Neeed a little help with old Smith.

[klw629]

Traded for an old 5 screw that the fellow told me was made in 1943 it is a snub 2 inch barrel, (i think) good shape and has a nickel finish.Ser.no. 727876 any info will be appreciated. Thanks KLW

 

[DCWilson]

It chambers .38 Special, I presume? Based on the serial number you report, the gun was probably shipped in late 1940/early 1941 rather than 1943. True factory-original two-inch revolvers were rare before the late 1940s. The likeliest explanation for your gun is that you have a cut down British Service Revolver whose cylinder was modified to accept the longer .38 Special cases in addition to the shorter .38 S&W for which the British guns were chambered.

Is there a locking lug on the underside of the barrel with a spring-driven pin that ties into the front of the ejector rod when the cylinder is closed? If not, the barrel has been cut and the lug lost. If there is a locking lug and a very short ejector rod, then a later two-inch factory barrel has been added to an early '40s frame. Are there British proof marks on the gun? Many of the wartime British revolvers were released for commercial sale after the war and were reimported to the United states and sold inexpensively, many through mail order.

If you can post pictures, that would help us nail down the ID. But almost all two-inch guns dating to 1940-45 are cut-down reimports from Commonwealth countries. All of the few factory-original two-inch guns from this period have serial numbers in different ranges.

Edited to add: Neglected to address the nickel finish. No commonwealth guns or war contract guns were produced in nickel, so your gun has been refinished.

 

[klw629]

5 screw

Could not get pics to load,no proof marks only the S&W trademark and made in USA on frame in front of sideplate.It has a full ejector rod that extends out within .125 inch of the end of barrel.38 specials won't load down in the cylinder must be 38 S&W, it appears to only lock up in the cylinder frame area.Old Smith is in really good shape,forcing cone to cylinder is as close as i have ever seen on a revolver.Thanks for the info DCWilson

 

[mikepriwer]

The gun was originally a 6" or 5" blue revolver. The barrel was cut to 2", probably
after the war, by a British company. The often replaced the barrel, typically with
something that has a different contour on the barrel where it meets the frame.

If you have a couple of pictures, email them to me, and I will post them in this
thread.

Mike Priwer [email protected]