help on ID a .32 revolver.

[slumpy]

wondering if anybody can tell me a year and model this revolver might be, all i know is its a .32 hand ejector smith and wesson round butt revolver. has patented feb.6. 06.sept.14.09.dec.29.14. on barrel, also s/w trade mark stamp and made in usa stamped on frame. serial number is 5167xx. on butt of gun, and on cylinder, and under ejector rod on underneath of barrel. grips are wood? shoots like a new one and looks prety good too. i love the feel of these guns. feel like they are made to last forever. anyway any info would be great, love the forum. hope pictures are okay.

 

[murphydog]

Welcome to the Forum. Back in the pre-model numbering days, this was called a .32 Hand Ejector. It probably dates to the late 1930s. The stocks are walnut but are from a later (post-WW II) gun; if you look at the inside of the right panel you will probably find a stamped number not matching the gun's SN, however this may have been a pre-war leftover frame that shipped with later-style stocks. Hope this is helpful.

 

[DCWilson]

I think that serial number points to very late 1920s or early 1930s. Production contracted during the Great Depression, so the last 20,000 small frame revolvers produced before WWII are spread out over a greater number of years than in preceding decades. The small logo on the left side also points to prewar production. In 1938 an order from the front office changed the logo to a larger mark located on the sideplate.

As Alan suggested, the stocks are almost certainly a postwar replacement for what was on the gun originally.

It looks to be in excellent condition. You are right about the feel of quality in these older S&W revolvers. Enjoy it!

 

[TACC1]

Welcome aboard! Glad you're here, and glad that you appreciate
that fine piece of craftsmanship. TACC1

 

[slumpy]

I had no idea it was that old, looks to nice to me to be that old, thanks everybody. #64665 is on the back of one of the grips?

 

[DCWilson]

That number on the inner stock surface points to the early to mid-1950s.

 

[slumpy]

So that would indicate that the grips were replaced with newer ones? Would the originals still look the same and be made from wood?

 

[DCWilson]

The original grips would have looked pretty much like these: wood, with medallions, and the wood does not come up over the rear frame or sideplate. (This gun is not a .32, but it is built on the same size frame.)

I say "pretty much" because this is a postwar gun made mostly from prewar parts -- but the stocks are postwar. These stocks have a slightly different checkering field compared to prewar. If you can find stocks like these stamped with a six-digit number beginning with a 5, you'll be in pretty good shape.

 

[slumpy]

Well, I think they look pretty good and are not to much different looking so I'll probably just leave them alone unless by some miracle I find somebody who has mine and needs these. What would somebody expect to pay for one of these? I understand alot of things can change price ranges, but just a general idea would help me. I was cleaning out a old milk barn and found this wrapped in burlap and coated in some kind of blue grease underneath a cabinet on the floor. Took me awhile to get all the grease off since it was kinda dried on. Thanks.

 

[dogngun]

Well, I never find stuff like that...

depends on condition, of course, and where you live...some areas are more expensive than others. I bought an older .32 HE a few weeks ago for $279, but I think I stole it. I have seen them for around $350-$450.

There is .32 S&W Long ammunition available for these little guns, and they seem like artwork to me-they are extremely well made. And they hav a reputation for being very accurate shooters.

Enjoy it, you are very lucky!


mark

 

[guesser]

A question to help further my own miniscule knowledge of S&W.
Is the revolver being discussed here what is sometimes miscued as a "32 Regulation Police"???

 

[drumminor2nd]

A question to help further my own miniscule knowledge of S&W.
Is the revolver being discussed here what is sometimes miscued as a "32 Regulation Police"???

Nope. A Regulation police looks like this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/3840181...n/photostream/

198045_652200458175_28405064_35824714_3956430_n | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

These are pics of one I have on layaway right now. The big difference is in the grip. On the RP, the grip is not flush with the frame all the way around, but juts down past the base of the frame -- it makes a round butt into a square butt.

The second picture shows how the grip is different. Only the top of the backstrap is visible, while the rest of the frame is enclosed by the wood of the grip. On the bottom of the grip -- engraved into the wood -- is another patent date, from 1917.

Also, there is no medallion on an RP grip, unlike a normal Hand Ejector.

 

[guesser]

drumminor: that helps a bit. I know the 38 calibers were marked Regulation Police but the 32 caliber on the same frame were not marked but are sometimes referred to as "RP". What is the true and accurate name of the 32 caliber revolvers on the "RP" frame size???

