Help Identify Model of 1950 target military model?

[TK421]

Hi,

I am considering purchasing this S&W revolver from a private seller, but I'd like to know more about it. It appears to be a mix of parts and I have no idea what to offer for a price - the seller asked me to offer a fair value.

-It is marked on the right side of the barrel 45 CAL. MODEL 1950

-Chambered in .45 ACP

-Has front and rear target sights

-There is a "flaming bomb" ordnance stamp just below the rear sight on the left side of the frame.

-On the yolk and frame there are two numbers. The large font numbers are 8054 and the small number is 14348. Above the numbers are stamps for Y and S. On the frame there is also a K stamp.

-The cylinder has a stamp 52316

-The barrel has a number S 78163

-I took the grips off, and the butt of the grip on the frame is marked "US ARMY MODEL 1917 52316"

The sellers late husband was a target shooter, and the trigger feels much lighter than a stock 1917. So I'm guessing this is a US Model 1917 that had a Model 1950 barrel added and adjustable rear sights? Would this potentially be a military shooting team revolver or a parts gun that someone put together to make a decent target pistol?

Can someone tell me the year was the frame and barrel were produced and what the value of something like this might be? If I were to offer to buy it, what would a reasonable price be? As you can see from the pics, it has some wear to it. Thank you for your help!!

Patrick

 

[Art Doc]

I'm no expert but I agree with you it looks like a 1917 rebuilt into a target gun.

 

[Bill Bates]

You have WWI vintage frame and cylinder which has had smooth target stocks, a rear sight and new early 1950's vintage barrel added. It is just a shooter and if done well a nice shooter but I wouldn't want to pay more than about $ 400 or $500 for it.

Granted the smooth target stocks are a bit of an adder. If it could be had at a price where it could be flipped quickly, I might buy it swap stocks and sell it off.

 

[rburg]

I'm a gun collector and the gun shown is a shooter, not a collectors item. I agree with the above about it being put together from parts. Look at the cylinder, its "plum" or a different color. If its cheap enough, buy it as a shooter.

I have no idea how they accomplished the target sights. Could have been done by the factory, but then there would be a date stamp on the grip frame under the grips. And the smooth targets have been thru a war or two. Still nice, but showing their experiences.

 

[Tom K]

Hi,

I am considering purchasing this S&W revolver from a private seller, but I'd like to know more about it. It appears to be a mix of parts and I have no idea what to offer for a price - the seller asked me to offer a fair value.

-It is marked on the right side of the barrel 45 CAL. MODEL 1950

-Chambered in .45 ACP

-Has front and rear target sights

-There is a "flaming bomb" ordnance stamp just below the rear sight on the left side of the frame.

-On the yolk and frame there are two numbers. The large font numbers are 8054 and the small number is 14348. Above the numbers are stamps for Y and S. On the frame there is also a K stamp.

-The cylinder has a stamp 52316

-The barrel has a number S 78163

-I took the grips off, and the butt of the grip on the frame is marked "US ARMY MODEL 1917 52316"

The sellers late husband was a target shooter, and the trigger feels much lighter than a stock 1917. So I'm guessing this is a US Model 1917 that had a Model 1950 barrel added and adjustable rear sights? Would this potentially be a military shooting team revolver or a parts gun that someone put together to make a decent target pistol?

Can someone tell me the year was the frame and barrel were produced and what the value of something like this might be? If I were to offer to buy it, what would a reasonable price be? As you can see from the pics, it has some wear to it. Thank you for your help!!

Patrick

Interesting first post, and welcome to the Forum!

This is definitely a Frankengun put together from parts, a 1917 frame with internals and a 1950 target barrel. The number on the butt of the frame 52316 is the gun's serial number. According to the Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, serials for the 1917 ranged from 1-209791for the period 1917-1946 (with the majority built during WWI) so this frame is from the WWI era. The number on the cylinder matches, so it is original to this frame. The other numbers on the frame were used only during the manufacturing process and have no meaning.

The barrel has a serial number S78163 and is from a gun that dates 1950-51.

The frame has been machined to add the click-adjustable rear sight, which is also from the post-WWII era. It looks like the hammer is probably the original but has been welded up to have an extended and widened spur.

Value is a bit tough to assign. Probably back when this gun was put together 1917s were cheap and plentiful, and factory target guns relatively expensive. This isn't the prettiest conversion in the world but it appears functional - since it was owned by a target shooter it hopefully is reasonably accurate. It has no value to a collector and is unlikely to be used again as a bullseye target gun. If I were to see it at a gun show and if I didn't already have similar factory target guns and if I were in the mood, I might go $400-500 on it. But that's a lot of "if"s and "I"s - your mileage may vary.

 

[1blindref]

Interesting gun as a shooter. Definitely not a collector gun.
If I was in the market for something like that, I'd pay a maximum of $450.00 to $500.00 for it as long as it was mechanically sound and it shot well.

 

[OldDominion]

This is the 4th one of these I have seen this year. All 1917s with 1950 .45 Target barrels. And from different parts of the country. If well done, most likely an accurate gun but no collector value.

 

[TK421]

Thanks!

Thank you everyone for your input - very helpful and informative. So, I took it to the range to try it out. Unfortunately, when you apply light pressure to the trigger the hammer falls but the firing pin does not protrude far enough through the frame to punch the primer hard enough for ignition. If I really pull on the trigger I can get it to fire - and when it does it was pretty accurate by my amateur standards.

I took it by a local gunsmith to check it out and he said it has timing issues, trigger problems etc and he can't get to it for a couple of months...but when he does it could cost a few hundred to fix it. The person selling it just wants to get rid of it and said I could just have it if I want to eventually fix it up. Very kind person - I will be proud to put this quasi-army revolver back in action.

Thanks again - I will keep you posted on the resurrection of this old war horse.

Patrick

 

[Sebago Son]

Pre-War, Long Action, N-Frame Hammers are getting scarce. Luckily some other parts are interchangeable with modern stuff. Good Luck. Everybody needs a "project gun"...

 

[Bill Bates]

Thank you everyone for your input - very helpful and informative. So, I took it to the range to try it out. Unfortunately, when you apply light pressure to the trigger the hammer falls but the firing pin does not protrude far enough through the frame to punch the primer hard enough for ignition. If I really pull on the trigger I can get it to fire - and when it does it was pretty accurate by my amateur standards.

I took it by a local gunsmith to check it out and he said it has timing issues, trigger problems etc and he can't get to it for a couple of months...but when he does it could cost a few hundred to fix it. The person selling it just wants to get rid of it and said I could just have it if I want to eventually fix it up. Very kind person - I will be proud to put this quasi-army revolver back in action.

Thanks again - I will keep you posted on the resurrection of this old war horse.

Patrick

I would double check the strain screw (the screw through the lower area of the front grip frame) to see if it is properly tightened. Then I would look for another gunsmith with a reasonable turn around time.