[krimsin]

I have a hand gun with 32 WINCHESTER CTG stamped on the side of the barrel & above the hand grip is stamped TRADE SW MARK logo
also on the top of the wooden hand grip it has the gold SW logo both sides (left & right side)
The top front of the barrel is stamped has some letters but the front sight makes it hard to read the first letter looks like
CLD MASS.U.S.A.PAT’D MAR.XX.XX
Next line with another letter next to the front sight
then OCT.B.01 DEC XX. 01.FEB.X.XX
I have put X s in place of the numbers
the cylinder flips out to the side
Looks like one posted before ,but not the part that holds the end of the screw that goes into the cylinder
its molded into the barrel

Anyone have any information about this hand gun?

[krimsin]

I saw the post from Sargent

History of 32 Smith & Wesson

My gun look like it but the logo on the gun is only on the right side and is about 1 inch high
The front sight is a little different to

[rcmodel]

It is one on the models of the 32-20 Hand Ejector chambered in 32-20 WCF.
But without a serial number it is impossible to say which model.

BTW: You do not need to x out the dates.

You do need to post the complete serial number, with the last three digits only x'd out, in order for us to give you any further info on what you have.

rcmodel

[Jim K]

The marking should read "Smith & Wesson, Springfield, Mass., U.S.A." then the patent dates.

Jim

[Jim Watson]

The GUN is a Smith & Wesson.
The CALIBER ("CTG is the abbreviation for "Cartridge".) is .32 Winchester Center Fire / .32 WCF / .32-20.

The barrel markings cut short by the front sight blade and the front latch lug gone, tell me that the barrel has been cut off and the sight soldered back on or replaced with a homemade one.

[krimsin]

Stamped on the metal bottom part of the hand grip is 42xxx
On the top of the barrel
LD MASS.U.S.A.PATD’27 MAR.27.94
OCT.8 01.DEC.17.01FEB.6.06
Look like the front blade sight is covering most of the Springfield only the LD is past the sight.
Part of the 2 nd. Line is also covered by the sight
Only what is in CAP’s is what I can see.
When I look with a magnifying glass I can see part of the letting
The side of the barrel is stamped 32 WINCHESTER CTG
The barrel is 4 inches long, I don’t know if it was ever shorten
It was left to me when my dad passed

Thank you for your replies

[Jim K]

If the front sight blade is covering the markings, the barrel has been cut off and the sight replaced.

Jim

[krimsin]

The barrel is 4 inches long from the cylinder
What would be the length of the barrel before it was cut?
Why someone would cut it off
I’m still confused about the two different company logo’s on the same gun
Was this gun pieced together buy someone or what?

[Jim Watson]

I guess Post #5 was not clear, let me try again.

The gun is a Smith & Wesson, it is ALL Smith & Wesson, it is ONLY Smith & Wesson, and has NOT been "pieced together."

The marking ".32 Winchester" refers ONLY to the caliber. The Smith & Wesson GUN shoots the same AMMUNITION as some Winchesters. The caliber is usually written as .32 WCF which stands for Winchester Center Fire, or as .32-20.


The barrel might have been 5, 6, or 6.5" long before it was cut off.
It was cut off because the owner wanted a barrel 4" long instead of something longer.

[knifestuff]

All the info is there. You are being told that the pistol is a Smith and Wesson--that is the only company logo on the gun and is indicated as such by the trademark info. The reference to Winchester just refers to the specific cartridge that the gun is chambered for: 32-20 WCF (Winchester Center Fire). S&W Hand Ejectors came in a wide variety of calibers and the caliber of each particular gun is marked on the barrel, so the shooter knows the caliber of that particular gun. Just as the guns comes in different calibers, it also was manufactured in many different barrel lengths. I think Jim has it exactly right--by your description, the gun originally came with a longer barrel and for whatever reason, a prior owner had the barrel shortened which cut off some of the info on the barrel. Maybe the front of the barrel had become damaged, or more likely, the barrel was too long for what the owner intended and he wanted it shorter (usually for ease of carry).
Caliber designations can be very confusing--that is a very arcane subject that cartridge collectors delight in. It is very comon to have a gun that is in a caliber which refers to another manufacturer. Winchester, Remington, Colt, and Smith and Wesson are all names frequently found in designating a particular cartridge name--just because the cartridge had a competitor's name in the designation didn't mean that another manufacturer didn't make a gun in that caliber. From the sounds of it, your heirloom is just what it says it is: a Smith and Wesson--it isn't a hybrid cobbled together between S&W and Winchester parts lying around some gunshop.

[rcmodel]

A unusually high percentage of 32-20 WCF S&W's got barrels ringed by lodged jacketed bullets a long time ago.
The relatively new Smokeless powder & jacketed bullet loads of the time, designed for rifle length barrels, sometimes squibbed in revolvers, sticking a bullet in the barrel.

The next shot ringed the barrel.

Perhaps that is what happened to this one, and they cut the barrel off to get past the damaged bore nearer the muzzle.

rcmodel

[krimsin]

Do the dates have any useful meaning?
Since the gun being shorten reduces its value?


Also thank you all for the information

[Jim Watson]

The dates are when patents were granted to cover one or another design feature.
It used to be done as part of the advertising to show the guns were "special" and to deter the Spaniards from making cheap copies. Which they did anyhow, but usually with internal differences. The only useful purpose they serve now is to show whether the barrel is still at full length... or not.

[lifesaver]

Have a Smith and Weson 32 winchester CTG 6" hand ejector,
Walnut Checkered grips with gold Emblem butt kind of flares at bottom, 5 digit SN#51XXX Last Date on Barrel looks like Sept. 14 08 or 09. can anyone help me with this.

[Ron James]

You have a Winchester 32-20 cartridge with all that information engraved on it???

[Jim K]

Hi, Lifesaver,

Your gun is the Smith & Wesson .32-20 Hand Ejector, Model 1905, third change.

As noted above, the Winchester is the CARTRIDGE, not the maker of the gun. Calling the gun a Winchester is like calling my car an EXXON.

Jim