[chisox]

After my Dad died in December, I found this S&W revolver among his things. I am looking for information about this gun.
It has no hammer, has "38 S & W OTO" stamped on the barrel. It has a serial number of 140468 stamped on the bottom of the handle.

[The Lone Haranguer]

Some of the "old guys" will know more, but that is a Safety Hammerless (actually a concealed hammer), often called a "Lemon Squeezer" due to the grip safety, chambered for .38 S&W (not Special), and it is at least - probably well over - 100 years old. "OTO" is likely "CTG", an abbreviation of "cartridge." A derivative of its action is still in use today.

[HammerBite]

It appears to be a .38 Safety Hammerless 4th Model ca. 1898-1907.

[mec]

outstanding revolvers:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0BTT/is_146_24/ai_61861511

[Iggy]

A guess is that it has been refinished at some time.. That is why the CTG is hard to read and it looks like the trademark may have been polished down a bit.

This does say there is anything wrong with it. Many of the guns of this era have been refinished over time.
It's a nice looking gun, but if it has been refinished the collector value has been diminished.

That said, it is a very nice revolver and since it has come down through the family, you should hang onto it as a valued heirloom.

[chisox]

Thanks for the information. What is the best way to store this gun. There is already a bit of tarnish/rust on the body.

[Jim K]

Clean it good to remove any residue left from the last time it was fired. Then oil the chambers and inside the barrel, and give it a rubdown with a good gun oil. Store it in an acid free cardboard box, wrapped it in Vapor Phase Inhibitor (VPI) paper if you can find any.

Jim

[Cocked & Locked]

Nice looking. Instead of gun oil on the outer surface, I like to put a couple of coats of Johnson's Paste Wax on nickled guns that I'm going to store...then the vapor paper.

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2169/3082611/6259637/260863201.jpg

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2169/3082611/6486421/328391449.jpg

http://pic90.picturetrail.com/VOL2169/3082611/6259637/166278259.jpg

[BHP FAN]

That is just about the prettiest S&W I've ever seen! 1917 with Tyler grip?

[Cocked & Locked]

yep...1917 with Tyler T-grip

[Old Fuff]

You're absolutely right when you use wax instead of grease on nickel plated guns. Back when we had cars with real bumpers made of steel, they and other trim were nickel/chrome plated and during the winter got splashed with salt-slush. People protected the chrome with high quality paste wax, not grease.

As for the vapor inhibitor paper, be sure to read the manufacturer's instructions. Some of the vapor can affect certain metals and cause nickel to dull. They can also stain stag, ivory and pearl stocks and cause problems with older (but not newer) stock finishes. I am a big fan of VIP, but on older guns always remove the stocks and package then separately, but with the gun.