G'dale Mike:
Your dads gun is a .38 Military & Police Model of 1905 4th Change manufactured circa 1927. Guns in the 500000 to 6240000 range shipped between 1927 & 1932. With the onset of the Great Depression in 1928 shipments would have slowed dramatically, so I think its safe to call your gun a 1927 build, with a slight chance of 1928.
It predates the internal hammer block safety introduced in WWII after a fatality with a dropped gun. Treat it as a five shooter, leaving the chamber under the hammer empty.
Personally I would avoid PlusP and jacketed ammo in this old gun even though the cylinder is heat treated and it should be safe. All of the guns with replacement barrels that have been posted in this thread came from the 1920s or earlier, my guess is that in the 30s they refined the steel or the heat treatment process.
omac:
Its actually '32 Winchester CTG' CTG being an abbreviation of Cartridge. The actual caliber is .32-20.
If the number on the butt is 33312 then that is the serial number, and it is a .32-20 Hand Ejector Mode of 1905 1st Change manufactured in 1909.
If the number on the butt is 54424 then you have a .32-20 Hand Ejector Model of 1905 3rd Change manufactured between 1909 & 1915 in the serial range 45201 to 65700. Assuming a fairly constant rate of production, 1911 seems likely.
Barrel length is measured from the forcing cone in front of the cylinder to the muzzle.
Finish would be blued (may appear black) or nickel (looks like stainless).
Generally for that model the square butt had timber grips and the round butt black hard rubber.
1st Change, 3rd Change refer to the first and second minor design changes to the Model of 1905, which was a major design change from the Model of 1902.
Your gun lacks a heat treated cylinder. Modern lead only ammunition is loaded to be safe in it. Jacketed ammunition is probably old and loaded to rifle only pressures. Rifle only rounds can bulge the barrel, so stick to lead ammo.
It also predates the internal hammer block safety introduced in WWII after a fatality with a dropped gun. Treat it as a five shooter, leaving the chamber under the hammer empty.
JoelSteinbach;
Your Model 686-2 Distinguished Combat Magnum Stainless was manufactured in 1988.
The 686 & its L frame were designed as a replacement for the Model 66 K frame. Both are medium framed guns, the L frame has a slightly larger cylinder window, cylinder, top strap and forcing cone. This helps reduce the chance of the gun developing cylinder end shake and cracking the forcing cone, which was a known issue with the K frame when shot with lightweight .357 Magnums. The -2 indicates a design change that handled the only real issue effecting reliability that the 686 had, an oversize firing pin bushing.
