What .32 Long did I see today?

[Jaymo]

6 shot, hand ejector. Flat latch. 5 screw. Looks like an I frame.
Cylinder and butt shorter than J frame. Round butt.
BUT, no strain screw. No model number.
Letter prefix serial number. Forget the number. Maybe C?

Trying to decide if I want to get it.
Cylinder was stiff to turn. Action seemed stiff.
Crane (yoke) is not bent. Gun is dirty as all get-out.
Insides are probably glued together with dried, dirty, old oil.

I can get it for $219.

BTW, it's a 3 inch, fixed sights.

Finish has wear, but no visible abuse.
Diamond Magnas.

The lack of a strain screw is what is throwing me.
I just can't remember what this model is called.

I'm thinking the frame is an Improved I frame, but am unsure.
Memory is a little faulty on that.

Any help appreciated as to frame/model ID, value, approximate date of build/ship. Down to about a decade, anyway. I know actual ship date requires serial number.

Would the improved I frame have had a coil spring like a J?
Is the improved I frame DA trigger heavier than a J?
SA trigger was amazingly light and crisp, with no push-off.

Having been burned once on a gun with push-off, it's one of the first things I check now.

Sorry, no pics. They don't allow pics or video of their inventory because they've had some unsavory fellows use smartphone video to help decide what GS to rob.

 

[Jaymo]

Also, the front sight looks like the front sight on my 1969 31-1.

Basically, it looks like a 30-1 3", except for the shorter cylinder/cylinder window, grip frame, flat latch, and the 5 screws.

 

[Hondo44]

Jaymo,

Your excellent detailed description has made it simple to identify, and you are correct!

It's a .32 Hand Ejector, 'Improved I frame' which are '5 screws'; the absence of the tension screw, the 6th screw, is the dead giveaway that it does have a coil mainspring and is therefore the Improved I.

The reason it has the ramp front sight and barrel rib like your 31-1 is because it is a 'Late' Improved I frame; lowest known #60430X, c. 1953.

The best place to read the serial # is on the butt. It's in 6 locations but not in the yoke cut of the frame. The 'C' you saw is an inspector stamp with the factory assembly or work #.

These with ramp sight preceded the Model of 1953 'NEW' I frame with large trigger guard and longer grip frame same as the J. But they were actually being shipped concurrently with the NEW I frames.

The model numbers began in June 1957.

I'm sure you're right that the action and cyl have congealed oil/grease. The price is a steal if it has any original finish at all. I would grab it. Take the grips off and soak the entire gun in gun cleaner or spray it with Breakfree Powder Blaster or Kroil in every crevice until it runs out clean; especially the cyl. Let drip dry and re-spray with Breakfree CLP or M-Pro 7, wipe down the exterior and go shooting!

Here are all the models in evolutionary order. The one you looked at is top right:

LEFT SIDE:
.32 HE Pre-War I frame Model 1903 (2nd Model)-5th Change, 3 ¼", top left;

Post war .32 Hand Ejector, 3rd models:

.32 Regulation Police Transitional I Frame w/Rd sight, 3 ¼", 6 screw, rebated sq butt, c. 1949, next;
.32 HE 'early' Improved I Frame w/Rd sight, 2", 5 screw, rd butt, c. late 1951, bottom.

RIGHT SIDE:
.32 HE late Improved I w/ramp sight & barrel rib, 3", 5 screw, rd butt, shipped c. 1953, top right;
.32 R.P. Model of 1953 New I frame, 3", 3 & 4 screw, sq butt, c. 1954, next;
.32 R.P. Target Transitional I, 4", 6 screw, rebated sq butt, 1957, next;
.32 R.P. J frame Model 31-1, 3", 3 screw, sq butt, 1980, bottom.

Much more detail here:
THE POST WAR I FRAMES EVOLUTION - Smith & Wesson Forum

 

[Green Frog]

Jaymo,

As soon as I started reading your OP I thought to myself, "This sounds like a job for Hondo44" and sure enough he gave you all of the answer you really need. I would only add that based on the prices those little guns are bringing now, you can go "rob" that gun shop right now and don't even have to be an unsavory character! Any of the little I- or J-frames seem to be rising in value more quickly than one would expect, and being a fairly short-lived production item (compared to the "old" I-frame and the J-frame versions that bracket it) this one could be a key piece in a representative collection.

Plus, it will be a HOOT TO SHOOT!!

Froggie

 

[Jaymo]

Wow. Hondo 44 for the win.
Excellent information. Thanks.
It looks just like the one on the top right.

Just like my 31-1 (just like yours on bottom right), except for flat latch, shorter cylinder, shorter grip frame, and hammer that looks more like a scaled down postwar K frame hammer than a J frame hammer.

