Help identifying pistol
- Thread starter eejjee
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Welcome and condolences on your father's passing.
You have a .38 Military & Police revolver, dating to around late 1949. There were many more 4" barrel guns of this type overall. I'd value it at about $500 but as a family inheritance it may be worth more to you than that.
You have a .38 Military & Police revolver, dating to around late 1949. There were many more 4" barrel guns of this type overall. I'd value it at about $500 but as a family inheritance it may be worth more to you than that.
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They are sometimes referred to as a pre-model 10. They were built on what is referred to as a K frame, the medium size frame for the Smith & Wesson line. Your revolver is also referred to as a 5 screw, with four on the side plate and one in the front of the trigger guard.
I'm sorry to hear of your fathers passing. This is a hard way to obtain a handgun. I have some of my fathers, and they are treasures that will never leave our family.
I'm sorry to hear of your fathers passing. This is a hard way to obtain a handgun. I have some of my fathers, and they are treasures that will never leave our family.
It is a 5 screw .38 Military & Police revolver, but a little bit later than Alan suggested.
C139980 shipped in January, 1951
C147325 shipped in March, 1951
I suspect yours left the factory that year also.
The fifth screw was eliminated in 1956, the same year Don Larson (Yankee) pitched the only perfect game ever in a World Series (against the Brooklyn Dodgers).
BTW you can check on the inside of the right hand panel, but I'd be surprised if those stocks bear the same serial number as the gun. The shoulder is "soft" and in 1951, Magna stocks still had the sharp shoulder.
C139980 shipped in January, 1951
C147325 shipped in March, 1951
I suspect yours left the factory that year also.
The fifth screw was eliminated in 1956, the same year Don Larson (Yankee) pitched the only perfect game ever in a World Series (against the Brooklyn Dodgers).
BTW you can check on the inside of the right hand panel, but I'd be surprised if those stocks bear the same serial number as the gun. The shoulder is "soft" and in 1951, Magna stocks still had the sharp shoulder.
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Good. Get some 38 special, take it out and shoot it and think about your dad. I'm sorry he's gone.
DWalt
Member
“Pre-Model 10” was never an official name, but is often used by S&W enthusiasts to designate those M&P revolvers that were made between roughly 1947 and 1957, when S&W began calling them the “Model 10.” Just a new name for an older revolver design. I have no idea why S&W chose the number 10. Maybe someone does. And the grip design on yours indicates that the grips are from a later period and not original to the revolver.
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