Turkey stocks on a 32 Double Action

[shown50]

Bought this gun a couple weeks ago online and finally got it in hand today. It’s a 32 Double Action 2nd model serial 1617. I’m guessing that puts it around 1880-1881, but not really sure.

It came in a hinged box without a label on the ends. The inside of the lid has instructions and there’s a piece of thin paper as well. The box doesn’t have a serial number on the bottom but has either a letter B or 3 that I can barely see. It almost looks like the box was used as something to write on and the letter B or 3 is transfer.

The gun is in okay shape, it functions as it should but needs a good clean up. I don’t collect 32s&w top breaks normally but the stocks are what interested me in the gun.

I know at one point these were faked and reproduced, but I don’t know the difference between real or fake on these. Mine have the serial number in pencil at the top of the right hand stock. The right stock is more faded than the left but besides that they appear to be the same.

At this point I ask the experts, what do you think? Is the box for a different gun since there’s not an end label or serial number? Do the stocks look to be original or fake? Thank for any help!

 

[shown50]

More pictures

 

[shown50]

Last pictures

 

[orbruce]

I think the box is for a 32 Single Action. It has the outline for the partition (missing) and the directions indicate it has a rebounding hammer. The 32 Double Actions did not have rebounding hammers.

B. Mower

 

[mmaher94087]

I believe orbruce is correct about the box being one for the .32 SA minus the partitions. I believe your 'turkey stocks' are legitimate but another picture of the inside of both stocks would help.

 

[iby]

Stocks look good to me

 

[ol777gunnerz]

info

Flitz polish will do a good job to clean it up, it evens out the finish to help cover up the imperfections. It is for nickel plated guns, etc. Do not use on blued guns.

 

[shown50]

Thanks for all the replies. I had a suspicion the box wasn’t for the gun since all the ones I’ve seen online had an end label or the remnants of one.
Do all the 32 Single Action boxes have an end label? I tried to find a nice 32 SA box online to compare mine to but all that I found were in similar shape to mine.
I’ll try to take some more pictures of the back of the stocks when I get off of work.

 

[wlw-19958]

Hi There,

Thanks for all the replies. I had a suspicion the box wasn’t for the gun since all the ones I’ve seen online had an end label or the remnants of one.
Do all the 32 Single Action boxes have an end label? I tried to find a nice 32 SA box online to compare mine to but all that I found were in similar shape to mine.

I have a .32 CF SA with the box and a member here restored
the box for me. He told me the following:

"Box end labels started around 1880, so if you have a
very early gun, the box would not have a label."


Cheers!
Webb

 

[shown50]

Hi There,





I have a .32 CF SA with the box and a member here restored
the box for me. He told me the following:

"Box end labels started around 1880, so if you have a
very early gun, the box would not have a label."


Cheers!
Webb

Thanks for the reply!
I’m going to ask for a shipping date from Roy on the collectors site and see when it shipped. I’ve read S&W would sometimes send out guns in random boxes as they’d use up old stock but the ones I’ve seen had labels. I’m leaning more towards the box being for a different gun than S&W shipped it in the wrong box. The place I got it said it came from an estate that had a few guns with it but this was the only prewar gun.

 

[Boulder350]

Nickel guns in your serial range came with the black turkey grips. Looks like a 3" barrel. Nice gun

 

[mmaher94087]

From offline photos, these stocks are original. Nice find!

The box question about the label on the end follows what Webb stated. SN 4060, 3 1/2", nickel is in a red box with no label. 80075, nickel is in a green box with an orange label. Between the two is SN 43055, blue, in a wood box.

 

[shown50]

Thanks for the replies. I didn’t have a chance to get the gun out last night to get more pictures of the back of the stocks. Here’s a picture I took the other day before I wiped the oil off of them.