S&W 32 Regulation Police

[Phillip]

I aquired from my Grandmother her father's pistol. It is what I believe to be a 32 Regulation Police. The barrel is 6" and it is chambered for the "38 S. & W. SPECIAL CTG." The serial number on the butt is 281635. There is a number on the Yoke and across from it on the frame of 8581. The first patent number on the top of the barrel is Mar.27.94 and the last is Sep.14.09.

On the underside of the barrel is the numbers B 281635.
Frame Number.jpg

The overall profile of the pistol is captured in this picture.
Profile.jpg

Can anyone help me confirm my research and give me an idea of when this pistol was manufactured/sold?

Thank you.

[Waidmann]

A Regulation Police would be so marked. Either in .32 Long or .38 S&W not special and on a .32 Frame. What you appear to have is a 1905 Hand Ejector Military & Police Change 4. Its wearing pre-1920 grips. It pre-dates heat treating of the cylinder and should not be fired with anything other than standard loads with lead bullets (no jackets, no +P ammo). This variation commenced with 241704 in 1915.

[timetripper]

Waidmann called it spot on. As he noted, the regulation police is built on the smaller I frame, the precursor to the later J frame. The 38 S&W versions were also a five shot revolver. I'll bet yours is a 6 shot. The 38 special cartridge was introduced, along with the medium sized K frame, in 1905 M&P hand ejector and went on to become one of the most popular handgun cartridges to date. It is the grandaddy of the later model 10, arguably the most successful revolver ever produced. Yours looks to be a nice example with some honest wear, and the family connection makes it priceless in my book. BTW, welcome to the forum.
John

[Phillip]

Waidmann.

I have three questions or inconsistencies with your response that I'd like to make sure I've clairifed. First, the last patent date on the top is 1909, which may be a conflict the the 1905. The second is the stamp on the underside of the barrel, has a "B" in it as seen in my original post. From other information I've come across, the "B" indicates a 32 Regulation Police. Finally, the marking on the right side of the barrel calls out 38 S. & W. SPECIAL CTG., see below. This shows it being chambered for 38 Special, unless a 38 S. & W. SPECIAL is different. I appreciate your time in helping me check this out. Thank you.

38 Special Mark.jpg

[gearchecker]

Phillip,
I'm no expert either, but I'll try to answer a few of these questions as best I can.
All the patent date on your revolver refers to, is when a patant for a particular purpose was assigned or applied for. The Model of 1905 was built well into the late 1920's and early 1930's. If the rollmarks applied to the pistol were entered and the last patent date of note was 1905 that's what the barrel will have on it. So a roll mark of 1909 can easily be explained on a model of 1905. Without a doubt the hand ejector was built on the larger frame and was built in the .38 S&W Special cartridge. The 32 regulation police would be a 32 caliber revolver, not a 38 Spl. (Thus the moniker 32 Reg police)
I'm in complete agreement with Waidmann on this.
Lastly. There are numerous discrepancies in the serial number marking methods of S&W. There is no hard and fast definitive set of serial number sequences in the history of this company. The standards catalog mentions this issue many times thruout the publication. Even in the listings of sequetial serial numbers in the back of the catalog shows distinct issues with the dates and numbers assigned. That's why the best we can do is use the standards catalog as a guide, and the known history of certain guns owned by members here, as a reasonable reference to sequencing.
I know this doesn't specifically answer your questions, but it's the best we can offer with the information at hand.

The most accurate way to get the answers to your questions will be to request a letter of authenticity from Roy Jenks, the S&W historian.
Here's a link to the S&W website to request this letter. Cost is currently $50 per request.
Firearm History Request - Smith & Wesson

Regards,
Gearchecker
Regards,
Gearchecker

[Hammerdown]

Hello
it appears you have a square butt K-Frame M&P revolver Meaning Millitary & Police gun issued to most Police departments. From it's serial number we can see it is a Model of 1905 Forth Variation even though it's barrel Patent dates show to have been from an earlier time span the Forth Variation coisides with the model of 1905. It's Prefix of B-In the extractor cut out area indicates it was to be Blued in it's finish. Blued guns got a much less intense polishing prior to their finish than Nickel plated guns did. Nickel finish guns would have an N-Prefix in that area. A Regulation poilce revolver will have a Rebated back strap and is of the I-Frame size much smaller than your K-Frame revolver. The .32 S&W Long Caliber regulation police revolver's were not stamped Regulation police on the sides of their barrels but the .38 S&W caliber revolver's that were Regulation police gun's are stamped Regulation Police on the sides of their barrels and are of different caliber being .38 S&W which is a much shorter casing and larger in diameter bullet than the .38 Special caliber. I hope this helps, Hammerdown

[Phillip]

Hammerdown,

Yes, thank you! That helps put those conflicts in my mind to rest.

As I read this, and with the other information I've gleened, the use of 38 Special ammuntion should be acceptable as long as it is not of the +P type. Since I do like to reload, bottom end pressures will be my choice for this revolver.

I wish to thank everyone for the kind responses and I wish you folks a Happy New Year.

Phillip

[Waidmann]

Okay Christmas is torn down and packed up; your PM read. I see the usual suspects have weighed in and (correctly) expanded the thread. I have to restate my caveats on jacketed bullets. A 158 grain standard load should shoot to point of aim at 25 yds.

Have a happy new year!

[Phillip]

ALL,

Thank you so much for your insight and advice. I've finally received the "Official" verdict from S&W, where according to company records they state for Serial Number 281635 we have a .38 Military & Police Model of 1905 Fourth Change, caliber .38 S&W Special, that was shipped June 7, 1917 and delivered to Whiton Hardware Co., Seattle, WA. The records indicate this revolver was shipped with a 6 inch barrel, blue finish, and checkered walnut gold medallion square grips. That's what they wrote. I belive the above thread had most of this down cold. Thank you.

Left Profile.jpg

[Waidmann]

Thank you Phillip, It is grand when an OP closes the loop. Particularly when a factory letter gives an insight.

Now a question, is your M&P logo marked on the right side of the frame? There does not appear to be one on the left.

Thanks, Waidmann