S&W 38 CTG patent May 11, 1880 info please

[Bern]

"I've got this ole gun" is all I can Say. In the family since early 1900 I believe. Not sure of the model # and If anyone can shed light on this baby I'd be appreciative.

Pat'd info on top of barrel, "Smith and Wesson Springfield MASS.U.S.A
Pat'd May 11, 1880, Jan 3 1882, April 9, 1889 "

Center break beauty. Ser 419065 on Butt, cylinder. Dbl action.

Would love :the " rest of the story" about this historic piece.

Thanks

 

[Old Fuff]

Model: Smith & Wesson .38 Double Action, 4th Model.

Manufactured between 1895 - 1909 (serial number range 322,701 - 539,000.

Five-round cylinder, chambered in .38 S&W (black powder).

Standard Barrel Lengths" 3 1/4, 4, 5 and 6 inches.

Standard Finishes: Full blue or nickel plate with blued trigger guard and barrel latch. Triggers and hammers color case hardened.

Standard Stocks: molded black hard rubber.

Additional Information:

Information concerning historical letters of authentication from Smith & Wesson’s historian, Roy G. Jinks can be obtained from the link listed below.

In exchange for a $50.00 research fee (make any check out to Smith & Wesson, not Mr. Jinks) he will search through the company’s original records until he finds your particular revolver. He will then send you an official letter which usually includes:

A short history of the revolver model’s background.

What the barrel length, caliber/cartridge, finish and stocks were, as well as the exact date it was shipped from the factory – and to what distributor, dealer or individual – as whatever the case may be.

http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...catalogId=10001&content=25301&sectionId=10504

 

[Bern]

Thank You very much Old Fluff. Your information and expertise is very appreciated to bring life to this piece. I know my grandfather bought this gun and used it in his cowboy days. Nice to know some more background. Will do the historical check as well.

Thanks again !

 

[Bern]

Correction "Old Fuff". Thank you.

 

[Old Fuff]

No problem with the name.

Contrary to western movies, TV and such - Smith & Wesson's line of .38 pocket revolvers was popular with cowboys and other frontier folks. In period photographs you see then stuck in someone's waistband, or occasionally a holster.

 

[Coyote3855]

^^ Always wondered how many more of these little guns were in a pocket and not visable in period pictures.

 

[Old Fuff]

Always wondered how many more of these little guns were in a pocket and not visable in period pictures.

Probably a lot, although "real" cowboys often made a point of displaying their hardware while having a photograph taken. In other instances - like this one- revolvers have been handed down where a family knows some of the background history.

During a period extending from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of World War One, pocket revolvers were relatively inexpensive and easy to carry, concealed or otherwise. After years of research I was suprised at the number of small, full-flap holsters I came across and examined - sometimes with the revolver that was carried within them.

Apparently then as now, many men (and some women) concluded that a smaller gun was better then a larger one that had been left at home.

 

[Jim Watson]

An old article in the Sacramento Bee newspaper calling the gold rush town of Bodie "Bad Shot Gulch" because they had many shootings and few killings. It said an Army or Navy revolver in a belt scabbard is seldom seen. The usual weapon is a Bulldog revolver in a leather or canvas lined coat pocket.