im interested in hearing from folks that do, did, or know someone that has
Howdy
This is a Smith and Wesson 32 Regulation Police. The name gives it away, these were commonly carried by many police officers in large cities. Not all policemen were carrying 38s, this is a six shot revolver chambered for the 32 S&W Long cartridge. They were small, so they could easily be slipped into a pocket. The barrel is 4 1/4" long, so there is a reasonable sight radius. They also came with 3 1/4" and 6" barrels.
The 32 Regulation Police was first made in 1917, and production stopped in 1942. Then after the war they were made again from 1946 until 1960. In 1957 the name was changed to the Model 31. This one was made in 1925. These revolvers are not all that rare, you just have to be on the lookout. I found another one locally about a year ago.
The 32 Regulation Police was built on the I frame, which was the predecessor of the modern J frame. They are roughly the same size. They were very popular, many thousands of them were made.
Here you can see how similar in size it is to a J frame Model 63 22/32 Kit Gun. The grip of the 32 Regulation Police is slightly longer, and easier to grip than round butt grip of a J frame Model 36.
And you can see how much smaller it is than a standard K frame 38 Special Military and Police revolver.
These are very nice little guns to shoot, the recoil is very mild, and the double action trigger tends to be lighter and smoother than a modern J frame.
This is a Colt 32 Police Positive. Again, the name gives away a lot of who were buying these, although they were very popular with the general public too. This one was made in 1917. These are marked for the 32 Colt New Police, which is just Colt's version of the 32 S&W Long.
For size comparison, this photo shows the little Colt at the bottom along with a pair of S&W Regulation Police. The grip is a tad longer on the Colt, so it is a bit easier to hold, but the Smiths have a much sweeter double action trigger pull.