When was my 38 Special made?

[flytyer70]

I have what I think is 1905 M&P. 5 screw frame, 6" Barrel, half-moon front sight and a serial # on the square butt which is S 942XX. Please let me know anything you can and what further info might be needed.

Thank you for your time

 

[Muley Gil]

Welcome to the Forum.

You have a post war .38 Military & Police, built between 1945 and 1948.

 

[linde]

I'm thinking the K-frame M&P didn't have an S plus 5 digit serial number . . . C perhaps, but not S. Could it be an N-frame 38/44 HD?

 

[Muley Gil]

"I'm thinking the K-frame M&P didn't have an S plus 5 digit serial number . . ."

linde is correct. I misread the number of digits in the post.

Does this revolver have a shroud under the barrel that encloses the ejector rod or just a small lug that engages the end of the rod? Or perhaps the serial number you posted was off by a digit?

A photo or two would help.

 

[Dosgatos]

M&P did use S prefix after the war - mine is S904415 and dates from 4/47

 

[ajpelz]

M&P did use S prefix after the war - mine is S904415 and dates from 4/47

But your serial number is about 810,000 numbers later than asked about..... I am guessing he left an X off the serial in the OP. No doubt there were post-war M&Ps with S prefix, they were just ALL an S plus a 6 digit number.

 

[linde]

M&P did use S prefix after the war - mine is S904415 and dates from 4/47

Yes, the M&P did have an S prefix between 1945 and 1948 but the lowest S prefix M&P is reported to be S811120 (or by some accounts S769000).

Russ

edit to add: I tend to agree with ajpelz that there is actually another digit that was omitted and Muley Gill was correct with his first response as to date.

 

[flytyer70]

Follow up to "When was my 38 Special made?"

In regards to the question about the serial #, It is very clear on the butt of the pistol that there is "S 942XX". I only Xed 2 numbers. This serial is in the 94000 range. There is a matching number on the cylinder.
As for the shroud under the barrel, there is. I have some photos attached (hopefully).

 

[MR. IHC]

i'm by no means an expert, but it sure looks like an n-frame to me 38/44?

 

[ajpelz]

I am with IHC. That is no M&P. Looks like a 38/44 to me.

 

[Culina]

Nice, 99% of the time these requests for information turn up an M&P or a model 10, this time we have a 38/44 heavy duty.

 

[linde]

Yes, and a very beautiful 38/44 Heavy Duty indeed! I can provide you some basics, but there are HD experts here on the Forum who I hope will provide the details.

First, its full name is the .38/44 Heavy Duty Model of 1950, or sometimes referred to as a Pre-Model 20 . . . the model number assigned in 1957. Its name reflects the fact that it is chambered for the .38 Special but made on the .44 "N" frame which is larger than the M&P's "K" frame. Your .38/44 Heavy Duty is equipped with fixed (service) sights but this same .38/44 was made in the same timeframe with target sights and is know as the .38/44 Outdoorsman Model of 1950 or the pre-model 23.

The serial number would indicate it was a late 1953 or perhaps an early 1954 ship date . . . only a factory letter can provide confirmation of when and where it shipped.

I'll leave . . . "the rest of the story" to the experts.

Enjoy that beautiful Heavy Duty,

Russ

 

[DCWilson]

Beautiful gun. Could that be a 6.5 inch barrel? Measure from the muzzle to the cylinder face. Those longer barrels were uncommon, but they definitely existed according to 1Aspenhill's web site. I don't think there were any HDs with just 6" barrels (but could be wrong).

Rare and valuable, in my opinion. Congratulations!

 

[1Aspenhill]

Yes,
you do have a 38/44 HD there and the barrel length should be 6.5". There are 3ea in the database in the same serial number range. It is a nice looking one. Is the backstrap blue warn off? If it is, take a magnifying glass and see if you can make out any markings that may have been from a PD. Oh, would you send me the full serial number for my database?
Thanks,
Bill

 

[flytyer70]

Thanks for the info. I have located another on an auction site that has a higher serial. That was made in 1950. So I seem to be narrowing the date down. Also side note: In my search for other 38/44 I ran into a website that infected my computer. The site is world.guns.ru, avoid this site like the plaugue.

 

[DCWilson]

Flytyer70, I think your gun may have shipped in 1952. There are several revolvers in the early S9xxxx range that left the factory that year. But because S&W did not have a policy of shipping in serial number order, your gun may have gone out in 1953 or even later, if it sat in inventory for a while.

The other gun you found with a higher serial number was probably assigned to 1950 based on its model number designation, not on any file research that shows when it actually shipped. I would not trust that date.