help me ID this .38 spl

TheDrake

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thinking about picking up a 5 screw .38SPL but I am not sure what model it is. has 4 screws on right side and 1 in the front upper of the trigger guard so I assume this is a 5 screw. what model would this be? Here is a pic of the inside of the frame where the model number and build number are. looks like there is a faint "8" after the "32"
 

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If you give us the serial number and/or pictures of the whole thing, we might be able to give an answer.

What Guy said!
 
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Hi "TheDrake"

You have a .38 Military & Police model from about January, 1947. It is known as a postwar M&P. The stamps in the yoke area are fitter's marks and parts-tracking numbers used only during assembly. The M&P became the Model 10 in c. 1958, about 11 years after your gun left the Springfield factory. Hence, it has no model number. Model numbers weren't even assigned until June, 1957.

Your revolver is in nice condition, but the stocks and the grip adapter are aftermarket additions.
 
Hi "TheDrake"

You have a .38 Military & Police model from about January, 1947. It is known as a postwar M&P. The stamps in the yoke area are fitter's marks and parts-tracking numbers used only during assembly. The M&P became the Model 10 in c. 1958, about 11 years after your gun left the Springfield factory. Hence, it has no model number. Model numbers weren't even assigned until June, 1957.

Your revolver is in nice condition, but the stocks and the grip adapter are aftermarket additions.

thanks. I figured it was probably a model 10. Do you know what it might be worth? Ballpark. I am thinking about buying it. I dont really want it, but if the price is right, I always grab things. I can sell or trade for something later.....
 
Well, looks like a 5" barrel which is not so usual. Little bluing wear and pretty, although not original, mother of pearl stocks. Grip adapters are going for a pretty penny. The market today is high for such a gun. I'll lay down $650. Others may have a different opinion.
 
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That looks like the 4" barrel, which was by far the most common. Lacking original grips I would say $500 would be fair retail. Anything less that $400 would be a good deal.
 
thanks. I figured it was probably a model 10. Do you know what it might be worth? Ballpark. I am thinking about buying it. I dont really want it, but if the price is right, I always grab things. I can sell or trade for something later.....

It's not a Model 10. Those were made 10 + years later. It's super common and not too desirable.
 
Personally I think the S prefixes are the best of the 38 specials. They have the old long trigger that is usually better than the later design C prefix and they are not common.
 
That looks like the 4" barrel, which was by far the most common.
It is a 4". The rest of your statement is verified by the data. In the S prefix range, the 4" was the most common. A large number of them were ordered by police departments (Cleveland, NYPD, etc.) and the vast majority of those had the 4" barrel. Lots of dealerships also got the 4" variation.

looks like a 5" barrel which is not so usual.
Actually, my data show that the 5" was by far the second most common length in the 1946 to 1948 period when the S prefix was in use. 2" square butt and 6" were in third place (roughly the same percentage), a long way back. The 2" round butt is the least common by quite a large margin.

A good early example shows J. F. Galen Company in New York, New York ordering and receiving 800 units, shipped on March 3, 1946. 400 units had the 4" barrel and 400 units had the 5" barrel. Nineteen days later, S&W shipped 49 units with the 5" barrel to Dunham, Carrigan & Haydon Company in San Francisco, California.
 
Personally I think the S prefixes are the best of the 38 specials. They have the old long trigger that is usually better than the later design C prefix
I tend to agree that the S prefix revolvers are special. They have been a major focus of my collection for the past 10 years.

However, they had the long action only up to about serial number S990000. The short action (High Speed hammer) was introduced at S990184, and that revolver shipped on April 7, 1948. A few above that number still had the long action, but most of them above it got the High Speed hammer. By the time the C prefix came along nearly all of them had the short action, although a few exceptions have turned up. The highest number that I know of is C58672. It shipped with the long action on April 20, 1949.

they are not common
Well, I guess that is a matter of definition. There were approximately 188,000 of them made, not counting the earlier SV examples, many of which shipped to civilian locations after the war.
 
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ok so this is an S model...... should I buy it if the price is under 400-500?
 
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