My Favorite M&P
I like the Smith & Wesson Military and Police revolver. 
This revolver, however, has been in production for over a hundred years. In the past century, there were inevitable changes to the gun, some good, some bad, some neither. Within those subtle variations of America's most ubiquitous handgun, I have found my preference.
My preference among the M&Ps for the purpose of pure shooting enjoyment is the pre-Depression revolver. These M&Ps have a smooth trigger, a mushroom shaped ejector knob, and Circassian walnut grips without medallions. There are no "Made in USA" or "Marcos Registradas" markings. The topstrap is rounded, with a round notch for the rear sight. It has a side swing hammer block safety. The bluing and tolerances in these guns exceed that of present day Performance Center revolvers. These were hand built pieces fabricated by master craftsmen.
Thus, when I found this M&P on a gun show table, I had to buy it.
It checked out good, locking up tight with no endshake and a minimal cylinder gap. I haggled the price from $225 to $165, and took my prize home. It is serial number 3690XX. That is significant. Heat treatment of the .38 Special cylinders began at serial number 316648. This revolver is safe to use with modern ammunition. I'm estimating it's date of birth to be about 1917.
It was with anticipation that I took this new revolver to the range today. I shot it after running ammo through a couple of my 1911s. I do not think I did the old double action gal justice. I think she can certainly shoot better than she did by my hand today. Nevertheless, she kept all six shots on an index card at 10 yards. That is not too shabby for a ninety year old gun!
This revolver, however, has been in production for over a hundred years. In the past century, there were inevitable changes to the gun, some good, some bad, some neither. Within those subtle variations of America's most ubiquitous handgun, I have found my preference. My preference among the M&Ps for the purpose of pure shooting enjoyment is the pre-Depression revolver. These M&Ps have a smooth trigger, a mushroom shaped ejector knob, and Circassian walnut grips without medallions. There are no "Made in USA" or "Marcos Registradas" markings. The topstrap is rounded, with a round notch for the rear sight. It has a side swing hammer block safety. The bluing and tolerances in these guns exceed that of present day Performance Center revolvers. These were hand built pieces fabricated by master craftsmen.
Thus, when I found this M&P on a gun show table, I had to buy it.
It checked out good, locking up tight with no endshake and a minimal cylinder gap. I haggled the price from $225 to $165, and took my prize home. It is serial number 3690XX. That is significant. Heat treatment of the .38 Special cylinders began at serial number 316648. This revolver is safe to use with modern ammunition. I'm estimating it's date of birth to be about 1917. It was with anticipation that I took this new revolver to the range today. I shot it after running ammo through a couple of my 1911s. I do not think I did the old double action gal justice. I think she can certainly shoot better than she did by my hand today. Nevertheless, she kept all six shots on an index card at 10 yards. That is not too shabby for a ninety year old gun!
Labels: Gun Collecting, Smith and Wesson
posted by Xavier at 4:14 PM
2 Comments:
Question for you? Which vintage M&P would have the "mushroom" style ejector, all the other features you mentioned, and a round butt?
I had a student in my last CCW class with that gun. I didn't get a chance to look at the serial number, but he said "it was made in 1905." He may have meant it was a "model of 1905", but as we both had on muffs, it was hard to tell for sure.
So, about when would a round butt gun with those features have been made?
Rob/Trebor
It could have been a Model of 1905, same gun except with a round butt. they came both ways. The sqaure butt is much more common. I wish i could find one in a round butt.
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