Inherited 38 Special: Please help identify

[BlueDubPirate]

I recently inherited a 38 Special. The owner served as an engineer in the Army post WWII at Redstone Arsenal under Vaughn Braun, although I have no idea if this was his service pistol. Photos are noted below. Any help identifying model, date of manufacture and value would be of great help. My gunsmith briefly checked it out yesterday, and said: "This has hardly been used. All of the movement is crisp, shows little if any wear."

Numbers I could find:
Serial Number: D691XXX on butt of grip
Under the Yoke: Mod 10-5
On the Yoke: A10 and 46616
Under the Grips: 46616 and A10, A20, and A21
Barrel Length: 3.25"

Thank you

 

[rjm6120]

It's a S&W model 10-5, standard barrel. Barrel length is 4" (measure from the start forcing cone, basically from the front of the cylinder). I had a 10-5 in that serial number range (serial started with "D", I know that) and it dated from 1974, so yours is probably in the neighborhood, give or take. Nice accurate revolver, it should serve you well. Will handle standard and +P .38 special ammunition.

 

[murphydog]

Welcome! It is a K or medium frame .38 Special, named the .38 Military & Police and also called the model 10-5. It dates to 1974 and is unlikely to have been an official/issued sidearm. The barrel (measured from cylinder face to muzzle) looks to be a standard 4" length. Hope this is helpful.

 

[Targets Guy]

It's a beauty. Does the 3rd side plate screw have its slot oriented in the same direction as the two shown? Looks like they might be timed.

 

[BlueDubPirate]

It's a beauty. Does the 3rd side plate screw have its slot oriented in the same direction as the two shown? Looks like they might be timed.

The third side plate screw has a slightly different orientation from the other two near the trigger. Those go from 11 to 5 o'clock. The one near the grip goes from 2 to 7 o'clock (top to bottom).

 

[Absalom]

I recently inherited a 38 Special. The owner served as an engineer in the Army post WWII at Redstone Arsenal under Vaughn Braun, although I have no idea if this was his service pistol.....

As Alan already indicated, you can exclude any connection between this gun and its previous owner's service. While the M&P/Model 10 was the most widely issued service revolver of its day, in the millions, this one, as pointed out, is too young, has no other marking which would indicate that, and is also in pristine condition, making it almost certainly a private commercially purchased gun. I can't even see a turn line on the cylinder. Market value would be well over $500.

 

[Texas Star]

Who is Vaughn Braun? Are you referring to Dr. Werner von Braun? The formerly German rocket scientist?


Although your gun lacks military property marks and is prob. just a commercial item, that model was issued to many Army helicopter pilots in the Vietnem war and later. Female MP's also often carried this model.


The basic Military & Police/Model 10 is THE essential S&W revolver. In his book, "Dr. No", Ian Fleming said the villain's guards on Crab Key carried "the usual model" of Smith and Wesson .38. I had no trouble at all in understanding that he meant one like yours.

 

[BlueDubPirate]

Who is Vaughn Braun? Are you referring to Dr. Werner von Braun? The formerly German rocket scientist?


Although your gun lacks military property marks and is prob. just a commercial item, that model was issued to many Army helicopter pilots in the Vietnem war and later. Female MP's also often carried this model.


The basic Military & Police/Model 10 is THE essential S&W revolver. In his book, "Dr. No", Ian Fleming said the villain's guards on Crab Key carried "the usual model" of Smith and Wesson .38. I had no trouble at all in understanding that he meant one like yours.

Yes, he worked on the rocket program at Redstone in Huntsville Alabama under Werner von Braun. I had no idea how old this pistol was or if it correlated at all to his service. Apparently, based on the age of the pistol it does not.

 

[Skeetr57]

I don't know the origin of the revolver in this post, but by the time this one was made, NASA was just a tenant on Redstone Arsenal, and used their own civilian police guards who at that time were probably armed with M&P .38 revolvers. The gates were protected by DoD civilian police. I was stationed at Redstone three different times, 1970-73, 1975-78 and 1982-86. and all the civilian guards both Army and NASA were armed with .38 revolvers. I never examined any of the revolvers to see if they were property marked.