Just bought this S&W... what do I have?

[Miami_JBT]

Just acquired this little gem. She's tight as can be. I believe it's a Smith & Wesson .38 Double Action 2nd Model.

The following five digit serial number, 5595X is stamped on the cylinder face near the ejector. The on the bottom of the catch/rear sight it's stamped with four digits; 5595. No other serial numbers appear on this gun. I've checked under the grips, all over the frame, etc... nothing. Only a small "D" is marked on the solid frame on the inside and to the front of the cylinder paw that would lock the cylinder from rotating. The top strap on the barrel is marked the following; "SMITH & WESSON SPRINGFIELD MASS. U.S.A. PAT'D JAN. 17&25.65
JULY 11.65. AUG. 24.69. JULY 25.71. DEC 2.79. MAY 11&23. 1880". The front sight is pinned to the barrel.

[Miami_JBT]

There is no serial stamped on the bottom of the butt. No grind or machining marks on it either that would make it appear that the serial was removed. The first four digits of the serial stamped on the cylinder matches the four digits stamped on the bottom of the top break catch/rear sight.

This gun is tight and smooth..... like it came from the factory yesterday.This not my first S&W, but my first antique S&W and first top break. How the hell do I take her apart?

I took the grips off and there were no marking or any hint of a serial number on it. Just the numbers stamped on the cylinder and under the top break catch/rear sight assembly. Everything according to my S&W Collector guide says she's a .38 Double Action 2nd Model.... could she have escaped the factory without a serial number stamping on the butt?

[demkofour]

I'm no Smith and Wesson expert so I rely on the Standard Catalog of S&W for stuff like this. But I have it at work not here. Try the Smith-Wesson forum for a definitive answer, that site is loaded with S&W experts...

[Miami_JBT]

I paid under $500 for it. It was a pawn shop find. They told me the person that pawned it was a middle aged guy. He came in with that and a couple of other older pieces. Said that they were his great grandfather's guns and needed cash.

Well, everything so far points to it being a S&W .38 Double Action 2nd Model which was made from 1880-1884 and chambered in .38 Smith & Wesson (the parent cartridge of .38 S&W Special) and it was a black powder cartridge gun. It appears to have been refinished (nickle) at some point in time. S&W stamped serial numbers on their guns since they started making gun.

Serial Numbers were not required by law until the 1968 Gun Control Act. So it's possible that at some point in it's life when it was refinished the serial number on the frame was removed. Which in of itself is not a crime if it was done prior to 1968. There is no way to prove that the serial number was removed after 1968 and I have seen many pre-1968 guns with the serial numbers scrubbed from them during refinishing. Also this gun is an antique since it's date manufacturer was between 1880 to 1884. Anything made before 1899 does not fall under Federal Law as a firearm and can be mailed through the postal system, purchased without a 4473, and it pretty much treated as a modern day black powder non cartridged firearm.

In the end... this gun is tight, has excellent timing, smooth trigger in both double and single action, and has an excellent finish (even if it was refinished at some point in it's life).

[ryr8828]

It looks like the Dead Man's Gun.

[Buck]

That is a first model Smith & Wesson Lemon Squeezer. They were made in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th century. They came in both 32 S&W and 38 S&W. S&W made a lot of these until someone figured out how to make a swing out revolver cylinder and then they were fazed out...

If you decide to shoot it, be sure to use low power "cowboy" ammunition.

http://tenxammo.com/files/Shooter_Di...g_05052011.pdf

S/F

B

[Miami_JBT]

Smith & Wesson .38 Double Action 2nd Model. Serial Number 5595X, made between 1880-1884. Chambered in .38 Smith & Wesson

[RD62]

That is a first model Smith & Wesson Lemon Squeezer. They were made in the latter half of the 19th and early 20th century. They came in both 32 S&W and 38 S&W. S&W made a lot of these until someone figured out how to make a swing out revolver cylinder and then they were fazed out...

If you decide to shoot it, be sure to use low power "cowboy" ammunition.

http://tenxammo.com/files/Shooter_Di...g_05052011.pdf

S/F

B

I thought the lemon squeezers had a grip safety? But then I am about as far from a S&W expert as one can get!

[skyugo]

500 bucks seems like an awesome price for 130 year old gun in that kind of condition.

[CAVDOC]

not a lemon squeezer- those would be hammerless models with grip safety. Factory 38 S&W (NOT special) loads are loaded with these old guns in mind. no problem shooting current production ammo in them.