Trying to figure the age of a S&W .38 Special CTG revolver that I just inherited.

[lebowski 79]

Depending on where you start measuring, I believe the barrel is 4" long. Inside the cylinder is the number 12011. The patents are Feb.6.06, Sept.14.09, and Dec.29.14. The serial number on the bottom of the butt is S 842017.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

[Jim K]

The gun is a post-war Military & Police model, probably made in late 1945 or early 1946. (Civilian production reportedly resumed with S811120 in September 1945, and they were making some 6000 a month.) The number on the crane and in the crane cut is an assembly number. The butt number is the true serial number. (The "S" originally meant the gun was equipped with the new hammer block safety; S&W later used other prefixes.

Jim

 

[Ron James]

38 Special Ctg simply means it's chambered in 38 Special . CTG means cartridge. An S Prefix in the serial number ( bottom of the grip) denotes a N Frame revolver, however the highest " S " prefix serial number listed in the handbook of S&W is S333454. So either you misread the serial number, or your have a very rare non existing gun , or it's not a S&W. Get bac to us with the correct information, also does it have adjustable sights, open the crane, is there a number and letter stamped there such as M-27 or M-28 or what ever?

 

[Jim K]

Hi, Ron,

I am going by the "Standard Catalog". It says, under ".38 Military & Police - Pre-Model 10", the following"

"A contemporary source indicates the S prefix postwar guns began as early as December 27, 1944 at around serial number S769000. Others report Sept. 1945 beginning at S811120. It is reported that at S990184, Apr 7, 1948, the new short action was introduced, becoming the now familiar Model 10 in 1957." Since I have seen postwar M&P's with the "S" prefix (no "V"), I certainly know they existed.

FWIW, I question the S811120 number because I suspect they simply began the post-war serial numbering where the Victory Model left off, which would probably have been a bit higher. They stopped stamping the "V" but retained the "S" for the new safety. (Neither the V nor the S was ever actually stamped as part of the serial number; the letters were stamped separately before the gun went to the numbering machine.)

Anyway, the presence of the "S" and lack of the "V" indicates a postwar gun. Pre-war guns had no prefixes.

Jim

 

[Old Fuff]

Smith & Wesson used the "S" prefix on both K and N frame revolvers, but the serial number series were different. The K-frame numbers started at S-811,120 and ended at S-999,999 in a time span from 1945 to 1948. They were primarily used on Military & Police .38 revolvers.

N-frame "S" numbers started at S62,489 and ended at about S-333,454 in 1970, and were used on N-frame models made within a time span running from 1946 to 1970.

Note that the numbers do not overlap each other. The highest N-frame number is well below the first K-frame one.

 

[XavierBreath]

1945-46

Your revolver is actually known as a Smith & Wesson Military & Police revolver or M&P. It is chambered in .38 special. Barrel length includes the part screwed inside the frame. If you are measuring yours from the frame itself, you probably have a five inch barrel.

Your grips should have the more defined ridge along the top curve as mine do. They should also have a diamond around the screw. If original, they will have the serial number stamped inside one of them. To remove them, loosen the screw to almost falling out, and use it to push the opposite grip off the frame. Then press the remaining grip off from the interior. Do not try to pry them off.

Value of these revolvers is escalating quickly. They are known as "transitional M&P's" among collectors, and they share the best traits of pre-war revolvers with the improvements found on later ones.

Here is my S prefix M&P for comparison. My serial is S8419XX.

If you like, I'll move your thread to the more frequently traveled Revolver Forum.