S&W 38 special ctg

[oldheel]

while trying to close out my fathers things, i found a smith and wesson 38 special ctg. it has a number, D341479 on the bottom of the grip. can anyone give me an info on this pistol? date manufactured, original cost, current value, assuming that is it is average condition, which it is. thanks.

 

[Pistol Toter]

Your Dad gun was made in 1971-1972 and either a model 10 or 12 or 14. Open up the cylinder actually that is called the yoke, look on the frame for "MOD XX-X" that will ID the model and its engineering change. Depending on its mechanical and appearance it is probably worth between $300 and $400; this varies with condition, locale and what the buyer is willing to pay. Post us the model number and one of us will try to fill in any blanks or answer any questions that we can. Measure the distance between the front of the cylinder and the end of the barrel. Tell us whether it is blue or bright shiny or Stainless and anyother distinguishing markings. Was your Dad a policeman if so it maybe his service revolver.

I would urge you to hold on to your DAD gun, someday you will be glad you did.

 

[oldheel]

thanks pistol. the MOD number is 10 - 6. it has a 4 inch barrel and is blue. dad wan on the nc highway patrol right after ww2 but this is not his service gun. he traded a snub nose something for this many years ago.

 

[Pistol Toter]

oldheel,
The model 10 is probably the most produced gun ever built by S&W. It probably has graced the holsters of more police officers than any other gun until the advent of the GLOCK. There would have been a model or two of the Colt line that would have been popular but the S&W model 10 has and is a WORK HORSE. It got it's start back in 1899 as the .38 Military & Police and went through a number of changes and improvements. At about 1957 S&W went away from nameing their guns and started assigning model numbers. The -6 engineering change came along in 1962 and lasted until 1977 when the -7 was introduced. The -6 ushered in the elimanation of the screw that was located on the triggerguard, in 1967 saw the beginning of the "D" alpha S.N. prefix and in 1968 the deletion of the diamond insert in the stocks. Your Dads gun is a fine piece of firearms mechanics and art. It was made to fire the standard velocity .38 S&W Special, however an occasional +P round would be OK. You recognize that increased power accellerates wear. Not knowing the mechanical condition of your gun or how cosmetically it fairs; value at best is a guess, however I would stand by the figures that I posted eariler. I do not have the orginal cost in front of me but numbers wise is significantely more today than when knew, this does not take into account inflation. The gun is a 4" Blue steel, fixed sight, 6 shot, "K" frame S&W revolver .38 S&W Special, Model 10-6. I would suggest that you have the gun inspected and even cleaned by a qualified S&W pistolsmith just for safety. You may also look on the right stock panel for a number that matches the guns S.N.. That would indicate that the stocks are orginal to the gun. If the gun is to be stored, I would urge you to well clean and lubricate. I remove the stocks from mine and store them after cleaning in a zip-lock bag along with the screw taped to an index card that also contains information about the gun they came from. Enjoy your Dads gun it is a memento of his life. I hope that this answers you questions. Do me a favor and take good care of your DADS gun, it's yours now. P.T.

 

[oldheel]

WOW! thanks a lot PT.