Have a chrome or nickeled S&W 32-20 see pics. Any info would be greatly appreciated or direction where I can research info.. Thank you in advance. See attached photos, Thank you
Demand for .32-20 revolvers dropped after World War One. S&W stopped production of .32-20 handguns in the late 1920s to 1930 era. Is there a "B" anywhere preceding the under-barrel serial number? If not, your revolver shipped with a nickel finish.
Please show pictures of the entire revolver. We can then determine if it has an original finish or has been refinished.
The members here are extremely helpful to people trying to identify guns.
However, many people do not post the data we need to help you, and we wind up playing 20 Questions for hours.
If you will take just a few minutes to read below and then post the data we need, you will sometimes see guns fully identified in 10 minutes or less! If you post at 4 am Eastern time, you might have to wait 2 or 3 hours for the morning crew to show up, but there's a good chance a west coast night owl will catch it for you.
The Made in the USA stamp on the left-hand side indicates that it made after 1922 and before 1929 when they stop production. Your revolver has been refinished at some point in its life as the hammer and triggers were case hardened not nickel.
There is a good chance it left the factory in 1927. However, by that time the .32-20 was a very slow seller. Units serialized in that range shipped as late as 1930.
As noted above, it has been refinished, and the stocks are an aftermarket addition.
Thank you all for the information. Unfortunately we did get to get the full details from my father in-law before he passed other than it was possible his dads or granddads.
It's priceless to us, our kids and grandkids of course but any idea on value for the sake of splitting the other items amongst the family.
The 134000 SN places the gun very near the end of production for the model which was 1929 or 1930. The model was catalogued until 1940 and the last two still in the warehouse shipped in 1964 or 1965. In the observed condition the gun is worth $250 to $400 or so.
Welcome to the Forum! Always nice to have another Florida Forum member. You've inherited a nice 6" .32-20 Hand Ejector, aka Model of 1905 4th Change. As others have informed you, S&W ceased production of the .32-20s in 1940 at s/n 144684. Yours would have been manufactured in the mid- to late-1930s, and was re-finished at some point. If there is a "B" or "N" stamped in several places that would indicate whether it was originally blued or nickel. The stocks (grips) are older aftermarket stocks, and look to be plastic that was made to look like jigged bone or stag. It would have originally have had stocks similar to the ones on my revolver. Here is my well used 6" blued .32-20 ca. 1924 (s/n 118705). These .32-20 revolvers are popular with Forum members, and they are a blast to shoot whenever you can find some ammo. I usually shoot Cowboy Action 115 grain Flat Nose ammo that I buy online (MidwayUSA, etc.). Your revolver has some provenance and should be a nice family heirloom. Enjoy!