William Mattes
Member
I acquired a very very nice 1917 .45 hand ejector model and this past weekend I finally got around to cleaning the old heavy weight. What a cannon. This is my first smith & wesson and I'm very ecstatic about it. The gun cleaned up very nicely with a few minor problems to overcome. That's where you guys come in. It has a serial number of 139038, it has all the correct markings, 5-1/2" barrel, ramp front site, United States Property on underside of barrel, exploding bomb near hammer on left side of frame. It also has "S" markings near the trigger and cylindar swing arm hinge. Next to these marks there is a stamp that looks somewhat like a penguin, What is that, the makers mark? With respect to the serial number I'm thinking it was the second or third shipment out of the factory entering 1918. I'll send the appropriate paperwork into smith and wesson to obtain the correct date of shipment to Springfield, MA unless you guys can help me out. My next question conderns the cylindar and the shaft spindle it turns on. This gun is virtually perfect except for the fact that there is too much play in the cylindar. It moves back and forth too much. You can see where its making contact with the frame when the cylindar is released and then you try to close it. Hits right in the lower right corner of the cylindar entrance on the frame. Is this a spring/shim/bushing problem? The bushing looks brass in color and the spring I'm thinking has lost a bit of tension. If this is the problem can I can the parts to do the fix. Again this is the only thing that I need to do to get this revolver to 88-92%. I'm considered rather tough on the appraisal scale. I am truly sorry I don't have any pictures. I have a lot of guns but no cameras. If any of you guys want to tell me what kind of camera I should get to post some pictures please feel free to give some advice. Something simple to use, easy to operate, make it easy to post pictures etc. The more idiot proof the better. This is my first smith, I have colts, winchesters and rugers but I have truly fallen in love with this piece. It truly is a nice piece of steel. I'm so happy with it I'll be saving up for the new model so I will have a nice pair...the new and the old. You have to love a gun where when you run out of ammo you can always use it as a club. If "Dirty Harry" was running around the 1920's I'm sure this is the gun that would have made his day. I can't thank you guys enough for helping me out on this, much thanks, Bill