[DaShockMan]

Could anyone give me some more info on this gun. Year range, model, value.
It is a 38 and the only number marking i can make out on the top of the gun looks like 1880.
http://thumb9.webshots.net/t/59/559/8/36/13/2083836130052875269VnZXkv_th.jpg (http://sports.webshots.com/photo/2083836130052875269VnZXkv)

[Marko Kloos]

Looks like you have a S&W .38 Double Action 2nd Model, or possibly a 3rd or 4th Model. A serial number would help nail down the variant, as they all pretty much look the same in a picture and only differ in very small details.

The .38 DA 2nd Model was made from 1880-1884, the 3rd Model from 1884-1895, and the 4th Model from 1895-1909. They should not be fired with modern smokeless .38S&W rounds, as these guns were designed for the old blackpowder load of that caliber.

Book value places it at ~250-ish in exc. to fine conditions, but the book is usually fairly low...around here, collectors tend to pay quite a bit more than book value if the gun fits a hole in the collection.

[DaShockMan]

Thank you. I haven't shot the gun yet, im glad i asked this before i did. The serial is 465929 i think but am not positive. Would that narrow it down anymore.

[Marko Kloos]

That serial number makes it a .38 Double Action 4th Model, manufactured ~1904, give or take a year.

I'm not a huge authority on the .38DA and its ability to take smokeless loads, but I know that .38S&W is loaded quite mild from the factory because of the possibility of someone shooting them in an old top-break gun, and there's at least one member here who seems to have fired his 4th Model with factory ammo without a problem:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=41138

However, I'll wait for someone more knowledgeable to chime in on that subject. Until then, I'd not shoot it with modern ammo.