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38 special

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7 comments

  • smartsie7
    I have a 38 S. & W. Special CTG. The handle is brown wooden with the S & W insignia at the top of the handle on both sides, it has a diamond shaped design with a screw in it on both sides of the lower part of the handle. I would like to know how old this gun is and how much it is worth. I've had it since 1988.
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  • Hawk Carse
    It is at least 22 years old.

    If you want to know how much older, you will have to furnish the serial number. Pictures will help a lot.
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  • lcdrdanr
    Since you've had it since 1988, it's at least 22 years old. Okay, so much for the wiseazz answer. You need to give us a lot more information, pictures would help since they're worth a thousand words but even things like number of rounds it will hold, (5 or 6), if it's blued or chrome or stainless, what's the serial number, is there any other numbers inside the yoke (when you open the cylinder to load it, look at the place where it hinges on the frame and see if there's any numbers there).

    Telling us you have a car with a V-8 engine and 4 doors, with a chrome bumper wouldn't allow anyone to tell you much about the car, now would it?

    Please give us something more to go on. There's a sticky that tells how to post photos.

    Dan R
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by smartsie7
    I have a 38 S. & W. Special CTG. The handle is brown wooden with the S & W insignia at the top of the handle on both sides, it has a diamond shaped design with a screw in it on both sides of the lower part of the handle. I would like to know how old this gun is and how much it is worth. I've had it since 1988.



    Its impossible to answer your question with information you gave.

    So you've got a .38 revolver with wood grips?

    As lcdrdanr says, that's kind of like telling us you have a Ford car that has four seats and white paint then asking us to tell you what year it was made in and how much its worth!

    Pretty much ANY Smith and Wesson .38 revolver manufactured in the last 90 years could match your description, from a worn out piece of junk worth $100 to rare guns worth well over $1000 to a collector. There are probably no FEWER than 30 or 40 different models or variations it could be, and value is going to depend highly on the CONDITION of the gun, something you didn't describe at all!

    If you are serious about getting an answer, go take half a dozen photographs of the gun from different angles, in good lighting, and post them here, and you'll get a very good answer of what kind of gun you have and how much its worth. Instructions on how to do this can be found in the "sticky" at the top of the ask the Experts page.

    As a VERY rough first approximation, a contemporary Smith and Wesson blued steel revolver in .38 special in good-to-excellent condition will be worth about $225-500.

    If you don't have a camera, try AT LEAST answering the following questions:

    -Describe ALL markings on the gun, including on the barrel, butt, and under the rear part of the barrel inside the gun when you open up the cylinder.

    -How long is the barrel?

    -Does the gun have fixed or adjustable sights?

    -Does the gun have a hammer?

    -What kind of finish does the gun have (ie nickel, stainless steel, or blued steel).

    -How many bullets does the cylinder hold (5 or 6)?

    These things would be a good START.
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  • Bamavol
    Smartsiw7, guns do not have handles. They have grips.
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  • beantownshootah
    quote:Originally posted by Bamavol
    Smartsiw7, guns do not have handles. They have grips.

    If you want to be a super purist about this, the preferred term for wooden revolver grips is "stocks".

    With respect to a revolver, the term "handle" isn't used often, but I don't think its "wrong" so long as the meaning is clear. For example as in this patent from 1985:

    quote:
    http://www.freepatentsonline.com/4658528.html

    Revolver handle structure
    United States Patent 4658528
    A handgun grip arrangement in which both large and small grip panels may be interchangeably accommodated. A grip frame projection substantially smaller than the large grip depends from and forms part of the handgun frame.

    Pairs of large or pairs of small grip panels are opposingly positioned on opposite sides of the frame projection which grip panels have border engagement surfaces and frame projection engagement areas which surfaces are drawn into engagement and which engagement areas are caused to engage such frame projection by operation of fastener means.

    If you don't accept this, many military style rifles do feature real carry handles, including the M16 and many AR-15 versions. For example, the scope in this image is mounted on one such carry handle:

    IMG_4610.jpg

    Here is a more vivid example. Note the folding carry handle on the top middle of this nice Israeli Galil rifle:

    galil.jpg

    Also, the knob or protrusion you use to load many semi-automatic guns (including submachine gun type pistols) is often called a "charging handle". Again, using an Israeli gun as an example, note the charging handle on the top of this Uzi in between the front and rear sight assemblies:

    firearms_smg_uzi_01.jpg
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  • Nott Sure
    Is that a bottle opener on that big brown and black one or is there a special term for that?
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