S&W 38s CTG

[greysunrise]

I recently inherited a SW 38s revolver and I'm having trouble finding information on it. It belonged to my grandfather who purchased it from a county sheriff. I cannot find a model number on it. The Serial is 47##86 with no letters. Additionally on the butt there is a 581P stamped. On top of the barrel the following patent dates are listed: Feb.6.06.Sept.14.09.Dec.29.14 The gun also has yellowed either plastic or ivory handles. There are 3 screws in the frame and one in front of the trigger guard. Any help on the history and value of this gun would be great! Thanks,

 

[Jim Watson]

You can quit searching for a model number, S&W did not use numbers until 1957 and this gun is older than that.
Assuming it is a sixshooter, it is a Military and Police.
Somebody with the references can tell you which exact year model and "change".

Put up some pictures and you will get better answers.

 

[Jim K]

Based on the fact that nothing else with that patent date had serial numbers that high, I would say it is an S&W .38 Special Hand Ejector, Military & Police Model of 1905, Fourth Change, made in the late 1920's. The grips are most likely after market; the factory grips would have been checkered wood on a square butt, black hard rubber on a round butt.

Jim

 

[Radagast]

Jim has nailed it. With that serial number the gun was manufactured between 1921 & 1927.
The .38 Military & Police was the ancestor of todays Model 10. your gun lacks the positive internal hammer block safety developed during World War II. If kept loaded leave the chamber under the hammer empty. If dropped with a loaded chamber the gun could fire.

S&W began heat treating of cylinders in 1920, so your gun may be safe to shoot with PlusP or jacketed ammo, but you are taking a risk if you do so. S&W do not recommend use of PlusP rated ammunition in guns made before 1957. Never fire +P+ marked ammo in this old gun. There is no industry standard for +P+ pressure and you may actually be shooting slightly downloaded .357 magnums.

If the grips are real ivory, especially if they have S&W emblems, then they may be worth as much as the gun. They are probably plastic however. Fake ivory & stag grips were very popular at one stage for blinging up old revolvers.

 

[greysunrise]

Thanks, here are a couple of pics. On the grips is there a simple way to tell if they are ivory or just plastic? I know that ivory is heavily counterfitted; however, I know that my grandfather wouldnt have changed the grips so they were probably changed by the original owner before him, Im guessing sometime in the 30s-50s. I need to look into when it actually entered my family.

I did fire 6 rounds through it of some old 158g bullets that came with the gun. After I get it appraised I will give it a good cleaning and oil then probably put it on display. Don't really plan to shoot it much and I'll stick to my .357 to ward off intruders.

Thanks again and any more information you can give is much appreciated.

 

[Jim Watson]

Those grips look a lot like the Catalin phenolic resin (plastic) grips on John Wayne's favorite prop gun, right down to the finger grooves. Probably the same brand, they turn up on the sales sites every once in a while.

 

[Jim K]

First, remove the grips and lightly scrape the inside. If they are soft, they are plastic. If they are hard, like your nails, they could be ivory (but I don't think so).

The value on that gun is low. It was factory nickel plated and the plating is peeling and spotty. IMHO, the retail value (grips aside) would be under $200. A serious appraisal will cost a good chunk of that value if done by a recognized expert. (Appraisers get paid for their work and knowledge, whether the item is worth $100 or $100,000.)

Jim