Here are my contributions:
Terry
Terry
Some I-frame ?'s
- Thread starter Green Frog
- Start date
sandwtrader
SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
Terry: Very nice I-Frames! Great pics too. Thanks for sharing. If you ever find a need to allow someone else to be their care taker, I volunteer!
L Slaten
L Slaten
WOW!!
Some really great pics of really neat gear! Thank you for
sharing. TACC1
Some really great pics of really neat gear! Thank you for
sharing. TACC1
This one letters as shipping to a distributor. It's the only one I've seen or heard of. It's a first year 1903 no change.
Every time I see that revolver my heart skips a beat. A four-inch .32 Target from the dawn of the second model age! Nothing could be cooler.
Obviously S&W knew at one point that there was a market for adjustable sights on shorter barrel I-frames. Why did it take them so long to get around to manufacturing the Kit Gun? And why didn't they offer a regular production .32 Kit Gun in the prewar decades? (I know they dabbled in .32 Kit Guns after the war, both with the use-up-old-parts 1957 guns and again with the stainless model briefly offered in the 1980s, if I remember the date correctly. I have never seen one of those later guns.)
CptCurl
Member
phenson
US Veteran
This little 6" 1903 .32 shipped in Nov '41. I've always wondered how many more were made after this one. Anyways, I think you're looking at one of the last ones ever made.
Patrick, the highest known serial number on any prewar I-frame is a little under 534600. The highest serial number on a .32 hand ejector known to me is a few thousand lower, and the company must have had many .32 HEs left in storage during the war. A few guns with prewar numbers were shipped after the war. And some guns with 51xxxx and 52xxxx serial numbers, some of which must have been assembled in the late '20s and early '30s, were not shipped until 1940 and 1941.
Regardless of when your gun was assembled, it is definitely one of the last ones shipped before the US declared war.
And it's a beauty. Congratulations on having it in the collection.
Regardless of when your gun was assembled, it is definitely one of the last ones shipped before the US declared war.
And it's a beauty. Congratulations on having it in the collection.
OP
Green Frog
Member
Not knowing the SN of your HE, Patrick, I can only surmise that if it is much below the 530xxx range it may have sat around in the vault for a long time. I base this on the relative rarity (due to lack of demand??) for the round butt 6" HE. It seems that the longer barrel was more popular with the Regulation Police configuration, thus making your example doubly special. Thanks for sharing. 
Froggie
PS NINE PAGES! Who would have thought this thread would elicit this kind of enthusiastic response? I know I didn't. Thanks to all for your participation. GF
Froggie
PS NINE PAGES! Who would have thought this thread would elicit this kind of enthusiastic response? I know I didn't. Thanks to all for your participation. GF
phenson
US Veteran
It does have a SN of 513XXX, so, it was assembled possibly long before it shipped. It actually is in much better condition than depicted in the photo. Thanks for the info.
Not knowing the SN of your HE, Patrick, I can only surmise that if it is much below the 530xxx range it may have sat around in the vault for a long time. I base this on the relative rarity (due to lack of demand??) for the round butt 6" HE. It seems that the longer barrel was more popular with the Regulation Police configuration, thus making your example doubly special. Thanks for sharing.
Froggie
PS NINE PAGES! Who would have thought this thread would elicit this kind of enthusiastic response? I know I didn't. Thanks to all for your participation. GF
saaman
Member
Not as pretty as everyone else's, but it is a tight and accurate gun with all matching numbers from the 1920s:
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Not as pretty as everyone else's, but it is a tight and accurate gun with all matching numbers from the 1920s:
Let me fix the coding so the pic shows up here instead of the link.
Nice. I like it.
gordonrick
Member
What do you mean, saaman? It's a beauty!
saaman
Member
Thanks David for fixing the coding--I was trying to figure out how to do that and still not sure.
And thanks gordonrick--I personally like its look. Probably carried more than shot in all these years.
Well I did finally figure out the correct coding. Thanks everybody.
And thanks gordonrick--I personally like its look. Probably carried more than shot in all these years.
Well I did finally figure out the correct coding. Thanks everybody.
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Varangi
Member
Looking for Information
I've been trying, for years, to find some information about this handgun and I believe it to be an I frame Terrier in .38 ctg. Can anyone tell me about the gun., i.e., when was it made, what is the value, is it a collector? The seriel number on the butt is 638XX. I would appreciate any information you have. I will try to send pix but I'm not sure I know how.
I've been trying, for years, to find some information about this handgun and I believe it to be an I frame Terrier in .38 ctg. Can anyone tell me about the gun., i.e., when was it made, what is the value, is it a collector? The seriel number on the butt is 638XX. I would appreciate any information you have. I will try to send pix but I'm not sure I know how.
Attachments
OP
Green Frog
Member
Welcome to the Forum, longbowe. What you have there is indeed an I-frame, chambered for the 38 S&W CARTRIDGE (shorter and fatter than the 38 Spl) and referred to by the factory as the "Terrier." Unlike some of my brethren I need to look up the serial number to know for sure unless one more piece of info is provided. If there is a small screw at the bottom of the front grip strap (called a strain screw) to retain the flat mainspring, it is an example of the first post-War Terrier, or if the grip strap is smooth there, it is the second or so-called "Improved I-frame" version that came along about 1952 with the changeover to coil mainspring. From memory, I'm guessing it's the latter. Either way, seeing the half round front sight puts it between the end of WW II and about 1953, give or take. It is a very nice example of the breed and would be sought after by lovers of I-frames (like myself.)
Froggie
Froggie
OP
Green Frog
Member
Yep, that's the J-frame that replaced the pre-War "Heavy Frame Target," S&W's reigning 22 target revolver until the advent of the K-22. From what I can make out in your picture it looks like a nice one.
Froggie
Longbowe, welcome. Yes, your gun is a .38/32 Terrier. The serial number points to postwar production on the basic prewar design, but with a few engineering improvements. I would think that gun probably shipped in 1952 or maybe 1953.
Value? Terriers are in demand these days, and if you had one new in the box from that era you could probably expect to sell it for nearly a thousand. In high 90s condition without the box maybe $500-600. The one in the photos looks to have a little surface rust going, so I would put the value between $400 and $500. A good cleaning and oiling would do wonders for its appearance -- and probably raise its commercial potential as well.
Value? Terriers are in demand these days, and if you had one new in the box from that era you could probably expect to sell it for nearly a thousand. In high 90s condition without the box maybe $500-600. The one in the photos looks to have a little surface rust going, so I would put the value between $400 and $500. A good cleaning and oiling would do wonders for its appearance -- and probably raise its commercial potential as well.
Thanks Green Frog. I appreciate the info. I'm considering selling the piece but I don't know yet.
Thanks again,
Longbowe
Thanks again,
Longbowe
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