S&W 1905 year of manufacture??
- Thread starter Zathras
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Those silver medallion grips ARE correct for a 1930s M&P.
Thank you. Finally a definitive answer...so my gun, made in the 30's is supposed to have a non medallion set of grips...so that would or would not be correct based on this reply???
A 1930s M&P revolver should have silver medallion grips. Convex non-medallion M&P grips were standard in the 1920s.
still at the risk of repetition, I was told 2 things here in regards to the grips I have on my gun pictured : 1.: that it should have non medallion grips. 2: that the medallions on the grips should be silver not gold..Hence my confusion...So based on what you have just told me...Its possible I do have the correct grips..and if I may add, can it be possible smith might have just put on whatever grips they had on hand at the time this gun was made???
Seems the answers have already been provided but here's the way I see it. Your gun, with the gold medallion grips, is from 1930ish but the grips are from 1920 or before. The non-medallion grips were for the next ten years, and the silver medallion ones are correct for your 1930s gun.
And having looked at your other pictures of the right side of the gun, I don't see signs of a refinish there either. The seam for the side-late appears about as tight as it could possibly be.
Jeff
SWCA #1457
And having looked at your other pictures of the right side of the gun, I don't see signs of a refinish there either. The seam for the side-late appears about as tight as it could possibly be.
Jeff
SWCA #1457
handejector
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I did not see anyone tell you that you should have non-medallion grips. Maybe I missed it.
Your gun definitely had silver medallion grips.
We call the grips on your gun "gold medallion grips". They are not silver. They are yellow because they are made of yellow brass. When new, they had a light gold wash that was real gold. They are 1/2 inch in diameter.---
Here is what you need. They have chrome plated brass medallions, so we call them "silver medallion". The medallions are 3/8 inch in diameter---
And NO, S&W did not just stick any kind of grips on a gun depending on what was laying around.
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Exactly this has always been true with S&W. Obviously, if you have some stocks that were typical 10 years before your likely date of production, the chance is slim but S&W has never wasted anything they could use.
Also, without requesting and paying for a factory letter, our guesses on serial number are only guesses. Some frames/serial numbers got placed on a shelf and "lost" or were held back for whatever reason, so they did not get shipped for sale until MANY years later.
Never say never with S&W. Only a factory letter can really definitively answer some of these questions and even that is a gamble because sometimes they simply don't have good records on what you're hoping to learn.
Have you checked the back of the right grip for a serial number? When those grips with the 1/2" gold medallions were used, they had the serial number written in pencil on the back of the right one. Grips placed on revolvers in the 1930s had the SN stamped on the back of the right one.
handejector
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That belief has become very exaggerated, probably because of the very few exceptions we see discussed here.
S&W has literally scrapped TONS of obsolete parts thru the years. Bill Orr bought a large truckload of obsolete parts in the 70s when the Factory did a large cleanup. He paid $10,000 and, as I recall, he made S&W deliver them to his store in GA! When they came in, Bill called Joe DeSaye at J&G rifle ranch and said "Have I got a deal for you!". Bill sold Joe enough barrels and cylinders in that phone call to recoup his $10,000, and had beaucoup left! Over the next decades Bill sold over $500,000 worth of those parts! He told me it was the best deal he had ever made, and he was serious.
He sold the remaining parts to Jerry. I don't remember how much he got. Jerry sold them for years and made money, then sold the remainder to Jack Frost, who is still selling them!I once had dozens of Pre-War round butt K frame grips that were completely finished with shaping and checkering but did not have the oil finish applied. They lacked the 1/2" gold medallions but had the holes for them. I also had quite a few left panels only of that same style that were completely finished. I think I finally scrapped those for the medallions cause nobody would buy them.
As I said above, I have M&Ps with the extractors that have round ends on 05 changes that should have dowels. I am not surprised that they would not scrap completed cylinders and extractors, but most buyers would never notice that. When it comes to obvious features like grips and medallions, I don't think you will find many "out-of-period" features.
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Just to reiterate what I believe has been said several times, and to second Jeff's comments:
1. Your gun did NOT come with NON-medallion grips.
2. Yes, your gun should have silver medallion grips, not gold.
It is not likely S&W put 10 year old gold medallion grips on a new gun. So, my conclusion is the grips were replaced sometime during its life by a previous owner.
BTW, with respect to posting pictures, you might fine this helpful.
Video Tutorials on Posting Pictures
1. Your gun did NOT come with NON-medallion grips.
2. Yes, your gun should have silver medallion grips, not gold.
It is not likely S&W put 10 year old gold medallion grips on a new gun. So, my conclusion is the grips were replaced sometime during its life by a previous owner.
BTW, with respect to posting pictures, you might fine this helpful.
Video Tutorials on Posting Pictures
James K
Member
There are no stamps or anything hand written on the inside of the grips.
There are no stamps or anything hand written on the underside of these grips
I know that Proppert's Gun Parts had purchased a large lot of Model 1891 Single Shot barrels that were in-the-white. I purchased a couple of them back several years ago and talked with the owner who said they came from a secondary seller that bought them from Bill Orr. I ran across 1910s round butt gold medallion stocks that were new-old-stock and completed but had no finish applied. My guess is they were also in the semi-truck full of Bill's purchase. Every time I run across a vintage new barrel or cylinder, I think of Bill's big venture.
Grip issue corrected
well..its been an interesting experience...First, an uneven road as to whether or not this gun was reblued, and the consensus in the final analysis, is that it probably was not. Next, the grip issue. I just purchased based on the information here, and the 1905 at west point, the correct time period grips, since the serial # for this gun is verified as being in the 1930's..so that should close the issue..I learned a valuable lesson..that even experts can disagree on opinion. Thank you again, those that weighed in on this.
well..its been an interesting experience...First, an uneven road as to whether or not this gun was reblued, and the consensus in the final analysis, is that it probably was not. Next, the grip issue. I just purchased based on the information here, and the 1905 at west point, the correct time period grips, since the serial # for this gun is verified as being in the 1930's..so that should close the issue..I learned a valuable lesson..that even experts can disagree on opinion. Thank you again, those that weighed in on this.
