5 shot S&W...info? 100+ years old? antique? junk?

O

Onebum

New member
I was told this revolver was from the spanish american war. It is a Smith and Wesson, .38, double action, nickel, 5 inch, 5 shot, breaktop. Have the original box, and the cleaning rod. When my grandfather passed It came to my posession because i'm the only one in my family with an interest in firearms.

Basically could anyone tell me more about this, it's history/origin, or where to find out more about it?

Is there any way I can tell if it has ever been fired? Can someone point me in the right direction to find out more about the gun? Is it worth more if it hasn't been fired? I don't plan on selling it, but I won't shoot it if it hasn't been fired and me firing it would cause a major change in value. Could I shoot it or would it be a REALLY bad idea?

It could use a bath, but seems in perfect working order, no major scratches/other obvious problems.

Thanks in advance for any help offered. I know very little about revolvers so if I said something dumb/redundant/useless, keep that in mind and I apoligize in advance.

Thanks for any help!
 
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I'll have to get my information from here, so please respond to this if you have any info you wouldn't mind sharing. The problem is that I use a hotmail account, and they won't let me register with it. So, I'll get whatever Info from here I guess.

If someone wanted to copy and paste my post to the S&W forum, I would greatly appreciate it. No biggie if ya don't, I'm just curious about the gun so any Information would be great.
 
Post the serial number (found on the bottom of the butt) and I will be able to tell you when it was made.

Dean
 
If it has an external hammer and a blued, recurved trigger guard (concave, rather than convex at the rear), then it may be a .38 Double Action 3rd Model, made between 1884 and 1895.
It should also have a round butt frame and black, hard rubber grips with the S&W logo.

JT
 
It does have an external hammer, but it is nickel. It has a convex trigger gaurd, and is double action. It looks similar to other model 3's i've seen around the net (gunbroker).

Do people shoot these old things, or just look at them?

I'm new to handguns. I've had this for a while, but I'm about to purchase a pistol, so I figured I'd find out info on this. When I obtained this/my grandfather passed, I stored the gun and forgot about it...He meant the world to me.
 
First, it's not junk. I'm not sure if I would shoot it though. Having the box and cleaning rod is a huge plus. Whether or not it is unfired matters little on a gun this old. originality, completeness and condition mean everything, and it sounds like you have all three.

I implore you to someway get on the S&W forum and learn more about this pistol before you do anything with it. Take some digital pics of it and the box and email them to me and I will post them to the S&W forum for you. I'm PMing you my email address.

Until you know what you have, and how to clean it, do nothing. Nothing. The Gutta Pecha stuff some of these boxes and grips were made of is fragile and could be harmed by modern cleaners. At this point just gather information, OK? It survived the past 50 years with no cleaning, it will survive another 6 months. Email some good pics, or post them here, and i'll get them on the S&W forum for you. :)
 
I would not be afraid to fire it with the proer ammunition. There are two major areas of concern though. First is the lockup when the revolver is at full cock in single action mode. You must make certain that the cylinder is locked in position by the raised bolt fitting into the locking bolt notch on each chamber. If the cylinder can move, POJ. The other major area of concern is the toplatch. It must lock into position positively and NOT allow the barrel assembly any freeplay. The airgap or too loose toplatch can allow the revolver to break open when fired, alter headspacing and allow the recoil shild to be battered. A important safety check must be performed. Open the revolver and look at the recoil shield/firing pin hole. Is the FP sticking out/protruding at all? Close the empty revolver and pull the trigger and hold it. Look from the side and check to see if the FP is fully extended, then release the trigger, the FP should retract and vanish into its retracted position. If the FP stays out proud of the recoil shield, it is unsafe. The breaktops also have a safety notch built into the hammers. Pull the hammer back slowly and there should be a felt and audible click that locks the hammer in position. If the breaktop does not do this, the safety notch is broken, badly worn or missing. Parts and pieces are rare for these old revolvers. Send me a PM and I will walk you through the cleaning process. It is somewhat complicated as you must remove the cylinder. If the revolver is freckled and nicotine hazed, Flitz will clean that better than most cleaners. DO NOT use Hoppes #9 or any other product with ammonia. (Windex) The values run from $25.00 to $350.00. I have a friend who still carries one as his pocket BUG. I have had and still own a few myself.
 
X, and don't worry, I have/had no plans to clean the thing. none at all, ha. It is in Great shape externaly, the nickel is nice, and everything functions correctly...hammer, double action, cylinder. Yeah, i'm gonna get on the S&W forum somehow...and I'll have the Digital pics for you around 7:30 tonight.

I'm not going to clean it though. Not even gonna wipe it down. I wasn't thinking of not cleaning it because of the things you mentioned, I wasn't gonna clean it because i see no reason to. It looks MUCH better than any i've seen online at gunbroker and other sites.

O, and I have no plans at all to clean it...J/K with ya

THANKs very much for taking an interest/giving a bit of help. I've read/seen several of your posts around this thing...i've been Reading on here for months, I only joined recently to post.
 
Lord William,
I don't have any real plans on firing it, I was just curious about if it was possible...with the gun in good working order.

The lockup is perfect. Very strong, i checked it, perhaps was a wee bit rough, but the lockup is fine.

The toplatch is perfect as well. There is absolutely no give/play/wiggle/anything at all. Tight fit, and you have to want to break it open. Not too tight, and it doesn't stick, but it seems to feel the same as any other good condition revolver i've handled(it's a short list, but a list still).

To be honest, i'm not 100% sure with the next check...I think it's okay, but don't feel i understand enough to say yeah.

Next you mentioned the safety notch, which works perfectly. This is mentioned on the inside of the box where there are brief instructions as well.

The gun looks better than any I have seen around the net, though I haven't seen any with a barrel this long. This is a 5", while the longest other I have seen is 4" on some site. As for the value, I was correct in my guess according you your estimate. Honestly, the finish is beautiful, and I wonder if this ever spent much time anywhere other than the box. There are no scratches or anything. Funny about the value of these things, I and keeping a colt dragoon(spelling?) for my uncle that I was told is worth MUCH MORE than this pistol, for obvious reasons.
 
I am glad to hear that all is well! The one site I remembered is www.dixiegunworks.com in Union City, TN. They have an antique arms section that is useful. I have had 2" bicycle models through 10" target models. I think they are cool collectibles. www.walker47.com is one of the few who gunsmith these old revolvers. A CAS shooter had them completely rework and renickel a Baby Russian exposed trigger breaktop 38 and the work was outstanding. I generally shoot mine to MOP accuracy. (MOP=minute of potatoe) I am interested in seeing pics. I wonder what style/type and colour the grips are.
 
Well, I apoligize about promising pictures tonight. My wife left my digital camera in her classroom...3rd graders=contant digital pictures for some reason. The grips are black...hard, but i'm not sure of the material, not that I would have any knowledge to go on, newbie all the way.

Honestly, I can't imagine shooting this gun now that I think about it. The trigger gaurd/trigger have torn a couple peices of skin of my finger, and i havn't even dry fired it, that's just from easing the hammer down and what not.

Thanks again though, everyone. I've been reading this site for months, and know a new poster and/or new thread can not always be welcomed. Actually, decency would be a step up in some cases. Basically, thanks for the help, and patience with the clueless but interested fella. I didn't know what to expect, but i hoped for the best...and so far I've gotten far more help that I expected.
 
One hint on the grips. They are fragile as eggs in the locator pin area at the bottom. I use olive oil on mine to keep them from drying out. Wipe it on, leave it to soak in overnight and wipe off the excess the next day.
 
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