Vintage S&Ws

[RealGun]

S&W forum is an experts site, narrowly tailored to the discussion of one area of the firearms culture. THR is a generalist site, providing a broad net to sweep in people new to shooting and the RKBA, which the education in and support of is the main purpose of THR. Each provides a different service. We do not do forum wars on THR and criticism of other forums is one of the fastest ways to have mods close a thread. For all of us this can be simplified to the old rule of politeness: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything.

The expertise is in whining about locking systems and how they don't make 'em like they used to. The forum has failed to isolate all that by defining subforums for the specific date period of S&W history with which a subscriber might fully identify. There is no way to escape the yammering.

 

[Gordon]

Vintage is as vintage does, I have a LOT of Smiths, mostly vinatge these are conveintly packed

[/URL]

 

[Waveski]

Oh , come now. A sure-fire way to "escape the yammering" is to avoid the S&W forum altogether.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Did somebody say vintage Smith and Wessons?

I think these guys probably qualify as being vintage. Three Tip Ups. Top to bottom, #2 Old Army, 32 Rimfire, 1863; #1 1/2, 32 Rimfire, 1873; #1 3rd Issue 22 Short, 1870.

#3 Top Breaks. Top Left, 1st Model Schofield, 45 Schofield, 1875, factory refinish 1957. Top right, 2nd Model Russian, 44 Russian, 1875.

Middle, New Model #3, 44 Russian, 1882, factory refinish 1965.

Bottom left, Double Action 44, 44 Russian, 1881. Bottom right, Double Action 44 Target, 44 Russian, 1895.

38 Double Action Perfecteds. 38 S&W. Top one, 1912, bottom one 1917.

Something a little bit more modern, 22 Rimfire Hand Ejectors. Left to right, Model 17-3, 1975. K-22 Masterpiece, 1950. K-22 Outdoorsman, 1932, K-22 Outdoorsman, 1935. K-22 Combat Masterpiece, 1953. I Frame 22/32 Heavy Frame Target, 1940. I frame 22/32 Heavy Frame Target, 1923.

For the record, I am a proud reader and contributor to the Smith and Wesson forum, which is about much, much more than whining about locks. It is the premier source on the web for finding out about everything S&W ever made, from 1857 right up to the present. And it is not just for experts, lots of newbies go there to learn about all things S&W. I was a newbie there once.

Also, I am proud member of the Smith and Wesson Collectors Society.

 

[Waveski]

Mr. Johnson -

My favorite , for what it is worth , is from the bottom row , second from right , the 1940 22/32. What beautiful grips.

As to the rest - your collection boggles my mind. Thank you for sharing.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

My favorite , for what it is worth , is from the bottom row , second from right , the 1940 22/32. What beautiful grips.

Howdy Again

For Waveski: A closer look at the 22/32 Heavy Frame Targets. At the top is the one from 1940 with the Bekaert Grips.

Interior view of the Bekaert Grips and how they were fitted to the frame. Just like a Regulation Police.

So why were they called Heavy Frame Targets, particularly when you realize that they are smaller than a K frame K-22?

Because up until about 1911, the only 22 caliber revolvers with side swinging cylinders that S&W was making were the tiny M frame Ladysmiths chambered for 22 Long only. Phil Bekeart, a San Francisco S&W distributor, dreamed up the idea of building a 22 caliber target revolver on the I frame. Up until that time, the I frame was primarily used for six shot 32 caliber revolvers. This would be bigger than the tiny Ladysmiths and could actually be used as a target revolver. He persuaded S&W to make some up, and in 1915 S&W listed it as a regularly cataloged item. Up until the K-22 Outdoorsman appeared in 1931, the I frame Heavy Frame Target models were the biggest 22 caliber revolver you could buy from S&W. So at the time, they really were 'heavy frame' revolvers, compared to the earlier Ladysmiths.

The 22/32 Heavy Frame Target models were the direct ancestors of the ever popular J frame 22/32 Kit guns. So Bekeart had a really great idea when he dreamed up a 22 revolver built on the I frame.

Top to bottom in this photo are a K-22, the 22/32 Heavy Frame Target with the Bekeart grips, and a Ladysmith

By the way, this is the kind of thing one learns by hanging out on the S&W Forum.

 

[cal44mag]

This is the most vintage S&W I own.

But it's only from 1971. A model 36 no dash Chief's Special.

I found it in a LGS consignment case, and when I asked to see it, the clerk said "This is an old school gun".

After seeing it was in almost new condition, I told him "That's OK, I'm old school myself. I'll take it."

 

[ThomasT]

I'll be reloading .38 Special soon and will likely use a hard-cast 158gr. semi-wadcutter loaded to standard pressure.

You may want to pass on the hard cast bullet and instead go with a softer lead bullet. Gil Sengal (Handloader Mag) made the point in an article about older S&W revolvers and that was that the lands and grooves are about of equal size. That means the lands displace a larger amount of the lead bullet than newer guns do. This can raise the pressure a lot. Using a hard lead could even split the barrel. Just a thought.

