Inherited Grandfathers Revolver, Seeking help in what I have...

783 Views 25 Replies 11 Participants Last post by guntha45, 3 d ago

MattLatham

Discussion Starter · 7 d ago

My Aunt just gave me my Grandfather's old revolver. He passed back in the 1990's. I have no idea what I have, or when he acquired it. I am seeking help in figuring out what it is. Appreciate any help. I think it might be a Smith and Wesson Top break revolver, but no idea what caliber it is. The Serial Number on the bottom of the grip and on the cylinder is 264961. I could not find any stamps for the caliber. The top of the barrel is stamped with:
SMITH & WESSON SPRINGFIELD MASS USA PAT'D JAN 24 65,
JULY 11, 65. AUG. 24 69 REISSUE JULY 25 71 MAY 11 80 JAN 3 82

Any idea what is might be? How old? Caliber? The barrel has severe rust with pitting inside so shooting it is not an option in my opinion. Just curious what I have. Photos attached.

P.S. Ignore the metal file in the photos. I was making some hand-laid turnouts for my model railroad and forgot to move it. ;-)

Thanks, Matt Latham

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Themanjc

· #21 · 4 d ago

MattLatham said:
Thank you. Since I do not have a working Smith and Wesson revolver, I should buy one. Right?

Welcome. And yes - you definitely need to buy a working revolver. Lots of great advice has surfaced.

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guntha45

· #22 · 4 d ago

41magfarmer said:
That is a great start then - family history right there.

I am not brand specific with wheelies - Taurus, Ruger, S&W, I like 'em all. Lol

I also have Colt, Ruger, Uberti, and Taurus revolvers but I have the highest opinion of those post-WWII up to about 1990 S&W's and I really like the pre-model 5-screw guns. I'm not crazy about the current S&W's. I find them equal to or barely better than the offerings from Taurus. Yes, I said it! I have a Taurus Tracker .45 Colt that has a trigger pull from the factory better than any current S&W I've handled, and it's just as accurate.

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guntha45

· #23 · 4 d ago

cloan11 said:
No, you should buy at least 4. A 38 Spc, .357 mag, 44 mag and buyers choice .22, .22 mag, 9mm, 45 ACP or LC, 41mag, etc... And that's just in the revolvers.

Or buy 4, all .357 magnum, in all 4 frame sizes, J, K, L, and N!

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Hair Trigger

· #24 · 3 d ago

guntha45 said:
Or buy 4, all .357 magnum, in all 4 frame sizes, J, K, L, and N!

That's one of those rabbit holes I try to stay out of, with some measure of both failure and success. The success is, I've avoided J and L frames, the failures are that I've got multiples in K and N frames. Where do you draw the line to stop at? If you went for all four frame sizes, then you have to get at least one of each model in each frame; then you have to get a nickel and a blue of each model of each frame, as well as a stainless model, and then you start working on one each of those in every barrel length. It's like opening a bag of potato chips and trying to eat only a couple.

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guntha45

· #25 · 3 d ago

Hair Trigger said:
That's one of those rabbit holes I try to stay out of, with some measure of both failure and success. The success is, I've avoided J and L frames, the failures are that I've got multiples in K and N frames. Where do you draw the line to stop at? If you went for all four frame sizes, then you have to get at least one of each model in each frame; then you have to get a nickel and a blue of each model of each frame, as well as a stainless model, and then you start working on one each of those in every barrel length. It's like opening a bag of potato chips and trying to eat only a couple.

The line is at X frames....and at this point a safe place to store them, my storage is full!

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guntha45

· #26 · 3 d ago

MattLatham said:
Thank you. Since I do not have a working Smith and Wesson revolver, I should buy one. Right?

I always recommend a 4" K frame .357 mag. with adjustable sights for a first revolver. Big enough to shoot easily, not too big and ungainly to conceal, powerful enough with .357's, reduced recoil shooting .38 special. It's kind of a "Goldilocks Gun", just right.

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