Identification please

[Waddy]

I inherited another sixgun for my S&W stable. It was before Model numbers, so would appreciate knowing how to describe it:

Hand Ejector, fixed sights
5 screw
4"barrel
SMITH AND WESSON (on left side of barrel)
32-20 CTG (on right side of barrel)
MADE IN U.S.A. (right side of frame below cylinder and in front of the trigger)
S&W Trademark logo stamped on left side of frame right below the cylinder release button
Serial number: 114XXX
Diamond checkered wood stocks with no medallion

thanks in advance for any information you could provide.

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Good afternoon! That'd be the .32-20 Military & Police Revolver. It is basically a .38 HE Model 1905, 4th Change but chambered for the .32 Winchester cartridge (.32 WCF). It was made in the 1920's between 1922 and 1930. Perhaps Jack in Alaska or someone who tracks these guns can get you closer.

 

[Waddy]

Wow, fast reply, many thanks!! It is in beautiful condition. I will have to pursue some ammo for it...if it ever gets back where we can get ammo again.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Make sure you get PISTOL ammunition and not 32-20 RIFLE ammunition. They loaded both back in the day. Same cartridge but much hotter round.

 

[JP@AK]

Guy has the ID correct and the date bracket also. It has to be late 1922 or later because of the Made in U.S.A. stamped on the frame and 32-20 CTG on the barrel. In my list I show two with numbers close to yours. One shipped in February, 1923, and the other in August, 1923.

For the .32-20 HE it is notoriously difficult to guess at the ship date, as it is to a lesser degree for all S&W revolvers, because the company did not ship guns in serial order. But the .32-20 was a very slow seller in the 1920s. Production stopped in c. 1929, but the model remained in inventory until 1940, at least.

If you want a firm answer for when your revolver left Springfield, you will have to reach out to the Historical Foundation for a Letter of Authenticity.

 

[Muley Gil]

Make sure you get PISTOL ammunition and not 32-20 RIFLE ammunition. They loaded both back in the day. Same cartridge but much hotter round.

The Rifle Only .32-20 loads haven't been loaded by the ammo companies since the 1960s. They can be identified by having a 80 grain hollow point bullet and the brass will be marked "HV" for High Velocity.

Current Remington ammo will be marked on the box as Rifle ammunition, but will have a lead bullet or a jacketed soft point bullet. The .32-20 was introduced in the 1880s as a rifle cartridge. You can also look for cowboy loads.

Photo of a Rifle Only cartridge by forum member alk3844.

 

[glowe]

Is is impossible to date these guns in the 1920s. Relatively unpopular by the 1920s and out of production by 1940. Production averaged maybe 10,000 in the early 1920s and by late 20s and 1930s less than 5,000 a year. 38 M&Ps, for comparison, sold in the 30,000 per year range, increasing in the 1930s.

Here is one of my 32 W.C.F. revolvers with serial number 110,9XX that shipped in August 1924. SWCA database shows a 110,8XX that shipped in November 1922. So about the only thing safe to say is your gun most likely shipped between 1922 and 1925.