New Project finished- a classic Roscoe!

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 23, 2016
Messages
1,571
This is a S&W Model 1904 M&P .38 Special that left the factory well before WW1. It originally came with a 6-1/2" barrel. It's seen a lot of changes since then. First someone modified the front sight to a target sight, making it a 'half-target' clone. Much later someone etched it heavily and applied and ugly matte-black finish and some oversize Pachmayrs. When I got it it was a sad sight, but mechanically good and with an excellent trigger.

I stripped it down and refinished it in Antique gray and made some nice wood grips for it, then later replaced those with jigged-bone. It was a handsome revolver and a good shooter, but when it came time to thin out my collection a bit I realized I really didn't have a use for a 6-1/2" .38 Special. Of course any collector value it might have had was long gone after the first refinish, and I didn't want to part with it for peanuts, so I decided on a make-over into a classic carry-piece.

I cut and crowned the barrel at 3", which I think is an ideal length for a carry/belt revolver. I made a target-style front sight and mounted it, then stripped the gun, sanded the frame, barrel, cylinder and crane to 320-grit and rust blued the gun. The finishing touch was a set of custom elk-antler grips- the first ones that I have done. I used the old grips as a pattern, got things shaped, then hand-sanded them to 3000-grit before applying four coats of lacquer.

I love the result; the gun has a nice tactile and visual balance and points well. The ample grips are comfortable and secure and look great. The bark left of the grip falls in just the right places to provide extra traction.

Stoked with Buffalo-Bore standard pressure short-barrel 158gr. LSWCHPs it ought to get the job done! Now for some leather...

o8RXn4X.jpg 6crVuCw.jpg
 
You saved an abused old veteran from a fate of lifeless cerakote and bland rubber grips...Good on ya mate!

It looks pretty darn good from where I’m sitting. :thumbup:

Stay safe.
 
This is a S&W Model 1904 M&P .38 Special that left the factory well before WW1. It originally came with a 6-1/2" barrel. It's seen a lot of changes since then. First someone modified the front sight to a target sight, making it a 'half-target' clone. Much later someone etched it heavily and applied and ugly matte-black finish and some oversize Pachmayrs. When I got it it was a sad sight, but mechanically good and with an excellent trigger.

I stripped it down and refinished it in Antique gray and made some nice wood grips for it, then later replaced those with jigged-bone. It was a handsome revolver and a good shooter, but when it came time to thin out my collection a bit I realized I really didn't have a use for a 6-1/2" .38 Special. Of course any collector value it might have had was long gone after the first refinish, and I didn't want to part with it for peanuts, so I decided on a make-over into a classic carry-piece.

I cut and crowned the barrel at 3", which I think is an ideal length for a carry/belt revolver. I made a target-style front sight and mounted it, then stripped the gun, sanded the frame, barrel, cylinder and crane to 320-grit and rust blued the gun. The finishing touch was a set of custom elk-antler grips- the first ones that I have done. I used the old grips as a pattern, got things shaped, then hand-sanded them to 3000-grit before applying four coats of lacquer.

I love the result; the gun has a nice tactile and visual balance and points well. The ample grips are comfortable and secure and look great. The bark left of the grip falls in just the right places to provide extra traction.

Stoked with Buffalo-Bore standard pressure short-barrel 158gr. LSWCHPs it ought to get the job done! Now for some leather...

View attachment 855230 View attachment 855231

Oh geez! Great job!! Very nice!
 
Nice-but you had to ruin it by saying "Roscoe"?
Very classy looking, what ever you call it !

Just yesterday I was watching an old movie. 1939, James Stewart, Claudette Colbert, Guy Kibbee, several other old greats.

One scene towards the end, in scuffle with a scofflaw, Stewarts' line was "...look out, he's got a Roscoe!"

Looking at the revolver, the old style stocks, the overall look, well..... I think Roscoe is appropriate, even mandatory!
 
Interesting how different people react to such things. Of your various projects (and there sure have been a bunch of them) , this appeals to me more than most of the others. Seems like a great way to breath new life into a worn and way non-original old hand ejector.
3" barrel , old style sight , GREAT grips ..... very nice. Looks good to go for another 50 years or so.

