identifying a smith and wesson 38 special

[xsix71]

Join Date: November 2, 2009
Posts: 1


i have just inherited a smith and wesson .38 special ctg.. i know nothing about older revolvers and was hopeful that someone would be able to enlighten me.i believe its a 5 inch barrel 6 shot revolver..on the top of the barrel it says and i quote"smith and wesson springfield mass .patented0oct.8. 01.dec.17.01.feb 6.06.sept 14.09.dec. 29.14.also the serial number is 4068xx.any information would be helpful. thank you

 

[Jim K]

That is not much info, but I believe you have a Smith & Wesson Military & Police revolver, also known as the .38 Hand Ejector, Model 1905, 4th change. They were made from 1915 to 1942, serial number range 241704-700000. The later WWII production was called the Victory Model. I can't give you a production date, but you can get a "guesstimate" by using an average yearly production.

BYW, "CTG" merely means "Cartridge" and indicates the cartridge for which the gun was made, not the designation of the gun itself.

Jim

 

[Radagast]

Your revolver was made between 1917 and 1927. It has a heat treated cylinder (introduced at serial 316648), so it will be safe to shoot with any modern standard pressure ammunition. PlusP ammunition is not recommended by S&W in guns made prior to 1957.
It lacks a hammer block safety, so it should be kept with the hammer down on an empty chamber if carried or left loaded. The hammer block was introduced in 1944.
Value is not great, the standard catalog of S&W gave a value of $335 in excellent condition in 2006.

The military & Police was introduced in 1899 and through various engineering changes continues in production today as the S&W Model 10 with several million made. The prewar and wartime guns used what was called a 'long action' which has a superior trigger pull to the post war 'short action'. Parts are not interchangeable, so in the event of the gun breaking second hand parts will have to be sourced.

I hope this helps.