I will stop by tomorrow.
I think I need to remove the stocks and soak the whole thing in an empty plastic coffee can full of kerosene.
After a couple of days, I should have filthy kerosene and a clean Smith.

BTW, gotta love those plastic Folgers and Maxwell House cans.
Handle molded in.
Lid snaps on securely.
Cut a slot in lid for coins, and you have a free piggy bank.
Put small handgun in it and fill halfway with kerosene.
Let soak, and shake gently.

BTW, Hondo 44, I like your collection of little .32s.
I absolutely love my 31-1. Easy to carry. Easy to shoot. Easy to shoot accurately. Easy to shoot all day without hand fatigue. Cheap to cast/load ammo for said all day shooting.
Did I mention light kicking and accurate/reliable to a fault?

 

[Hondo44]

Jaymo,

Yes, 32s and 44s are my favorite in Smiths and Ruger SAs. Many haven't tumbled to the secret of the 32s for their fun and accuracy.

My favorite 32 shooter is a non-factory target model, homemade 'Kit Gun'
4" J frame Model 30-1 1966 vintage. Target features added: hammer, trigger, adj rear sight, ramped front sight w/sight base, modified factory target stocks. Changed the flat cyl latch to a pre war "double pinch" latch. Also has a spare cyl reamed to 32 H&R Mag.

 

[tjpopkin]

Jim,
Did YOU do the gunsmithing on the J-frame? If not, who?
You know my passion for .32s, and it is very cool!
Just found a new 632 (blk)in a dealer inventory (no buyers), and a 632-Pro from a forum member.

Terry

 

[Jaymo]

Very nice non-factory target .32.
It looks like a miniature Model 15.
Good job. I like how it turned out.
I did notice the serial number is on the butt, the barrel flat, and the cylinder.
IIRC, they all match.
I think I'll get it "Just 'cause".

The SA pull surprised me. Accurate SA shooting should be a cinch.

BTW, I also am a fan of .44s. .44 Special is my absolute favorite handgun round.
I shoot my .32 a lot more than my .44s, these days.
Ammo is just so much cheaper to load for the .32.

 

[Jaymo]

S/N is 61040X.
What year did that ship?
Ended up getting it for $200.
It has a good bit of holster wear.
Hosed it down with Birchwood Casey Barricade.
Cylinder spins freely.
DA pull is better.
Timing, carry up, and lock up are excellent.
Letting it soak overnight.
Will clean it thoroughly this weekend and lube it.
Will post pics then.

You've been a great help and I appreciate it.

BTW, the stocks number to the gun.

 

[Hondo44]

Jim,
Did YOU do the gunsmithing on the J-frame? If not, who?
You know my passion for .32s, and it is very cool!
Just found a new 632 (blk)in a dealer inventory (no buyers), and a 632-Pro from a forum member.

Terry

Terry,

I actually bought that one and re-did it. Someone sold it pretty cheap. Who ever did it originally didn't do it right, there wasn't enough rear sight travel, but all the parts were included. I had to re-mill the cuts for the rear sight and now it works like factory.

Congrats on the new ones. Are those 32 H&R or 327 Fed Mag?

 

[Jaymo]

When the counter-monkey at the LGS was filling out the 4473, he was unsuccessfully trying to find a model number.

You don't know just how tempted I was to tell him the model designation is ".32 S&W Long Ctg".

BTW, I was obviously mistaken about it having an alpha prefix to the serial number.
It was a combination of the 6 being spaced farther from the other numbers and the absence of my reading glasses.

 

[Jaymo]

As it turns out, I like the look of the flat latch and short Magnas.
I don't care for the functionality of them, though.

 

[Hondo44]

When the counter-monkey at the LGS was filling out the 4473, he was unsuccessfully trying to find a model number.

You don't know just how tempted I was to tell him the model designation is ".32 S&W Long Ctg".

BTW, I was obviously mistaken about it having an alpha prefix to the serial number.
It was a combination of the 6 being spaced farther from the other numbers and the absence of my reading glasses.

LOL! Glad you got it.

 

[Jaymo]

It has a good bit of apparent holster wear on the sides of the barrel, at the front corners of the frame where the barrel threads in, and on the cylinder.
But, mechanically it's perfect.
Needs to be shot a bunch, to smooth out where the front of the trigger pushes down the cylinder stop.
I'm hesitant to do any stoning or polishing of those parts. Plus, I don't know where my ultra fine ceramic stone is.

 

[Hondo44]

Jaymo,

That is one area that is not such a critical fit and can be honed smooth w/o fear of screwing up anything. A simple job as well.