Need help ID .32 long

[fourb20]

Just got a 5 screw .32 long with black plastic grips, 4 1/4" barrel in nickel. It does not have, "Made in USA" stamped on it and the last patent date is 9/14/09. S/N 2331xx. Any idea as to age? I will post pics later. Thanks

 

[DWalt]

Definitely pre-WWI, maybe 1915-16 or thereabouts. I don't have a SN very close to that on my list. Yours is called a .32 Hand Ejector, Model of 1903, and it's a 5th Change.

 

[fourb20]

Thanks for the info, when did S&W start putting, "made in USA" on frame?

 

[fourb20]

For my info how do you know it is before the great war?

 

[Wiregrassguy]

1922 about mid-year

Guy

 

[DCWilson]

For my info how do you know it is before the great war?

One of the threshold numbers in .32 I-frame studies is the serial number 258000. That is tied to the March/April 1917 time frame and is connected with the introduction of the square butt Regulation Police models -- same as the standard round butt .32 HEs, but with special extension stocks to make them easier to shoot by people with large hands -- or even mid-size hands, for that matter. After that, for decades the round butt and square butt models were numbered in the same sequence.

 

[fourb20]

Thanks to all for the info, as usual this group has the answers.