Latest purchase at the Athens,TX gun show

[mrchuck]

Found an old S&W revolver on a table and bought it.
It is tight, no play, and am sure it is perfectly safe to shoot standard load 38 Special 158 grain cartridges.
I saw the old style ejector rod on it first.
My catalog in my brain said ask to pick it up and check it out.
The S/N on the heel is 486953.
The cylinder has the same 486953.
The # on the inside crane holding the cylinder is 38579.
The barrel is 5 inches long. yes 5" and is pinned.
The lands and grooves are clean and sharp!
On the right side of the bbl is stamped 38 S&W SPECIAL CTG.
The grips are S&W Target in excellent shape.
A little dickering, and I paid 250 Dollars.
Yes 250 I paid. Asking for 295.
I also knew just who used to own this revolver.
I was one of our old County Sheriff's who retired back in the late 1970's.
So, back at my table I did a little research in my info book we all have, and this is what I think I have.

It is a .38 Military & Police, between 1915 to 1942, an the S/N 241704 to 1,000,000.
This revolver's s/n is almost in the middle of this range.
Their is a # stamped on the backside of the cyl and it is 38579.
Also, this same # is stamped on the inside of the swing-out frame,,38579.
On the cartridge side of the cylinder is # 486953, the same as on the butt.
Overall, this revolver shows a lot of in holster carry wear-off of the bluing.
But the mechanical part is tight and smooth.
The "overall" patina has a dark grey/brown color of age.
This revolver has been carried a lot as a "duty weapon", but not fired much.
This is common in Sheriff's, not the deputies.
My plan is to shoot it, of course, and then load it with the "appropriate" 6 rounds of standard lead 158 grain rounds.
I expect it will be a "tack driver"once I get the feel of the front blade sight and the rear "groove".

 

[gmborkovic]

mr. chuck, what a beauty. At $275, great buy. Even better at $250.
Would have bought it in a heart beat.

 

[murphydog]

Others here track SN ranges closely, but I would guess about 1926 production.

Standard pressure 158 gr lead or 148 gr wadcutters will work fine but I would not be afraid of occasional use of heavier loads. The dreaded + P . Enjoy!

 

[Muley Gil]

That's nice old Smif. I'm real fond of 5" barrelled revolvers and smooth target grips too.

Need to tighten up that strain screw.

 

[mrchuck]

Ok,,,, what is a "strain screw",, and where is it located.?
Then, Ill be able to check it out.

 

[tlay]

The strain screw is on the front side of the frame that is in contact with the mainspring. Tighten it all the way down. Some misinformed people will loosen it up to lighten the trigger pull. This can and will cause misfires.
Your serial number for your gun is 486953. 38579 is a number used by S&W to keep all the main parts together during assembly. We don't use those numbers.
Your gun was shipped most likely in 1926.

 

[DWalt]

While it possibly COULD have shipped in 1926 (or even 1925), the closest SN to your M&P's I have on my list is 4876xx which shipped in June 1924. I show several others with even higher SNs which also shipped in 1924. I'd bet yours probably shipped around that date. You would need to pay $75 for a factory letter to know the shipping date for sure. While I can't see the entire grip panel, it appears to be what is called smooth presentation stocks, available from roughly 1967 to 1980, so not even close to being original. You did OK on the price, at least you probably won't lose anything on the deal. As you may have noticed, S&W sights of that time leave a lot to be desired.

 

[mrchuck]

Our "old time" Sheriff's in Texas used their long barrels as a "billy" club or a "sap". 5 inch and longer barrels were popular for this "technique".
The ejector rod on this revolver is "unique" with that larger knurled knob on it.
Wonder why they made it so large and distinctive?

 

[Hondo44]

Nice find and it looks all original except for stocks, of course.

The large extractor rod knob nicknamed "mushroom" knob began in 1902 with the introduction of the front locking lug on the ".38 Military & Police 2nd Model". It was phased out to the smaller "barrel" knob in 1927. After WW II the rod was straight with no knob, just a knurled tip.

Many like them for their old world panache. Plus they are much more ergonomic than the straight rod and easier on the finger when shooting a lot. Notice the barrel had to be double notched for them.

The #38579 is the Assembly (factory work) #s: These multi-digit numbers of 3 to 5 digits, are on the yoke at the hinge, in the 'yoke cut' on frame opposite the yoke near the hinge, and inside of the sideplate, for the pre war and early post war period. The assembly # in the yoke cut of the frame was relocated to the left side of grip frame after model #s were assigned and the serial # was added in the 'yoke cut' where the assembly #, now moved to the left side of the grip frame, used to be. You know they are assembly (factory work) #s because of those 3 locations that always match on guns that are original, and that's the only usefulness for them after guns leave the factory: still used to this day, long after serial number locations decreased.

It's unusual for the assembly # to be stamped on the backside of the cylinder along with the serial #, as you indicated. Can you post a photo of that?

This is the "barrel" knob that replaced the mushroom knob until after the war. Notice it only required one notch in the barrel:

 

[fyimo]

Congratulations on the purchase

 

[DWalt]

There were some post-WWII revolvers made until around early 1948 which used the "Barrel" extractor rod knob. This is usually assumed to be the result of using up older parts remaining in factory inventory. The presence of a "Mushroom" knob is a quick visual indication as to whether the revolver was made before or after the late 1920s.

 

[mojave30cal]

I really like the patina on your S&W. Really cool!