model 36??? i think id help

[rob36]

I have what I think is a model 36 that is double action only with a great trigger easy pull and smooth
I have the original matching ser# wood grips with the diamond
love the gun and it is my first revolver

why is it double action only ?


specs below
ser# 1010xx
flat latch
1-7/8" barrel
5 shot
round butt ---- how we all like them right
pics below

 

[Pisgah]

It's a Chief's Special, forerunner of the Model 36 -- just a 36 before they started putting model numbers on them. If it's truly DA only, it's because the single-action hammer notch is gone, either worn, broken or intentionally filed off by a previous owner to make it DA only.

 

[rob36]

how do I tell if the single action notch has been removed
I can post pics of the inside parts

any idea how old or when it was made ?

thanks for the help

 

[Pisgah]

Google "picture S&W single action hammer notch". You'll quickly find a picture. Note, the notch is very shallow to begin with. As noted, it can break, and it can easily be filed away or unintentionally rendered useless by an unknowledgeable person seeking to "improve" the single action trigger pull.

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Howdy rob36, and welcome aboard from ol' Wyo.

Your photos didn't come through.

The company probably shipped your Chiefs Special in late 1957.

It has a 3-screw frame (one screw is hiding under those ugly galoshes on the right side -- no slam at you, I simply don't like rubber grips). It would have come with diamond magna stocks (like the first photo, below).

As an aside, some of us like square butts and 3" barrels better.

 

[rob36]

more pics
looks like the single action notch was never there smoothly gone both trigger an hammer when cocked line up near perfectly even almost like it was sent that way
nice work who ever did it

I thought about bobbing the hammer since it isn't single action but not sure

.

 

[Texas Star]

If you aren't going to restore full SA/DA capability, I'd leave the spur alone. Looks better and has the hammer mass to detonate a hard primer.

Some holsters also fasten behind the hammer spur to make the gun more retainable under strenuous activity.