Hand Ejector Identification Help

[TomJohn]

I would appreciate it if someone could point me in the right direction in identifying this revolver. It is a six-shot "32 LONG CTG" (left side of barrel) single-action hammer pistol. On the top of the barrel it is stamped "Smith & Wesson, Springfield Mass. U.S.A." Below that are three lines of patent numbers ending in July ?, 1903. The barrel is 4&1/4 inches.

It is nickel plated and has a fixed (forged?) front sight and a groove/notch for a rear sight. The S&W logo is on the left side of the frame. The right side of the frame has a panel with four screws, with a fifth at the front of the trigger guard. It has black logo and checkered/diamond plastic grips.

The serial number on the bottom of the barrel, the rear face of the cylinder, and the butt of the frame is 506XX (Xs mine).

I don't really understand frame sizes, but I would guess it's a J-frame. The butt is very slightly curved at the back side - not flat or rounded.

If someone can get me started, I can research the revolver.

Thanks,

Tomjohn

 

[jrd1976]

There are a couple of possibilities, but more information is needed.
How does the action open?
Is there a cylinder release on the left side that allows the cylinder to open to the left?
Or is there a latch under the rear sight that pivots the barrel and cylinder forward to eject the cases?

Pics really would help.

 

[murphydog]

Welcome! From the serial number and other details my guess is you have a .32 Hand Ejector model of 1903, from about 1906. It is an I frame (slightly smaller in some dimensions than the later J frame) and is a double-action revolver, meaning it should cycle and fire both by pulling the trigger and cocking the hammer back for a lighter pull.

Agree on the photos . Hope this is helpful.

 

[TomJohn]

OK, I'll try to load a picture. The cylinder releases with a thumbslide behind the left side of the cylinder as the pushrod disengages from it's detent below the barrel. The cylinder swings out to the left, and the pushrod manually ejects the casings. It's not a lemon squeezer.

The hammer doesn't stay in a cocked position, but something could be broken. I was just assuming it is a single action.

 

[TomJohn]

Trying To Attach a Photo Attachment...

I downloaded a picture of the hand-ejector I'm trying to identify, but I guess I'm going to have to post this to see if it worked...

 

[TomJohn]

Hey, I think that worked! I took a picture with my iphone, sent it to my laptop, and posted it here. I'm sorry the gun is in a stage of disassembly, but I've already started breaking it down. I'm familiar with Model 10s, but when I got to this arrangement with the trigger spring parallel to the hammer spring, I decided to figure out what I was working with....

 

[TomJohn]

OK, I think I've got it. Murphydog's suggestion of a Model 1903 got me on the right track. I looked at my copy of Jack First's handgun parts catalog - it has schematics on just about everything - and sure enough, the S&W 1903 first model .32 hand ejector shows that curious trigger spring. Then I did some further checking and found this: ".32 Hand Ejector Second Model (Model of 1903 - 1st Change). .32 S&W Long cal., 6 shot fluted cylinder, rubber grips, 3 1/2, 4 1/4, or 6 in. barrel, blue or nickel. 31,700 mfg. 1904-1906. Serial range 19426-51126. Again, as Murphydog suggested, my serial number extrapolates to 1906.

Thanks for the help! If I figure out why the double action doesn't work I'll post what the problem was.

TomJohn

 

[Alk8944]

Or is there a latch under the rear sight that pivots the barrel and cylinder forward to eject the cases?

Pics really would help.

Absolutely not! S&W never made a top break in .32 S&W Long, and since OP stated the gun was chambered for the Long that leaves out all top breaks.

 

[TomJohn]

As promised, I figured out why the pistol wasn't operating in double-action mode. At full cock, the trigger acts as a sear on the hammer, dropping an edge into a notch in the bottom of the hammer. The edge was worn and had lost its bevel, so I pointed it up with a stone until it meshed with the hammer notch and voila! - double-action was back in service!. It actually was not quite this simple, as I had to stone the trigger edge several times to get it just right, but it was a rather straight-forward fix. Again, thanks to Murpheydog's mention that it was a single/double-action, which led me to identifying the problem.