA. Another possibility is that the muzzle is somehow distorted. If there are gouges in the crown that run into an adjacent land or groove, that might affect accuracy. I mostly fixed a 1917 that shot wide by using a rat-tail file to smooth out a muzzle distortion created by an old drop.

Not that I'm telling you to try to fix the problem. If you know what to do to make the gun hit where you want it to, keep on doing that.

 

[patrick_pk]

Thanks again, I don't think I'll be whacking it with a babbit bar but I'll give a closer look to the muzzle. I appreciate the advice as these older revolvers are all a learning curve to me.

I only shot it a bit today but I will bring it back to the range and run more through it to make sure I understand it better as well. If I wind up trying to fix it I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[Muley Gil]

With the cylinder open, check the serial number stamped under the barrel. If you see a "B" stamped in front of the SN, it was shipped from the factory with a blue finish.

 

[bananaman]

You may have different results with another kind (brand) of ammo for what it is worth. It is kind of cool looking! I have never shot 1. Am getting the urge! Bob

 

[GS Scott]

With the cylinder open, check the serial number stamped under the barrel. If you see a "B" stamped in front of the SN, it was shipped from the factory with a blue finish.

I'm pretty new and learning, and I don't mean to hijack the thread, but I thought a B stamped in the barrel pad indicated a new barrel was installed at the factory. Is the B indicating factory blue finish particular to model series or time era?

 

[Wiregrassguy]

No a diamond was used to indicate a component change. B was stamped on the barrel flat and behind the ejector star on the cylinder to indicate a blue finish. The 32 Long is a fun cartridge to shoot in the short barrel pistols.