The serial number puts the gun as having been made sometime around 1907, so to have a gun that is 112 years operate so well is even more astounding. The Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless was. I shoot my S&W.32 short safety hammerless revolver.Created with MAGIX Movie Edit Pro 2016. The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson doesn't list any serial numbers with the prefix 'Y'. The.38 Safety Hammerless, commonly known as the 'Lemon Squeezer due to it's grip safety, was made with serial #s 1 thru 261493 between 1887 and 1940.

Some Blast from the Past submissions are so perfect all I have to do is shut up and get out of the way. Today’s is such a post. Thanks very much to New River Valley Outdoorsman for this fine entry:

1 - S&W Safety Hammerless in.38 S&W Caliber. Matching Serial numbers on the cylinder and the frame and the grips. The grip serial number is on the inside of the right hand grip and although I believe it to be the factory original embossing I will not guarantee it. LSB#: 180604KM15 Make: Smith & Wesson Model:.38 Safety Hammerless 4th Model Serial Number: 204345 Year of Manufacture: 1898-1907 Caliber:.38 S&W Action Type: 5-Shot, Double Action Only, Top Break, Automatic Ejecting Revolver With Grip Safety Markings: The top of the barrel’s rib is marked “SMITH & WESSON SPRINGFIELD MASS. / PAT’D OCT.2.1883.

This Smith & Wesson safety hammerless revolver was officially titled the New Departure—but was universally dubbed the Lemon Squeezer, from the grip safety in the back strap. This little top-break revolver couldn’t be fired unless firmly gripped and the safety lever was depressed—an unusual feature for its era, hence the name New Departure. Smith & Wesson touted features, such as the gun’s concealability, its smooth lines that made the gun easy to draw from a pocket, and that it was “nearly impossible” for a child to fire because you had to depress the safety and pull the rather stiff trigger simultaneously. The New Departure went through several model changes in its long life: This one is a fourth model, made in 1903. It has been fitted with custom grips of faux ivory, replacing the normal hard rubber grips that were prone to chipping.

Many New Departures were chambered for the .32 S&W Long, but this one is chambered for .38 S&W, a caliber introduced in 1887 and still in production. Though the gun’s use has waned in the U.S., it remains immensely popular worldwide and virtually every European revolver maker has brought out a gun in this caliber. The British Army added a heavier (200-grain) bullet and dubbed it the.380/200, which they chambered in the Webley and Enfield No. 2 military revolvers issued to their armed forces from 1930 to 1957. Some British police units still use it. American-made factory ammunition is pretty wimpy stuff, mimicking the original black powder load, because of all the lesser-quality guns chambered in this enormously popular round. Handloading makes it easy to replicate the .38 S&W performance of the .380 ACP, and to lap at the lower fringe of the .38 Special’s range.

The Lemon Squeezer was a cash cow for S&W, selling steadily from its introduction in 1889 until production ceased in 1941. I’ve carried this little gun from time to time and can attest that it was—and still is—ideal for concealed carry: compact, reliable, easily reloaded, and respectably powerful. By the standards of 1903, it was considered quite adequate for self-defense. Hundreds of thousands of New Departures were made and they’re still readily found in good condition. S&W made quality products, much better than the guns turned out by other makers such as H&R and Iver Johnson.

Cities skylines mac free. Keep the old gun pictures coming to fsgunnuts@gmail.com.

CLASSIC HANDGUNS: The S&W Safety Hammerless Revolvers

By John Marshall

During the 1880s, Smith & Wesson co-founder Daniel Baird Wesson was seeking to design and produce a revolver for self defense that would be entirely safe to handle until properly gripped and fired by a long, heavy double-action pull on the trigger. He was particularly motivated by reports of children firing guns accidentally. Such a revolver would have no external hammer, and could not therefore be fired with a light single-action pull. D.B. Wesson began work on the project with his son Joe, and the result was the first in a long line of double-action-only self-defense revolvers. These would be extremely difficult for a child to fire. Such guns would have an additional advantage for law enforcement officers, who could draw their revolver from underneath clothing without a hammer catching on a pocket or coat and impeding the draw. This concept lives on in some modern S&W revolvers. Today these early revolvers, named by the factory 'Safey Hammerless' or 'New Departure' are classic collector items.

D.B. Wesson assigned the development of the new revolver to his son Joe, and this was one of Joe's first drafting projects. Joseph H. Wesson had learned a lot from his father, and had inherited much of his forebear's mechanical aptitude. His first model design was completed on May 1, 1884. In addition to it being a double-action-only revolver it incorporated a grip safety in the backstrap of the firearm. Gripping the revolver tightly deactivated an internal hammer block, and allowed the gun to be fired. This first design did have a flaw. It featured a heavy striker bar. Unfortunately, if the gun was dropped on its muzzle the forward inertia of the striker bar could allow it to strike the primer, sometimes firing the gun accidentally. Joe Wesson went back to the drawing board and came up with a second concept in January 1886 that eliminated this problem. This design utilized a much smaller spring-loaded inertia-type firing pin that could only ignite a primer if it was struck a strong blow by the internal hammer. Being spring-loaded, it automatically retracted after being struck, and did not continue to touch the primer even while the hammer was at rest against the pin. John Browning later utilized this nearly identical system for his enduring Model 1911 .45 pistol design.

Initial plans were to produce the new revolver in calibers .32 S&W, .38 S&W, and .44 S&W Russian, and early advertisements stated these intentions. However after producing a prototype, it was decided to make them only in the two lesser calibers. The first guns manufactured were known as .38 Safety Hammerless models, and eight nickeled revolvers were produced in July 1886. Twenty more nickeled revolvers were made in August of that year, and these guns were held in inventory until February 1887, when production and distribution began in earnest. Over the life of the .38 Safety Hammerless models, five distinct model variations were generated, differing primarily in the barrel locking systems. All, of course, were of 'top break' design where the cartridges or empties were ejected automatically when the barrel and cylinder were released and swung down. During its production life, this arm was made with either a blue or nickel finish, and was offered in a wide range of barrel lengths from 2' to 6'. Production ceased on the .38 model in 1940, with a final serial number of 261,493.

Sw Safety Hammerless Serial Numbers Online

S&W tooled up and began producing the.32 Safety Hammerless models in February, 1888 when 16 nickeled revolvers were made. The improvements made to the latching mechanism on the .38 models were incorporated on the .32, the first ones being essentially reduced-size versions of the .38 Third Model. Three different model variations were made in the .32 revolver over its production life. These changes involved improvements to the barrel catch, the front sight, and the cylinder base pin attachment. Almos

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CLASSIC HANDGUNS: The S&W Safety Hammerless Revolvers

Sw Safety Hammerless Serial Numbers Online