komitadjie:
I really need a seething with jealousy emoticon.
The Combat Masterpiece was developed as the service version of the K38 Target Masterpiece, in 1950 it hadn't yet become the mass produced weapon that was issued to the USAF, Tenessee Highway Patrol, etc. As a short barreled target pistol I would expect it to have a near perfect single action trigger and a very nice double action.
BTW, You now need a nice K22 Combat Masterpiece, the Pre Model 18 to go with it.
sarge83:
With that history I wouldn't care about the monetary value. I'm glad it came back into your family.
doc540:
You are looking at a K frame 5 screw M&P, it lacks the made in the USA stamp and has the early ejector rod, so its a .38 Military & Police Model of 1905 4th Change manufactured between 1915 & September 1919.
Serial range for that period was 241794 to 316648, so 1915 seems likely.
The barrel has been shortened, standard barrel lengths at that time were 4, 5 & 6 inches, the gun appears to have a 3 or 3.5 inch barrel.
The standard front sight was a half moon, the flattened back on the sight is not original, my guess it it was modified when it was repositioned on the gun. It may be silver soldered in place without staking, which could make it prone to falling off when the barrel heats up - a problem I had with a Para Ordnance 1911.
The gun appears to be refinished, looking at the photos the seam of the side plate isn't a great fit. If the trigger and hammer are nickeled (hard to tell from the pic) then its definitely a non factory refinish.
The grips appear to be aftermarket resin Magna grips. Magnas (in Walnut) were not introduced by S&W until 1936, IIRC. The original grips would have been walnut with a round top, without the horns that go to the top of the back strap.
It's not a collectable gun, there are plenty of guns from the same period in better shape. If it passes the revolver check out thread test then I would offer no more than $250 as a shooter, maybe less. You should keep in mind that it predates heat treatment of cylinders, so it should only be loaded with standard velocity lead ammo, no PlusP, +P+, jacketed or semi jacketed.
It also predates the modern internal hammer block saqfety introduced in 1944. Potentially if dropped it could fire. Because of this if kept loaded the chamber under the hammer should be left empty.
So its not a great buy as a collectible and its not that great as a carry gun.