.38 S&W Chief's Special circa 1948 Info Wanted

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rhippert

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I have an .38 S&W 5-shot revolver. It is about the size of the current J-Frames, but it has a conventional hammer and rounded grip. It has a blued finish. I know this gun dates back to somewhere around 1948 to 1950 when it was given to my mother by her uncle. The serial number is 55977. I believe when it first came out it was referred to as a Chief's Special.

I believe it came in a blue cardboard box,but it's long gone.

Do you know any thing more about this gun, possibly the Model number? My Mother also gave me another number that she thought was the serial number: 17A35.

Thanks.
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Is the caliber .38 S&W or .38 S&W Special?
They are not the same thing.

If it is a 5 shot .38 Special that old it is a very early Chief's Special.

A 5 shot 2" barrelled (you don't say) .38 S&W is a Terrier. A longer barrel would make it a Regulation Police.

Smith & Wesson did not assign model numbers until 1957, before that their guns had names.

The 17A35 is likely a company assembly number which means nothing outside the factory.
 
Then you have a Terrier. Before WW II it was listed as the .38/.32 because it is pretty much a .38 caliber on a .32 frame, the "I" frame. When they got around to assigning model numbers in 1957 that gun became the Model 32. It is not a Chief's Special.
 
I'll assume the stated serial number is correct and that the revolver has a round butt.

In 1936 S&W introduced a snubnose/round butt version of their Regulation Police model. It was serial numbered in the Regulation Police serial number series that had started in 1917, and called the .38/32 Terrier. Production of the Terrier started at serial number 38,976 and intermixed with the Regulation Police, continued until World War Two ended production of both models in 1940 at approximately serial number 54,474.

After the war, production was resumed where they had left off, starting on June 28, 1949. The revolver at this point was the same as those offered before the war, except that a new hammer block was incorporated that made it safe to carry with the cylinder fully loaded. Thereafter a number of modifications occured that given the serial number on your gun should be of no concern. In 1957 the .38/32 Terrier was assigned the model No. 32. In 1969 the original (no prefix) serial number series was ended at 122,678 and a new series started with an "R" prefix.

Collectors call your Mother's revolver the .38/32 Terrier, post war/pre model 32. It is not a Chief Special. It most likely came in a wine/red colored box, not blue.

Shooters are generally not interested in revolvers chambered in .38 S&W, but if it is in excellent condition, it does have a collector's value, and that continues to go up.
 
Another of Old Fluff

I have a 38 S&W Special, given to my wife by her father. Serial #62162, 2 in barrel, swing out cyl. 6 shot with the checkered wood grips, I would say in 95% range. Can you tell me the year or possibly the value?

Thanks
 
Double-check the serial number, which should be stanped on the bottom of the butt, the rear face of the cylinder, and the bottom of the barrel at the back and above the ejector rod. The number stamped on the frame behind the yoke (the part that holds the cylinder when it is swung out) doesn't count. Be sure to check for a letter prefix.

Also see if there are any patent dates stamped on the top of the barrel, and if so post the last 2 of them.

The number you posted (62,162) would date from the early 1900's, and a two-inch barrel length wasn't cataloged until much later.
 
Hey!
No need to back out.

I was just pointing out that we were both working to answer the same question twice about what turned out to be an assembly number, not a serial number..

I hate when that happens!

rc
 
Don't misunderstand, I didn't go away mad, I just went away... :)

Thanks to Google I'm up to my eyeballs with requests from folks that want finite details about their * 38 S&W Ctg. * revolver that great-grandpa had.

There is more then enough to do for both of us... ;)
 
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