S&W Single shot pistols

[ursus]

Hi all,
My first post on this forum!

I got a friend that in his gunclub has these two Singel Shot .22 pistols.
I think it is one 2nd edition (the lower one) and one 3rd edition (the upper one)
Serial number are 3418 (lower one) och 10525 (upper one).
These guns has been used as target guns for niewbies in the gun club during several decades. They now searching for information about these guns.

Am I correct in my guesses about the models?
Anyone who have further info about them?
Are they interesting collectibles?
Approx value?

Best regards
Björn Svensson
Sweden, Europe

 

[glowe]

There are many experts on these single shots in the Forum and I am sure they will add more information soon.

The lower one is a Second Model Single Shot. These were made from 1905 to 1909, with only 4617 manufactured. All had 10" barrels and were blued or nickel. The one pictured is missing the front sight and has a non-standard trigger guard. I think these were made with a standard trigger guard without the spur, but that guard does look good on the gun.

The top is a Third Model Single Shot, also known as the Perfected Model. These were made from 1909 to 1923 with about 7000 made. All were blued and had a 10" barrel.

Look to be in very good condition and are quite desirable to the S&W collectors. I have seen these routinely sell above $1000, but others more knowledgable than I will comment on value.

 

[deadin]

glowe,
The 2nd model also came in 6 & 8 inch. I have an 8".

 

[ursus]

Thanx a lot for the info guys!
This is great news for us.
Any one with more info will be great also!

 

[rboineau]

You might think about replacing both front sights with blades similar to originals. Shouldn't be a difficult machine-shop job and I'm sure people here on the Forum could give you dimensions. Doubt replacement original parts are available but you never know.

 

[red9]

The 2nd model, being the scarcer of the two, might go over $1000, even with the incorrect front sight. The 3rd model is more common and appears to be missing the front and rear. The hammer is also not original. If it can be determined who modified the hammer and trigger guard, it may not lower the value. These collector's guns can be replaced with better beginner's target pistols for far less than their value.

Bob

 

[rct269]

And not to be outdone, the Third Model also came with 6" & 8" barrels.

Not that it will do any good, but I am desperately in need of a 6" 2nd Model and an 8" 3rd Model. "Desperately in need" means I will happily pay an obscene amount of money for either/both.

The bad news is I have been desperately in need of both these guns for a looooooooooooong time------during which I have seen exactly one 6" 2nd Model (a piece of junk) and no 8" 3rd Models at all. It should be noted I actually have seen what appeared to be 8" 3rd Models on a couple of ocassions----nice ones too, but they were completely bogus guns.

Ralph Tremaine