I'm pretty sure it's a gun...
I'm pretty sure I have a gun, beyond that I'm clueless.
Hello all,
I have a Smith and Wesson pistol that's been passed around the family and I (who knows nothing about these things) ended up with it. I'm trying to identify the model and any value it might have. The only thing I see that looks like a serial number is on the butt of the handle and begins with 219***. I haven't had much luck browsing randomly around the web. The story I got is that my great uncle used it to shoot a guy breaking into his house. The story may be worth more than the gun.
Thanks for any help.
DumbGuy
Hello all,
I have a Smith and Wesson pistol that's been passed around the family and I (who knows nothing about these things) ended up with it. I'm trying to identify the model and any value it might have. The only thing I see that looks like a serial number is on the butt of the handle and begins with 219***. I haven't had much luck browsing randomly around the web. The story I got is that my great uncle used it to shoot a guy breaking into his house. The story may be worth more than the gun.
Thanks for any help.
DumbGuy
0
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Looks like a new model No3 Scohfield
The Cal has a lot to do with value.
Is it 44 Russian?
If it is then it has great collector interest0 -
That barrell looks longer. My entire gun is only about 7 inches long. Would that mean it's not new model no 3? There seem to be a lot of other similarities.
Thanks for the reply0 -
Looking around for "new model" and schofield, I ran across this
SMITH & WESSON, DA 44 RUSSIAN, FIRST MODEL REVOLVER
http://www.ocyoung.com/SmithWesson.htm
It looks like a closer match except for the trigger is shaped slightly differently.0 -
What you need is a real dyed in the wool S&W fanatic/collector. I'm sure the first gun show you walked into with this, you'd look like the Pied Piper. Near as I can read from Blue Book, you have a newer edition of a Smith new model #3. The Frontier model was in 44-40WCF, was available blued or nickel, manu. 1885-1912, avail. in 4, 5 ,61/2
inch barrels. Hard to say if this is orig. factory nickel, as nickel was a popular factory or later finish in that time period. Dependent on the interpretation of the finish, which is darn near impossible without handling the gun in person, Blue Book values are:90% $3000,
80% $2500, 70% $2250, 60% $2000, 50% $1850, 40% $1600, 30% $1400, 20% $1250, 10% $1100. Again, these values are subject to the buyers perception, an experts opinion on finish and condition. Overall, my opinion is it is fairly nicely preserved for it's age. I'm sure someone else here can give a much better assessment than I.0 -
Are you guys sure that's a .44 cal pistol? It looks smaller to me, like a .32 cal or so. of our country.0 -
looks like an 1892 iver johnson safety hammer to me. is it 5 or 6 shot? 32 s&w is 5 shot and s&w 32 long is the 6 shot. is about a 100.00 gun. they are almost borderline (saturday night special) quality and were very common for working class people. used mostly in barooms and carrying money bags to the bank at night. heres a pic of my dads in 22LR.
former air operations officer SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 2. former navy skeet team, former navy rifle/pistol team member. co-owner skeetmaster tubes inc.. owner/operator professional shooting instruction. NRA certified instructor.0 -
Welcome to the zoo D.Guy - although asking questions is the sign of intelligence rather than the contrary! In the future, it would help if you edited the photo before linking it . . . makes it far easier to see what is there if the photo is cropped and doesn't require scrolling to view, plus a small ruler to give a sense of size. Several of the S&W revolvers are the same basic design, but different sizes. If you look over the firearm carefully, you should see some cartridge designation on the barrel along with the S&W identification. If there is none such, measure the diameter & length of the holes in the cylinder as best you can. This will allow folks to have a rough idea of the cartridge which this revolver was intended to shoot. These data will help identify and value this piece. As you undoubtedly have surmised from previous answers, some of the S&W top breaks are of limited value, others really precious.
"There is nothing lower than the human race - except the french." (Mark Twain)0 -
This appears to be a .32 Double Action 4TH Model made by Smith and Wesson. The serial number should be in the range of 43406 to 282999. They are usually found with 3 or 3 1/2 inch barrels. They were manufactured circa 1883 to 1909. Hope this helps.
A BAD DAY OF HUNTING IS BETTER THAN A GOOD DAY AT WORK!
ONE HIT IS BETTER THAN 10 MISSES!0 -
amazing how when you study guns, you find out gun mfg'ers were really into copying each other. it would appear the trigger is what leads all to it being a s&w. yet, eveything else looks identical to my i.j.. and based on my books, sure enough, they were both built around the same time frame. btw...is you gun single action or double action? 0 -
i have a smith and wesson .32 double action fourth model revolver serial # 72530 that was made oct.17, 1884. (per roy jinks/ smith and wesson historian)...239,593 produced.. yours looks idenical to it accept for the grips.. if you would like i could send you a pic of mine..just let me know. toolman9mm@yahoo.com 0 -
Iver Johnson ,forehand and wadsworth ,Harrington Richardson, J.stevens ,and smith and Wesson are just a few that made the firearm shown under almost the same patent
How ever it is not a scohfield ,not even a chance ,scohfield did invent the improved top break system ,but it was copied by many manufacturers until the late twenties ,I have owned many of these guns from .32 .38short tp .44 rim fire ,the one pictured by the screws and grip panels, and pin on the front sight my best guess would be H and R or Stevens ,but with out having one in front of me to compare I could be wrong ,forgive me I sold most of them about three years ago
i will try to find pics of my old guns ,and compare them0 -
I'm guessing that the gun is roughly .32cal. I'm just judging it based on the size of the cylinder compared to the trigger and trigger guard. of our country.0 -
Ain't no expert in shooting irons, but as a long-time collector of genuine mother of pearl handled pocketknives, I can say for sure that the "white" gripped revolvers pictured above my post on this thread are the real deal. Authentic pearl--now VERY rare and VERY costly for handgun grips. My $0.02...[:D] 0 -
Thanks for all the replies. (and sorry about the size of the picture).
It looks like we have two votes for .32 Double Action Fourth Model. Looking around on the web, I'm inclined to agree; although the barrell lengths appear to differ. Did they come in different sizes?
More details on mine:
5-shot
Inside diameter of chamber measures just shy of 3/8"
Chamber length is just shy of 1"
Barrel length: I'm not sure where the barrel ends, but it's 4 7/8" to the break point and 3 1/2" to the chamber.
Another question: Is it better to try and clean it, or leave it alone?
Thanks again,
DG0
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