S&W Idenfification Request

[pwhphd]

I am trying to help a friend identify a handgun inherited from his father. I told him I am no expert, but many on this forum are. It is a full size, 4" barrel, revolver with Serial Number 198XXX. Printed on one side of the barrel is 38 S&W Special Ctg. On the other side of the barrel are the following Patent dates: Mar.7'94, May 21'95, Aug.4'98, Dec.22'98, Dec.17'01, Feb6'08, Sept 14'09. I do not have the gun, so I cannot show a photograph, plus I can't seem to effectively load photos here anyway. Any help will be appreciated. It looks to me to possibly be an early M&P ?

 

[DCWilson]

Yes, an early M&P. To be precise, it is a Model of 1905, Third Change. It was manufactured after the last patent date you see stamped on the barrel (obviously!), but before 1914, when there was another patent established that pretty much governed subsequent M&P production (M1905, Fourth Change) through WW2.

There's a tutorial on posting photos in the forum office section of this forum. That technique involves setting up an image hosting account (like Photobucket, for example). You can also post pictures here by uploading directly from your computer as you post a message. Use the "Manage Attachments" button that you can see down below the composition window on the "reply to thread" page.