My Pre-Model 10

T

tallball

New member
I have wanted an old-fashioned good-shooting S&W 38 special, but didn't want to pay $500 or more. I haunted Gunbroker for a few months and finally got this one for $136. It has definitely been shot before! The rifling is slightly pitted and a little shallow, but it locks up very tight. I won't get a chance to shoot it until next weekend, but so far I feel like l "stole it". I love antiques! This one was made in 1937 or 1938. :)
 

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It appears to have the mushroom head ejector rod, so chances are it was made in the 1920s or before.

If you give us the serial number, replacing the last 3 numbers with XXX, we can tell you approximately when it was made.

I have one very much like it that was made in the 1920s. It's gone brown with patina, but it still shoots well.

I only fire light Trail Boss loads with lead bullets in it.
 
The serial number is 545xxx. I thought that indicated 1938, but I have been wrong before. :)

The numbers on the butt and cylinder match, but there is also a number that you can see on the frame when you swing thecylindern open, and that is 565xx (only five digits).

I look forward to shooting it. The trigger feels a little stiff, but the balance is nice and the grip fits my hand well.
 
I was going to add a few more pictures, but I'm having trouble uploading them this morning. :confused:
 
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Maybe the end of the extractor rod and the grips were replaced with older ones at some point? I think those were the parts that people have mentioned that look like they are from the 20's.
 
"Maybe the end of the extractor rod and the grips were replaced with older ones at some point? I think those were the parts that people have mentioned that look like they are from the 20's."

The grips would be no problem at all to replace with older kit.

The ejector rod, however, would be, as it would require that the barrel either be milled or replaced to allow for proper clearance.

It's quite tough to figure out exactly when S&W replaced the old-style ejector rod cap.

When the depression hit, S&W was sitting on a huge number of manufactured parts for guns for which they no longer had orders.

They sat on that inventory throughout most of the depression, only using up the last of those parts in the early 1940s when fulfilling orders for the British during World War II.
 
I can't see the picture well enough to tell anything about it other than that the finish is pretty worn. Other than that I can't tell much.

I've been told this one is from 1938 also. The S/N is in the 678xxx range, so yours is older than this one. How much older I have no idea.





Same gun before replacing grips. Mabye a little better, although still not good.





The ejector rod knob on yours does seem to be the "mushroom" type, but I can't really tell.

Which side of the frame is the Smith & Wesson emblem on? Does it have "Made in USA" on the right side?
 
Hi,
From your pictures it looks similar to mine. Mine does not look like much but shoots well. Production on mine is 1923.
 
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