Need help identifying a hand ejector

[NavFlyer]

I have what appears to be a 2nd Model, 1st Change 1902, 38 Military and Police, target model. Serial number 426XX, square butt, Made in USA on right side of frame, small S&W logo on left side of frame, 5 screw. Number on butt and inside of ejector housing below barrel match. USRA front sight. Bluing is near 100% with slight loss at muzzle. Barrel actually measures a little under 6 1/2 inches. My confusion comes with the barrel stampings. One line is: Smith & Wesson Springfield Mass USA. The second line is: Patented.Feb 6.06 Sept 14.09 (or it could be Sept 14.00) Dec 20.14 (or it could be Dec 29.14). Some of the number are very difficult to read but the stampings are deep. The dates don't seem to be right for the serial number. The gun does not appear to have been re-blued. All letters and number are deep and crisp and no bluing on the sides of the tip end of the ejector rod. It has wood grips with S&W logo disc. What do I actually have?

 

[ParadiseRoad]

..."Made in USA on right side of frame"...

...that indicates at least the frame was made in or after 1922...

 

[Jtown]

Wouldn't 5 screws make it a model 1905?
Walt

 

[OFT II]

Is there a shroud on the bottom of the barrel for the ejector rod? It sounds like it may be a heavy duty.

Oh, and welcome to the forum.

 

[murphydog]

Welcome! An original S & W revolver as you describe it (6.5" barrel, "half-lug" or ejector rod shroud, 5-screw frame, Target sights, medallion wood stocks) sounds to be a .38/44 Outdoorsman from the 1930 decade, an N frame revolver. As usual, photos would help here.

Go Navy! What do you fly?

 

[bruce5781]

Square butt K frames didn't start until about 58K serial range.

 

[Wiregrassguy]

A fairly late 1930's Outdoorsman. A valuable gun if in good condition.

 

[Muley Gil]

Welcome to the Forum.

It sounds like you have a .38/44 Outdoorsman, which was built on the N frame, not the K frame.

 

[rocknroad]

Welcome to the forum.

If what you have looks a lot like this, you probably have the fore mentioned .38/44 Outdoorsman. When I came here with mine, someone referred to it as "a poor man's Registered Magnum." I like that description.

 

[bruce5781]

Wouldn't 5 screws make it a model 1905?
Walt

Pre-5 screw, 4 screw 1905.

Sent from my SM-G930VL using Tapatalk

 

[stu1ritter]

And this is a 1902 1st, serial #618xx (happens to be a target model) and grips number to the gun and it is a 4 screw. Hope that helps.

Stu

 

[mh51]

I have a 38/44 Outdoorsman with the same barrel markings and patent dates. It also has the one line address on the right side of the frame. Serial number is 422xx, and was shipped 10/24/1933.
Mike

 

[Absalom]

Let's get back to what's relevant to the OP's gun.

His mention of the serial "inside of ejector housing below barrel" plus the 1914 patent date and MADE IN USA make his initial assumption impossible.

Thus any discussion of screw count and other stampings is no longer important, as with the 426xx serial it can only be a .38/44 pre-war Outdoorsman from 1933. This is confirmed by Mike's specimen as well as several other close serials from 1933 in the database.

NavFlyer:
How about adding a photo or two to wrap this up?

 

[DCWilson]

Yes, photos please. If you can get a good shot of the front sight, please include that. The USRA sights that I know are all on I-frames, though I have heard they can be found on K and N frames as well.

And welcome to the forum.

 

[NavFlyer]

Thanks for the help. It is a .38/44 Outdoorsman prewar.

 

[NavFlyer]

Thanks very much. I have a .38/44 Outdoorsman, prewar.

 

[NavFlyer]

You nailed it! Thanks very much for your help. I flew Skyraiders from the Saratogo CVA-60 in 1967. Retired as an 0-6 in 1991. Good times!

 

[NavFlyer]

That's it. Your are correct. Back at you War Eagle. Big SEC fans and my wife is an Auburn girl!! Ain't nothing sweeter!

 

[NavFlyer]

You are 100% correct and thanks for the help. This was my first post on the forum the response was nothing less than fantastic.

 

[Chukar60]

Pre-5 screw, 4 screw 1905.

Bruce, that is a mighty nice looking gun and some very nice stocks. Nice to see it again.