My "New" H D

[robertrwalsh]

I just got my new H D out of the CA gun jail today and here are the photos as promised. The gun looks much better than the harsh lighting in the photos. It is as far as I can tell a perfectly normal 5" 38/44 in very nice shape. The grips are numbered but not to this gun and are in suspiciously good shape so I am confident they are not originals. It has very minimal blue wear on the muzzle, trigger guard and leading edge of the cylinder. As far as I can tell it dates to 1935, S # 450XX. It is timed correctly SA and DA and the yoke fits good and tight. Minimal cylinder movement front to back. Solid cylinder lock-up. All marking very clean, I am guessing original blue job. It certainly has never been over-buffed. I will happily allow it to join it's two cousins (4" HD and an Outdoorsman) in my safe. I plan on taking it out in a day or two and seeing how well it shoots. All things considered a very nice gat at a very decent price.

Photos next up. Sorry about that.

 

[robertrwalsh]

Here they are, my "New" H.D.

 

[Wiregrassguy]

Robert, the grips are post-WWII and your gun is much older:

.38/44 HD serial 44926 shipped in December 1934.
.38/44 HD serial number 45364 shipped in February 1935.

 

[dobegrant]

Very nice congratulations, thanks for sharing

 

[22hipower]

Love those pre-war HDs and ODs. You may need a letter to confirm whether your HD shipped with service grips or magnas. Magnas didn't come out until sometime in 1935 if I remember correctly. Service grips like those shown below are probably what you need but a letter should confirm with which it shipped. Nice find!

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[robertrwalsh]

Range Report. Took it out today and put 75 rounds thru it. 25 WC, 25 low velocity 125 grain, 25 medium velocity 158 JHP. It needs to have the b/c gap opened up very slightly, I was getting some slight drag marks on the face of the cylinder. Other than that it shot just fine. It liked the WC and 158 gn. best but shot them all well. All things considered I am very happy with this purchase.

 

[s&wchad]

... It needs to have the b/c gap opened up very slightly, I was getting some slight drag marks on the face of the cylinder. Other than that it shot just fine.

Before you increase the gap, check it for endshake. The turn line is a bit wide and endshake can be corrected by stretching the yoke barrel or by adding a shim.

 

[Casual Smith Nut]

As S&WChad said…
Check the cylinder for fore and aft movement. If it has several thousandths of an inch movement, endshake is likely the issue, not the b/c gap since it can be changed by the aft movement of the cylinder.