P.S. Perhaps sometime in the future , around 2087 or so , a bunch of guys will be gathered on a discussion medium of some sort trying to figure out "Where did THIS oddball come from???!" Hopefully , anyway - if all such discussion has not been long since banned.
 
Howdy

Nice Roscoe. And I do like that name.

However (of course I have to quibble) Model 1904 M&P?

I'm looking through my copy of SCSW and I don't see a Model 1904. Model 1899, Model 1902 with a 1st Change, and of course Model 1905 with 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Changes.

But no Model 1904.

We are talking about a K frame 38 here, right?

Of course I could be wrong, I don't know everything there is to know about Smith and Wesson revolvers.

Here is one of my favorite Roscoes. A 38 M&P (Model 1905 4th Change) from 1938.

MPRoundButt01-2.jpg
 
This is a S&W Model 1904 M&P .38 Special that left the factory well before WW1. It originally came with a 6-1/2" barrel. It's seen a lot of changes since then. First someone modified the front sight to a target sight, making it a 'half-target' clone. Much later someone etched it heavily and applied and ugly matte-black finish and some oversize Pachmayrs. When I got it it was a sad sight, but mechanically good and with an excellent trigger.

I stripped it down and refinished it in Antique gray and made some nice wood grips for it, then later replaced those with jigged-bone. It was a handsome revolver and a good shooter, but when it came time to thin out my collection a bit I realized I really didn't have a use for a 6-1/2" .38 Special. Of course any collector value it might have had was long gone after the first refinish, and I didn't want to part with it for peanuts, so I decided on a make-over into a classic carry-piece.

I cut and crowned the barrel at 3", which I think is an ideal length for a carry/belt revolver. I made a target-style front sight and mounted it, then stripped the gun, sanded the frame, barrel, cylinder and crane to 320-grit and rust blued the gun. The finishing touch was a set of custom elk-antler grips- the first ones that I have done. I used the old grips as a pattern, got things shaped, then hand-sanded them to 3000-grit before applying four coats of lacquer.

I love the result; the gun has a nice tactile and visual balance and points well. The ample grips are comfortable and secure and look great. The bark left of the grip falls in just the right places to provide extra traction.

Stoked with Buffalo-Bore standard pressure short-barrel 158gr. LSWCHPs it ought to get the job done! Now for some leather...

View attachment 855230 View attachment 855231
Very nice man. I’m curious about the grips. Since elk antler is porous on the interior, did you use any kind of sealant to further strengthen them? It’s probably not a concern on a 38, and obviously they are naturally very strong.

I’ve got a dozen elk sheds sitting around and was thinking about turning them into something useful.
 
How did you re-attach the front sight? I have a 4in HE in .32L I am wanting to cut down and have been ruminating over the front sight a bit.
 
Very nice man. I’m curious about the grips. Since elk antler is porous on the interior, did you use any kind of sealant to further strengthen them? It’s probably not a concern on a 38, and obviously they are naturally very strong.

I’ve got a dozen elk sheds sitting around and was thinking about turning them into something useful.

I used the section just above the crown where the antler is thicker and took the cuts from the flatter side, so there isn't too much pith. I had to use both crowns to get two pieces large enough and flat enough to make the grips. I used a super-thin cyanoacrylate glue to penetrate and seal up the remaining pith, then lacquered over that.
 
How did you re-attach the front sight? I have a 4in HE in .32L I am wanting to cut down and have been ruminating over the front sight a bit.

I used a cut-off wheel to make a short slot in the top of the barrel, then thinned down a piece of tool-steel on the belt-grinder until it could be force-fitted into the slot. I ground the piece into shape, put some super-glue into the slot to hold the sight in place, tapped the sight into the slot with a hammer, then staked the barrel on either side at the front and rear of the sight. I've used this method on other pistols and it has worked well. Other times I have staked the sight into place and silver soldered it, which also works well, but it's a lot more work to clean up.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top