Help With Identification

[slowjonn]

I just picked up an old Smith from a friend of mine. Not really sure what I have. Any help would be appreciated.

It is a five screw model. The side plate is on the right side. It is 38 caliber with a six inch barrel that is pinned. The left side of the barrel is marked "Smith & Wesson" with the "&" sign of the old streched out version.

On the right side it is marked "Made in USA" under the cylinder and in front of the screw (not on the side plate). The barrel is marked "38 S&W Special CTG". It has a ramped and stepped (serrated) front sight.

The grips are wood with S&W medallions and a single diamond over the grip screw. The grips are numbered to the gun.

Finally, the serial number is 9807XX, located on the bottom of the grip frame. There is also a "S" located there but does not seem to be a part of the serial number.

Overall, the gun is approx. 60-70% original finish.

Sorry, can't put picks up at this time. Thanks in advance.

 

[DCWilson]

Actually, the S-prefix is part of the serial number. Your gun was made in late 1947 or early 1948. Without the S, it would not be possible to distinguish this gun from an earlier revolver without a prefix that was made in 1942.

Sounds like a Military & Police .38 Special. The surface wear could mean that it was used a lot, or maybe just carried a lot. If the action is tight and cylinder play at full lockup is minor, the gun is in serviceable shape. Shoot it with confidence.

The S-prefix .38s are actually the immediate successors of the WWII Victory models of which you may have heard. S&W ran the full six-digit serial set for the original M&Ps in mid 1942 while the war was on. They restarted at 1 with a V prefix. Late in the war an S was added to make an SV prefix, but the numerical portion of the S/N was not reset; the S indicates an improved safety block to prevent accidental discharge if the firearm should be dropped. When the war ended, the V was no longer deemed necessary, and the S-prefix carried the differentiation burden by itself until 1948, when the company finished running the second million serial numbers in the M&P series. At that point they reset the numerical portion again and introduced the C-prefix, and from 1948 M&P serial numbers started with C for several years. Eventually the company went to a different pattern of serialization, but the first nearly 3 million M&Ps can be differentiated by the serial number prefixes -- no prefix, then V, then SV, then S by itself, and finally C.

As long as I'm telling you more than you probably cared to know, I will note that there was an engineering change in 1948 that relocated the hammer stud and made for a "faster" action. This change was made about the same time the serial numbers changed to the C prefix. Your gun is one of the last made with the old long action. That's good, in the opinion of many. The classic S&W smooth action feel was for long action guns. Some feel that the short action guns, though fine in their own right, just don't have quite the same silkiness as their predecessors.

Of course both short and long action guns can feel horrible if they aren't kept clean and lubed.

 

[dacoontz]

Sounds like a pre-model 10.

David's explanation is much better.

 

[slowjonn]

Thanks for the fast response. Neat old gun. Always nice to put older revolvers in the stable!