fourb20
Member
I have a S&W revolver with a 6 1/2" barrel, N frame, five screw, .38 special, adjustable sights, no model number with a serial number of S93796. So what is it?
Outdoorsman/heavy duty/38/44, which one?
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That would be a post war Outdoorsman.
I am guessing 1948-49ish
Pictures are always enjoyed
I am guessing 1948-49ish
Pictures are always enjoyed
THE PILGRIM
Member
And it eats SPECIAL .38 Specials then known as .38/44 S&W---which exited the muzzle at 1226 fps---compared to the early 30's regular, everyday .38 Special at 950 fps---compared to today's .38 Special at an anemic 755 fps. This (historical) data from S&W's 1932 catalog.
S&W's 1941 catalog gives the 38/44 load one of several new names along the way (.38 S&W Special Hi-Speed) and shows the muzzle velocity at 1115 fps (and the 357 Magnum at 1510 fps). (Maybe they slowed 38/44 load down some, so the speed freaks would buy a Magnum.) The regular .38 Special of the time had been slowed to 870 fps.
From a historical perspective, the (pre-war) Outdoorsman was the 357 Magnum's daddy, and was used as a test bed for the experimentation developing the 357 Magnum cartridge----some of which VASTLY exceeded the final offering in velocity and pressures.
Those had to have been fun days!!
Ralph Tremaine
Oh, and if you're wondering if it'll handle the much touted "+P" loads, the answer is today's identical (158 grain bullet) +P load leaves the muzzle at a whopping 890 fps. (Your options at this point are to either laugh---or cry!)
S&W's 1941 catalog gives the 38/44 load one of several new names along the way (.38 S&W Special Hi-Speed) and shows the muzzle velocity at 1115 fps (and the 357 Magnum at 1510 fps). (Maybe they slowed 38/44 load down some, so the speed freaks would buy a Magnum.) The regular .38 Special of the time had been slowed to 870 fps.
From a historical perspective, the (pre-war) Outdoorsman was the 357 Magnum's daddy, and was used as a test bed for the experimentation developing the 357 Magnum cartridge----some of which VASTLY exceeded the final offering in velocity and pressures.
Those had to have been fun days!!
Ralph Tremaine
Oh, and if you're wondering if it'll handle the much touted "+P" loads, the answer is today's identical (158 grain bullet) +P load leaves the muzzle at a whopping 890 fps. (Your options at this point are to either laugh---or cry!)
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The key here is "adjustable sight", making it an Outdoorsman.
That would be a post war Outdoorsman.
I am guessing 1948-49ish
Pictures are always enjoyed
I'm thinking 1953-shipped Outdoorsman (which is quite nice). I have a Heavy Duty, serial S949xx, shipped May 1953.
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Grayfox
US Veteran
Excellent guns. I have pre-war 5" and post war 4" Heavy Duties and an Outdoorsman. If you're a reloader you can work up some of the original loads for them and have a blast.
38SPL HV
Member
Congratulations, it’s a S&W Outdoorsman. (You want a corresponding load equal +/- to post war 38 Special high velocity rounds? Recommend 6.0 grs Power Pistol and Speer 158 gr RNL and CCI-500 primers (this is a Speer load and falls within +P specs). It should clock slightly over 1,000 fps in your revolver, pretty much equal to the 158 gr lead high speed or Super X round you would had purchased in the 1950s… I would recommend against loading up hot 38-44 loads…your gun is too valuable for that stress.)
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Good to know,
I wish we still had the 34/44 Database. I used it quite often to understand the time frames of these guns.
Also I wonder if post war HDs and OD serial numbers share the same time lines. I might think adjustable sight N frame 38 specials guns sold a little slower?
I'm thinking you're right-----they likely sold a little slower---if for no other reason than you could buy a Magnum for not much more. Other than the finish, bright blue or nickel for the Magnum, and I don't know what all for the post-war Outdoorsman (Mine carried the "Satin Blue"----the funky finish.) Aside from the finish, there isn't a dime's worth of difference between the two.
As a complete aside, the heat treating of the pre-war Outdoorsman's cylinder made for an elastic limit of 130,000 lbs. Of interest is the fact "As a matter of fact, the steel as it comes from the mill shows a tensile strength in the neighborhood of 80,000 lbs., which does not make the additional strength gained by treating a necessity (even in our larger calibers)." These words come from a March 1, 1934 letter from Doug Wesson to a gentleman with an inquiring mind who had just ordered a pair of Outdoorsman's----one big one, and one little one. (And if you had to look up the difference between "tensile strength" and "elastic limit", so did I!)
Ralph Tremaine
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