Smith & Wesson Revolvers, Rear View

Just to guide the cylinder pin in.

BTW, it's called the recoil shield.

GRIZ22 said:

BTW, it's called the recoil shield.

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Yup. It keeps the rounds from falling out when the gun is fired.

Notice the wear from the spring-loaded cylinder pin that forms as it is opened and closed over the years. The wrinkle in the recoil shield, as was stated above, just lets the pin press inwards gradually on a little ramp rather than hit a straight edge on the side and hang up.

Stay safe.

Form follows function.

The Glockodile said:

I wonder why they never made it "look nicer."

Never understood why they decided to leave that bump there.

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You might be the only one on the planet who is bothered by it.

Yes, I agree, hideous deformity! It probably drives the value of the gun down to under $100. I am not sure what can be done about it overall, but I am willing to help out in this instance, because that is the kind of guy I am, I will give the new “deformity value” of $100 for that and any other S&W’s that are afflicted. Just let me know when you want me to drop by with the Benjamins.

Not all S&W Hand Ejectors have that feature. If it bothers you too much, sell that piece and buy a New Century.



This one was chambered in 455 II but they were also available in 44 S&W Special.

Kevin

.....because it works better......

Howdy

Try watching closely what happens when you close the cylinder of a S&W revolver.

The ejector rod is spring loaded, and when the cylinder is open it extends its full length. As the cylinder swings shut, the ejector rod encounters the hollowed out portion of the recoil shield which guides the ejector rod, compressing the ejector rod spring. At the last moment, the spring in the ejector rod pops it into the hole in the center of the revolver, compressing the lighter spring of a part called the bolt, locking the cylinder in position. The other contours of the recoil shield guide the heads of cartridges into position as the cylinder rotates to fire. This S&W 38 Military and Police was made in 1908 so you can see the path the ejector rod has followed over the years as it wore a mark into the blued surface. Smith and Wesson has been making the recoil shield like this since 1899 and they know what they are doing.

Howdy Again

All I can tell you is they have always done it that way.

This 38 Military and Police Model of 1899 left the factory in 1899. This is the very first 38 caliber double action revolver with a swing out cylinder Smith and Wesson made.






Another look at the recoil shield on the Model of 1899.






In 1896, three years before the Model of 1899 came out, S&W introduced their very first revolver with a swing out cylinder, the 32 Hand Ejector 1st Model. Although the internal mechanism was quite different than the later 38 M&P, it too had the 'dent' as you call it in the recoil shield on the left side. This one left the factory in 1899.






The only other explanation I can guess at as to why the shield does not describe a full circle on that side is that by 'slicing off' that part of the circle it probably made the geometry work a little bit better.

That "dent" as you call it, allows your thumb to ride over it instead of butting into the recoili shield.

Bob Wright

Kevin[/QUOTE]

StrawHat said:

Not all S&W Hand Ejectors have that feature. If it bothers you too much, sell that piece and buy a New Century.

View attachment 1034054

This one was chambered in 455 II but they were also available in 44 S&W Special.

Ha! So it's lack on the triple lock is why that old girl's recoil plate is boogered to hell ? I wondered for a long time

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StrawHat said:

Not all S&W Hand Ejectors have that feature. If it bothers you too much, sell that piece and buy a New Century.

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Howdy Again

Learn Something New Every Day Department:

I have several Triple Locks, but I never noticed before today that there is no 'dent' on the recoil shield.

The 44 Hand Ejector, 1st Model, also known as the New Century, but affectionately known to collectors as the Triple Lock, first appeared in 1908. The mechanism to lock up the cylinder was quite different than the earlier Military and Police revolvers. Without going into great detail about the '3rd latch' we will just notice there is no 'dent' on the recoil shield of this nickel plated 44 Special Triple Lock that left the factory near the end of production in 1915. Note the profile of the recoil shield is flat.






Here is a view of the recoil shield of this revolver with the cylinder removed for clarity.






The design of the extractor rod on the Triple Lock was significantly different than any other (that I am aware of) Smith and Wesson cylinders. On this model, the extractor rod did not protrude out from the rear face and ratchet teeth of the cylinder. Instead, it was normally slightly sub flush, as can be seen in this photo.






So when the cylinder was closed, there was no need for a recessed track to compress the extractor rod as the cylinder closed. The rod was already sub flush, and there was a slight amount of clearance between the ratchet teeth and the recoil shield as the cylinder closed. When the cylinder closed completely, the latch at the front of the ejector rod pushed the rear portion back into the hole in the frame, locking the cylinder in position.






The 44 Hand Ejector 1st Model (Triple Lock) was only produced from 1908 until 1915. When the 44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model appeared in 1915, it lacked the distinctive 3rd latch of the Triple Lock.






The design of the cylinder reverted to the style of the 38 M&P, with a spring loaded ejector rod protruding out from the cylinder, which needed to be compressed as the cylinder was closed, no different than any other Smith and Wesson revolver with a swing out cylinder.






Thanks to StrawHat and The Glockodile for making me look into this and expanding my knowledge of Smith and Wesson revolvers a little bit.

Driftwood Johnson collects Smith and Wessons and is one of our most knowledgeable people on the subject.
If you stick around here you will eventually see his collection. He is good at sharing it with us.

No coffee table books for me. They are full of pretty pictures but don't tell you much.

The best book on the market about Smith and Wesson is the Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson by Jim Supica and Richard Nahas.

It is currently available at Amazon and many other outlets. This book covers everything S&W ever made from 1852 until the present. Tons of information about everything you ever wanted to know about S&W. I prefer the 3rd Edition to the newer 4th Edition.






When I can't find what I want to know in the Standard Catalog I turn to Smith & Wesson 1857-1945 by Neal and Jinks






This little book Roy Jinks wrote back in the 1970s has lots of good tidbits in it too.






I have a few other reference books about guns.






And a few gunsmithing books too.






I am also a member of the Smith and Wesson Collectors Association, over on the Smith and Wesson Forum, in case I can't find an answer in any of my books. There's guys over there who know a lot more than I do.

Driftwood,
When did you learn it was not "Smith and Weston?"

Some of my first memories are of men who referred to it that way. And, "My Smith & Weston .38 Police Special shoots HARD!"

Bob Wright

BobWright said:

When did you learn it was not "Smith and Weston?"

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I don't think I ever made that mistake. I was reading gun magazines when I was a kid, so I was pretty well versed in the name. Used to love to read everything Skeeter Skelton wrote.

I bought my first couple of Smith and Wesson revolvers back in 1975.

Then I started reading up on Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson and B.T. Henry and Sam Colt and all those guys, so I kind of became a gun nerd way back.

Driftwood Johnson said:

No coffee table books for me. They are full of pretty pictures but don't tell you much.

The best book on the market about Smith and Wesson is the Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson by Jim Supica and Richard Nahas.

It is currently available at Amazon and many other outlets. This book covers everything S&W ever made from 1852 until the present. Tons of information about everything you ever wanted to know about S&W. I prefer the 3rd Edition to the newer 4th Edition.

View attachment 1034238




When I can't find what I want to know in the Standard Catalog I turn to Smith & Wesson 1857-1945 by Neal and Jinks

View attachment 1034239




This little book Roy Jinks wrote back in the 1970s has lots of good tidbits in it too.

View attachment 1034240




I have a few other reference books about guns.

View attachment 1034241




And a few gunsmithing books too.

View attachment 1034242




I am also a member of the Smith and Wesson Collectors Association, over on the Smith and Wesson Forum, in case I can't find an answer in any of my books. There's guys over there who know a lot more than I do.

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Does the Standard Catalog list serial numbers?