 

[Gordon]

Howdy

Did somebody say vintage Smith and Wessons?

I think these guys probably qualify as being vintage. Three Tip Ups. Top to bottom, #2 Old Army, 32 Rimfire, 1863; #1 1/2, 32 Rimfire, 1873; #1 3rd Issue 22 Short, 1870.

#3 Top Breaks. Top Left, 1st Model Schofield, 45 Schofield, 1875, factory refinish 1957. Top right, 2nd Model Russian, 44 Russian, 1875.

Middle, New Model #3, 44 Russian, 1882, factory refinish 1965.

Bottom left, Double Action 44, 44 Russian, 1881. Bottom right, Double Action 44 Target, 44 Russian, 1895.

38 Double Action Perfecteds. 38 S&W. Top one, 1912, bottom one 1917.

Something a little bit more modern, 22 Rimfire Hand Ejectors. Left to right, Model 17-3, 1975. K-22 Masterpiece, 1950. K-22 Outdoorsman, 1932, K-22 Outdoorsman, 1935. K-22 Combat Masterpiece, 1953. I Frame 22/32 Heavy Frame Target, 1940. I frame 22/32 Heavy Frame Target, 1923.

Driftwood those are wonderful, I got the old ones on the top rows out of my blood years back and sold those antiques off.
If I can't buy ammo for it that I can shoot, I sell them

For the record, I am a proud reader and contributor to the Smith and Wesson forum, which is about much, much more than whining about locks. It is the premier source on the web for finding out about everything S&W ever made, from 1857 right up to the present. Also, proud member of the Smith and Wesson Collectors Society.

 

[Waveski]

My safe is not as full as those of some of you folks , but there is this --- 1942 DSC , marked AOP for Arkansas Ordinance Plant. The folks here took pretty good care of their guns , I guess.View attachment 232301

 

[Waveski]

View attachment 232303

 

[Waveski]

Something is amiss , sorry. Will try image posting later.

 

[Waveski]

One more time ... 1942 DSC , marked Arkansas Ordinance Plant ... hopefully.

 

[C5rider]

Okay, here's mine. I'm no Driftwood, but I like this one and it'll tell ya EXACTLY where it was pointed when you pulled the trigger.
Best as I can tell, it's a 1905 model that has been back to S&W for some work. Namely a re-blue and a new barrel. Yup, it's a Franken-Smith! Not sure why, but don't really care other than it would be interesting to know the history. It shoots great!

 

[dickydalton]

Okay, here's mine. I'm no Driftwood, but I like this one and it'll tell ya EXACTLY where it was pointed when you pulled the trigger.
Best as I can tell, it's a 1905 model that has been back to S&W for some work. Namely a re-blue and a new barrel. Yup, it's a Franken-Smith! Not sure why, but don't really care other than it would be interesting to know the history. It shoots great!

I have a pair of these same grips on a Model 15. Do you know where they came from?

 

[C5rider]

dickydalton,

Best I can tell, they are Jay Scott plastic "pearl" handles.

 

[Gordon]

here is a pre J frame Terrier .38 S&W which I adore ! It is with a model 36 Chiefs Special no dash .38 spl for comparison . Both have their Silver boxes and papers

[/URL]

 

[Gordon]

OMG ! How did that Colt 1917 get in here ? Must be the barrel shroud for the ejector Cylinder and Slide did on the Douglas 1-14" air guage bull barrel. Complete overhaul and action job with crane ball detent lock up . They sited in the gold post at 25 yards with ball ammo.Then went to Colt for partial bank note engraved then royal Blue and Roy Fishpaw fitted French walnut exhibition grade grips. Probably could not be duplicated today. Gonna go on the market soon, thinking $3000 starting bid.My most ambitious project in early 90s and shot aonly couple hundred times, mostly with auto rim !

[/URL]

 

[Zebraranger]

That's a great collection of some older vintage S&W revolvers and top breaks. This is the only one in my collection from that era. Its been in the family for generations and my Dad gave it to me some years back. Its a S&W 3rd model Double action 38 S&W with a 3-1/4" barrel, made in 1889. I really enjoy just looking at this thing, probably more so than any of my other more modern handguns.

 

[Jim K]

I own a few guns and IMHO "vintage" S&W's hold up better than any other brand of handgun, even Colt. And they hold timing better than most older Colts.

Probably the oddest thing about those old Smiths is that the dozens of internal changes and improvements over the years were almost all done with little or NO external evidence. Even some knowledgeable collectors think the recent M&P's (up to the "lock") are no different internally from the 1899 version!

Jim

 

[ArkieVol]

Not as old as some but some nice examples of not-so-new Smiths. Also a S&W forum member.

 

[ArkieVol]

A few more

 

[dickydalton]

dickydalton,

Best I can tell, they are Jay Scott plastic "pearl" handles.

Thanks!