S&W M&P with BNP markings

[halfneck]

I just ran across an old S&W M&P at a pawn shop. Buddy says it sounds like a old M&P and not a Victory. Barrel has factory .38 Special markings with BNP markings and a 4 pounds per <square symbol>" marking. Barrel is 4" long. Grips are checkered with diamonds & there is no lanyard. Want to saw there was a C* on the butt near the serial number.

Is this an actual .38 Special or was it rechambered? Price is good & I'd like a shooter more than a collector's piece.

Thanks.

 

[mikepriwer]

You should go back to the shop and get the serial number, and write
down the caliber roll markings on the side of the barrel, along with
the barrel length. And get whatever is stamped on the butt, letters
included.

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[flagman1776]

It sounds like an old M & P, but could still be a M & P that was Lend Leased. It could be either 38 S&W or 38 S&W Special so be sure of the barrel markings.
Check inside the yoke for Model markings but I don't expect you'll find them. There will probably be assembly numbers that are not related to the serial numbers.
Russ

 

[Jack Flash]

... Barrel has factory .38 Special markings with BNP markings and a 4 pounds per <square symbol>" marking. ...

BNP means Birmingham Nitro Proof
IE, proofed for smokeless powder in Birmingham, England.
I think if you check again you will see it says

4 TONS PER □ "​

(IE not 4 pounds.)

Early in WWII, England was desperate for weapons of any type. There are stories of British Civil Defense forces being armed with medieval pikes and battle axes to guard air bases and the like after Dunkirk. Any and all spare firearms our military had were shipped over. American hardware and sporting goods stores put out barrels with signs beseeching their customers to donate any old guns they could part with, regardless of caliber, as long as it would shoot. It could be that your revolver was pressed into service one way or the other. After the war, it was sold as surplus and made its way back to the US.

 

[Ballarat]

I go with jackFlash, would be four tons per sq.inch, it may well be original 38spl cartridge. The Brits were desperate for any kind of firearm then. The C* marking has raised my interest. Where abouts is that stamp, on the butt before or after the serial number? The * mark was applied to arms that had been refinished by S&W I think after the serial number. If it has been refinished then under the left grip there will be a refinishing code of figures e.g. 42550 meaning 25 April 1950. Need a bit more info.

 

[halfneck]

Finally got a some free time during the holiday madness to go get some more info.

Butt of the revolver: C* 6813xx

Barrel, left side: 4 Tons per Square", .38 Special marking - non factory looking stamp, Smith & Wesson.

Barrel, right side: .38 S&W Special.

BNP on the cylinder & frame

 

[mikepriwer]

Well - the C* is strange. If it were a C series gun, ie, the serial
number would be C 6813XX, that is well after WW2 . Sometime around
the 1950's . It seems doubtful that such a gun would be BNP
proofed.

Given that its a 38 Special, my guess is that the real serial number is
6813XX, and the C is not part of the serial number, and the * does
not indicate a factory rework. If it were, the * would be to the right
of the serial number, not between the C and the 6.

Serial number 6813XX would, more than likely, be a 38 special, and
it could well have found its way to England.

Without any pictures, I can't comment further.

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[halfneck]

The C* does not appear close enough to be part of the serial # if that helps. It is to the left of the serial # on the butt though.

 

[deadin]

It could be post war. All the BNP and other proofs indicate is that the gun was sold commercially in Britain.
(Don't know what the "*" would be though.)
I once had a chance at a M46 that was BNP marked.
Unfortunately I was in England at the time and had no way of bringing it back.

 

[captainjohnsofd]

A short history lesson- the British Government contracted S&W to build a 9mm carbine, the "Light Rifle" in 1940. It was not successful but the Brits paid upfront. They agreed to accept M&P revolvers in .38-200 cal. to satisfy the contract. Thousands of M&P's were made and sent over. This saved S&W from bankruptcy. Interesting story.

 

[mikepriwer]

The C, like the K for target post-WW2 models, was sometimes way
way off to the left . It's almost as though they were still using the
same old pre-WW2 6-digit serial-number stamping machine, and
adding the C or K by hand. I don't know if that is what they did,
but I do know that the C & the K are often, if not always, found
way over to the left. This is what confuses people about the serial
number; they don't realize that the C or K is really a part of the
serial number.

In this case, and without pictures, that there is a * between the
C and first digit of the serial number, suggests to me that neither
are a part of the serial number.

Later, Mike Priwer