Neighbor's find

[wyo-man]

Neighbor's relative passed away and while he was going through the belongings, found a S&W revolver.
It is marked .38 S&W spl.
The top of the barrel have patent dates of Feb. 6.06, Sep 14.09, and Dec 29.14.
Serial # 592XXX and has St. Louis, MO Police, then a 3 digit number on the backstrap.
I am not a revolver guy so any information would be appreciated.

wyo-man

 

[gunlovingirl]

Can you post a pic?

 

[hsguy]

wyo-man, sounds like a Model of 1905 fourth change Military and Police which would have that patent date on the barrel. Does it look like this ignoring the grips and lanyard ring? If you are interested in the value some nice clear photos would help. John

 

[mikepriwer]

Wyo

Assuming its a .38 M&P, its about a 1928 gun. For that period, the grips would not
have a medallion, up near where they set into the half-moon frame cutout.

St. Louis PD guns are desireable - there are collectors who like them, including
people like myself who are from St Louis.

Its probably a 4", or less likely a 5" gun. If they were carried a lot, they generally
have a lot of blue wear.

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[wyo-man]

wyo-man, sounds like a Model of 1905 fourth change Military and Police which would have that patent date on the barrel. Does it look like this ignoring the grips and lanyard ring? If you are interested in the value some nice clear photos would help. John

The S&W roll mark is on the other side and a lot smaller. Will try to post a photo very soon.

wyo-man

 

[wyo-man]

Wyo

Assuming its a .38 M&P, its about a 1928 gun. For that period, the grips would not
have a medallion, up near where they set into the half-moon frame cutout.

St. Louis PD guns are desireable - there are collectors who like them, including
people like myself who are from St Louis.

Its probably a 4", or less likely a 5" gun. If they were carried a lot, they generally
have a lot of blue wear.

Later, Mike Priwer

It is a 5" gun and the bluing shows no wear. It has white plastic or (maybe) ivory grips (marked K22 and similar). Will try to post a photo very soon. The S&W roll mark is on the left side and is small (about the diameter of a nickel).

wyo-man

 

[mikepriwer]

The logo roll marking could well be the small one, and on the other side.

I don't understand the K22 on the grips - maybe it will show in a picture. Where is
this stamped, or marked ?

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[walnutred]

Mike, I expect the picture will show the grips to be aftermarket plastic K frame grips. Therefore the marking "K22 or similar".

 

[mtstcon]

Pics posted for friend.

 

[wyo-man]

Pics posted for friend.

Thank you mtstcon for posting the photos of the gun I requested information about.

wyo-man

 

[mikepriwer]

Wyo

The gun looks right, except for the grips, of course. The blue wear on the rear
gripstrap, where the ST Louis marking is, seems to be much more than on the rest of
the gun. As you noted earlier, the gun itself doesn't show much wear on blue, which
is inconsistent with that rear gripstrap. It could use a nice pair of convex non-
medallion grips.

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[linde]

Wyo

The gun looks right, except for the grips, of course . .. It could use a nice pair of convex non-medallion grips.

Later, Mike Priwer

Mike,

Are these the correct grips for Wyo-man's SLPD M&P?

Like you, I am a St. Louis native (south side ... down by the Bevo) and would love to see this historic gun returned to its glory. Lee Barner provided me the correct grips for the Victory model that had these on it and (if they're the correct ones) I'd like to return the favor to a deserving gun.

Russ
S&WCA #853
S&WHF #234

 

[hsguy]

Wyo

The gun looks right, except for the grips, of course. The blue wear on the rear
gripstrap, where the ST Louis marking is, seems to be much more than on the rest of
the gun. As you noted earlier, the gun itself doesn't show much wear on blue, which
is inconsistent with that rear gripstrap. It could use a nice pair of convex non-
medallion grips.

Later, Mike Priwer

Mike, I noticed the inconsistent blue wear also but being a police gun I ascribed that to the officer resting his hand on the exposed backstrap when the gun was holstered. I am surprised there isn't more holster wear on the gun, the top sideplate screw area looks dished a bit and the "Made In USA" a bit soft, possible refinish?The grips shown by the other poster are the correct grips for a gun of this era. John

 

[mikepriwer]

John & Russ

Yes, as John noted, those are the correct grips.

As you could probably tell, I was puzzled by the blue wear. The problem with these
web sites and photos is that the colors often are not right. To me, I thought the
coloring on the gun was not quite right, but it may just be an artifact of the photo.
Refinished certainly crossed my mind, but without seeing some other, and perhaps
better pictures, I can't say for sure.

I couldn't imagine the officer having his hand on the butt, with no significant
holster wear elsewhere . How did he do that ? !

Regards, Mike Priwer

Russ - I grew up in Parkview , on the border between St Louis and University City.

 

[tabs]

This stuff is no mystery folks. The fact that the gun has grip wear would indicate that it is not refinished (the gun would be uniform if it were refinished or new in condition) It was not holstered or holstered very little. The guy who owned it most likely had sweaty hands and failed to wipe the back of the frame off. The color of the blue appears to be correct. The owner apparently didn't like the wood grips but liked the ivory look so he replaced them when he got legal ownership This gun has seen litttle service and probably was issued to a relativily high ranking member of the PD, who mostly kept it wrapped in a drawer. It probably was holstered on special occasions where the officer had to wear a uniform.

When you examine a gun it tells you a story. All you have to do is to read the story.

 

[ladder13]

I've got a M10-8 in 3 inch that has the same wear pattern. The backstrap is worn to a dull blue, the rest of the gun is 98%. Got it from a LEO. I'll try to post some pics.

 

[mikepriwer]

The fact that the gun has grip wear would indicate that it is not refinished

The gun doesn't have the original girps - it has those plastic grips. How do you know that
the gun has grip wear, in such a case ?

A refnished gun can have worn grips , if it was refinished years earlier, and then saw
siginificant use subsequent to its refinishing. I have a 1908-ish M&P that was clearly
refinished, and well-worn grips.

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[Crazy K38]

I believe he meant backstrap wear

 

[bdGreen]

I would consider that the gun has been refinished. The sideplate screw holes appear to be reflecting light in an unusual way. The hammer also appears to be blued. I can't really tell with the trigger, but, it doesn't have any coloring to me. I keep looking at the one line address and can't help but see that it looks a little 'dished'. That's how I read this story.

bdGreen

 

[geoff40]

I agree with BD. The "Made in USA" rollmark seems pretty blurred by the refinish, and that hammer sure looks blued to me.