ID and info request
- Thread starter TallCrow
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You have a post WW II .38 Military & Police. The grips have been replaced with post 1968 versions. The screw behind the trigger guard should be in the hole under the grips.
You have a post WW II .38 Military & Police. The grips have been replaced with post 1968 versions. The screw behind the trigger guard should be in the hole under the grips.
Postwar .38 Military & Police revolver that very likely shipped in August or September, 1947.
Yours has been refinished - the nickel is not original on this gun.
Yours has been refinished - the nickel is not original on this gun.
What Muley Gil is talking about is the screw with the flat head is in the wrong hole. By this late in the game, the rear-most sideplate screw was given a flat head so a dimple did not have to be drilled in the upper portion of the right stock panel. The other three sideplate screws all had round heads. My guess is that whoever did the aftermarket nickel plating on your revolver put the screws back into the incorrect holes. I suspect if you remove the stocks you will find a round head screw underneath that panel.
DWalt
Member
Aside from putting the sideplate screws in the correct holes, a couple of cosmetic items could make yours look better. First, apply some metal polish to the nickel to shine it up, then wax it. Second, get on eBay to find some better looking grips. You should look for Magna grips to fit a square butt K-frame, similar to those on it, but there are many other styles of K-frame grips you might prefer. All should fit OK. There is really not much you can do about the plating (other than shining it up), so shoot and enjoy.
While the S-series postwar M&Ps are certainly not rare, there were numerically not that many of them made as compared to other series, fewer than 200,000 in the 1946-48 period.
While the S-series postwar M&Ps are certainly not rare, there were numerically not that many of them made as compared to other series, fewer than 200,000 in the 1946-48 period.
Welcome to the forums from the Wiregrass! Screw placement is important on a S&W revolver because the lower front sideplate screw is also the yoke retention screw. To remove the cylinder and yoke for cleaning, the lower front screw is loosened or removed and the yoke/cylinder assembly is opened then pulled forward to remove it from the frame. It is important to make sure that screw is not substituted with one of the other screws or the yoke may bind. And, as previously mentioned, the flathead screw goes under the right grip panel.
The post-war transitional .38 M&P revolver was the last in a long line of engineering changes since 1899 to use the long throw action. Many shooters value the old action for its feel and the ability to "stage" the trigger for target shooting.
The post-war transitional .38 M&P revolver was the last in a long line of engineering changes since 1899 to use the long throw action. Many shooters value the old action for its feel and the ability to "stage" the trigger for target shooting.
