I have a S&W top break .38S&W exposed hammer five shot revolver with s/n 177xx. Trying to find out when it was made/shipped.
how old is this gun
- Thread starter fourb20
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Welcome to the forums. You will need to give a little more information. Is it single or double action? Presuming it is a .38 DA like the one below, it shipped in 1880 and would be a .38 DA, 2nd Model.
OP
It is single action and due to poor condition I can't read the patent dates
One more question - does it have a trigger guard or a spur trigger?
OP
spur trigger
If it is truly a .38, it sounds like you have a Baby Russian, .38 S&W Single Action 1st Model. We need some pictures to confirm. It would have shipped in 1877. It also would have a long under barrel ejector housing.
OP
It is a .38, it does have a long ejector housing that is 2 1/4" long beneath a 3 1/4" barrell. There is a long, thin piece of metal that is pinned beneath the elector housing with a spring attached internally. There is a similar spring loaded, thin piece of metal beneath the hinge. Sorry haven't figured out how to send pics yet.
As Guy stated, you have a 38 Single Action First Model, or better known as a Baby Russian. The 1877 ship date is probably good for this serial number.
OP
Thank you both for the info, what the spring loaded devices on the bottom of the gun
The pawl at the bottom of the frame basically resets the extractor gear. If you depress the extractor gear pawl, you should be able to open the revolver without extracting the cases.
The catch under the barrel holds the extractor rack/rod assembly in place. The under barrel mechanism is called the extractor rack screw catch, and when depressed, I think it should allow you to remove the extarctor rack/rod assembly. This cannot be done, however, until you remove the cylinder stop tab from under the latch frame.
OP
Thanks again
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