 

[slumpy]

So what model and frame exactley is my .32 revolver?

 

[DCWilson]

Slumpy, your gun is a .32 Hand Ejector, Third Model.

Guesser, the .32 caliber Regulation Police was simply called the .32 Regulation Police. You are correct that it never had the phrase "Regulation Police" stamped on the barrel. That phrase is found only on the .38 Regulation Police.

As drumminor pointed out, the shape of the grip allows one to ID a .32 RP at a glance. Also, the serial number is stamped on the forestrap behind the trigger guard rather than on the lower surface of the butt. If you ever find a .32 with a serial number on the forestrap, that's an indicator that it came with either RP stocks or the even larger two-screw extensions stocks. (Though extension stocks would be rare on a fixed sight .32. They are mostly found on .22/32 target models.)

I think that RP stocks of the late 'teens and 1930s had medallions. It was only during the 1920s that they did not.

 

[slumpy]

Thanks dcwilson for the quick answer, appreciate it. If anybody else has pics of. 32 revolvers like mine would love to see them. Thanks.

 

[DCWilson]

Thanks dcwilson for the quick answer, appreciate it. If anybody else has pics of. 32 revolvers like mine would love to see them. Thanks.

This one is about 15 years older than yours and is actually a very late Second Model rather than a Third Model. On the outside it is quite similar, but there are differences in the internal design.

This one is not bad, but yours is easily in better condition.

 

[drumminor2nd]

drumminor: that helps a bit. I know the 38 calibers were marked Regulation Police but the 32 caliber on the same frame were not marked but are sometimes referred to as "RP". What is the true and accurate name of the 32 caliber revolvers on the "RP" frame size???

You're right on the money there. RP's in .32 S&W Long are not marked with "Regulation Police" anywhere, but they are still called a "Regulation Police." That's what the company called them.

All .32 S&W Long-chambered revolvers (which aren't top-break revolvers) are based on the I-frame, and unless it's a RP, then it's called a Hand Ejector.

An I-Frame is very similar to the J-frame (What S&W uses for its 5-shot .38 revolvers today). The only difference is the hole for the cylinder in a J-frame is slightly longer (like, an 1/8 of an inch or so). Holsters, grips, etc., work for both guns, but the R-P needs some fitting on the grips, I believe (haven't put any new ones on mine, but it seems to be the case).

So what model and frame exactley is my .32 revolver?

I need to check my book (BTW, "The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson," available at Amazon, Barnes&Noble, etc., is a fantastic reference. I bought one about 20 minutes after registering here), but it's a Hand Ejector built on an I-frame. I'll check my book and edit this post with the exact model name for you as soon as I get home. Somebody else will probably chime in with the answer before I do, so just keep your shirt on D) and I'll get the answer for you shortly.

 

[Muley Gil]

slumpy,

You have a .32 Hand Ejector third Model. The pre WW II revolvers in this series ended with serial numbers in the 536xxx range in 1942, so your revolver should have shipped prior to then.

"All .32 S&W Long-chambered revolvers (which aren't top-break revolvers) are based on the I-frame, and unless it's a RP, then it's called a Hand Ejector."

That statement is not quite accurate. S&W changed the I frame, which had a flat mainspring, to the improved I frame, which had a coil mainspring. Around the early 1960s, all of the small frame revolvers were built on the J frame, which did indeed have room for a longer cylinder.

Your revolver has a flat mainspring, since it has a screw in the frontstrap.

 

[drumminor2nd]

slumpy,

You have a .32 Hand Ejector third Model. The pre WW II revolvers in this series ended with serial numbers in the 536xxx range in 1942, so your revolver should have shipped prior to then.

"All .32 S&W Long-chambered revolvers (which aren't top-break revolvers) are based on the I-frame, and unless it's a RP, then it's called a Hand Ejector."

That statement is not quite accurate. S&W changed the I frame, which had a flat mainspring, to the improved I frame, which had a coil mainspring. Around the early 1960s, all of the small frame revolvers were built on the J frame, which did indeed have room for a longer cylinder.

Your revolver has a flat mainspring, since it has a screw in the frontstrap.

+1 on this. Good for setting him and me (mostly me) straight. That's what I get for not having my book in front of me