Smith & Wesson Fourth Model DA in .38 S&W?

[.455_Hunter]

Greetings,

I have been lurking on this forum for a awhile, but finally got my stuff together yesterday and joined.

I stopped by a local gun store yesterday morning and noticed a little gem hiding in the case. It is a Nickel-Plated Smith & Wesson Fourth Model Double Action in .38 S&W (5 shot) with ivory grips (nicely aged). I would say the gun is in good-very good condition with good mechanics, a somewhat pitted bore (lots of BP rounds and corrosive primers) and kind of dirty.
Could the ivory be original?
He is asking $350. Is this a good price? If not, what should I offer him?
It definitely seems like the gun would be a good limited shooter with mild factory or reloaded ammo.

Please Comment.

Thanks,

Hunter

 

[.455_Hunter]

Greetings,

I have been lurking on this forum for a awhile, but finally got my stuff together yesterday and joined.

I stopped by a local gun store yesterday morning and noticed a little gem hiding in the case. It is a Nickel-Plated Smith & Wesson Fourth Model Double Action in .38 S&W (5 shot) with ivory grips (nicely aged). I would say the gun is in good-very good condition with good mechanics, a somewhat pitted bore (lots of BP rounds and corrosive primers) and kind of dirty.
Could the ivory be original?
He is asking $350. Is this a good price? If not, what should I offer him?
It definitely seems like the gun would be a good limited shooter with mild factory or reloaded ammo.

Please Comment.

Thanks,

Hunter

 

[Pistol Toter]

Mr. Hunter you need to reference your question of yesterday on the "THE HIGH ROAD" forum. I am the same guy that answered you yesterday. P.T.

 

[.455_Hunter]

Thanks to thoose of you who have replied over at The High Road about production date ranges and blue book values. I was hoping to get some additional responses about shootability, ivory grip worth, etc. on this forum. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I called the gunshop back today. The gun is supposedly a Third Model, not a Forth Model. How much does that shift the date range and value? The serial number is 129,XXX.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Pistol Toter]

The third model was made 1884-1895. The SCSW does not make mention of ivory grips, so if they are orginal to the gun it would have been a special order. As far as the shootability goes, this gun will not withstand the presures of smokeless powder. Can it be shot? Possibly, after it was thoroughly checked out by a qualified gunsmith / aromour. This is NOT a .38 S&W Special but a .38 S&W; two different chamberings. I will admit that I'm conservative in these matters, but that old gun is 112+ plus years old. Put it under glass.
The $350 dollars is a lot of money, but not really. PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES, worth thousands of words and condition makes a big difference. If you're looking for something to shoot go buy you a modern gun. I know that it would be neat to fire and it would; but what is even better is to have a genuine working model that will fire, A hand full of pieces is scrap iron. If I knew where the gun was and could get to it, that it checked out by my inspection; I would negotiate a bit to obtain the best price, and then plunk down the money. The ole gun would be taken to my trusted gunsmith and I would let him check it, make whatever repairs he deem in good sence, cleaned it up, lubed very well and put it up. The Irory grips I can not advise. If they are real ivory they are expensive. Now go buy the gun if you are amind. Maybe Dick Burg or Jim Supica or SmithNut will jump in here.

 

[.455_Hunter]

PT- Thanks for the info. I have several weapons in .38 S&W and am familiar with the round compared to the .38 Special. It would be nice to be able to fire a cylinder full or so per year just for nostalgia's sake, but if the gun is unsafe, its unsafe. Do modern smokeless .38 S&W loads actually develop more pressure than the old BP loads? From what I've chrono'ed, the (especially Remington) modern loads are very weak in the velocity/energy department- even less than the listed 685 fps/150 ft-lbs numbers. The BP round would have to be really wimpy to not beat these numbers. I understand there are different burning/pressure characteristics between BP and smokeless, but at this level of performance are they significant or just in the noise?

 

[Pistol Toter]

I'm not necessarly familar with all the technical jargon, but the older powders as I understand do not have the high burn rates and the power spikes are good bit slower. Yes, the powder continues to burn as the projectile is in motion down the barrel; but it's not as explosive. Take an old Demascus barreled shotgun for instance, modern powder will wreck one. The old pistols while made with good steel of the day were not heat treated to the exacting standards used today, the same is true with the high tensiled strength of todays metals. You might get away with it and then again, maybe not. Becareful and use reasoning. Remember black powder is very corrosive, so when using it be sure to get all of that stuff clean out. Ya know I haven't seen it but I probably would buy that old gun and do just what I said. But I like old things. Come to think of it I'm a dinosaur.

 

[Old 44 Guy]

.455 Hunter. I picked one like yours up last year. Serial #269,xxx. Used but not abused, around 50% nickle & lightly pitted bore. Actually cleaned up pretty good. I reloaded some brass I had laying around using an old Lyman book I've had for years. Using reduced loads & 145 gr. lead bullets it surprised me on it's accuracy. No signs of pressure & ejection was easy. Sure was a thrill shooting the old Smith.

 

[H Richard]

I picked up a .38 DA 3rd about a year ago, and while the bore is near mint, I have it under glass in a shadow box frame sitting on my roll top desk top. Just under the framed poster of "International Museum Tour", showing three of the most gorgous break tops you will ever see, Tiffany silver and gold inlay. The .38 DA is more in keeping with what I can afford.