older .38/.357 info needed

[ejohnson]

Hi Folks,
I am trying to help the wife pick out her revolver. She really like an older K-framed .38 that she tried out. Sorry, didn’t note the model, I was too busy enjoying watching the wife rock-out! :wow: She likes the old school look and the hold she got with the square bottom grips, so I have been looking into the older designs like 19/65/66 range. I wouldn’t mind even older models if they could be found in good shape.

The question is, however, which of the older designs are safe as carry weapons.

Transfer bar systems are easy to recognize in person, but some of the 66’s I have seen online seem to have the firing pin on the hammer. It is my understanding that some of the older models/revisions have a hammer block that is just as safe as the more modern transfer bar. How do you tell which models have these features? Is there a good online or printed reference? The only S&W reference catalog I have seen did not detail the lockworks.

Thanks,
EEJ

[tous]

I believe that Smith and Wesson began using the hammer block (it's not a transfer bar, it holds the hammer away from the firing pin unless the trigger is to the rear) in the 1950s? It's a fairly old feature so you likely won't find any contemporary revolvers without it.

Whether the revolver has a hammer nose (firing pin on the hammer) or frame-mounted firing pin, the hammer block works the same.

To test:

make sure the pistol is unloaded.
cock the hammer
control the hammer and press the trigger to the rear, let the hammer come forward (slowly) until it comes to a rest
keeping the trigger to the rear, observe the hammer as you let the trigger return
you should see the hammer move back a little. That's the hammer block moving into position.

Good luck, mi amigo. :wavey:
Few things more satisfying in this world than a Smith and Wesson revolver.

[machinisttx]

Any S&W revolver made since 1944/1945 has the new style hammer block and is safe to carry with all the chambers loaded. It is NOT a transfer bar and does not function like one. This means guns made post war, but prior to model numbers being stamped are safe.

S&W started stamping model numbers on guns in in the late 1950s, 1957 I think. Any gun you find with a model # in it is safe.

Most likely, your wife shot a M&P/Model 10(blue) or a model 64(stainless).

[ejohnson]

Thanks guys!
I think those are the best answers I have ever gotten from an on-line question!

Just last week at a gun shop I asked the owner the same question while looking at a model 10. He said that it didn’t have a transfer bar, so it wasn’t safe to carry. I asked about hammer blocks, and he just repeats that it doesn’t have a transfer bar! I knew that some models did have hammer blocks so I thought I would look into it more.

I think I am getting a Glock 19 for me, but I might have to pester the wife to let me play with her S&W every once and a while!

Thanks,
EEJ

[COWBOYSHOOTER]

Add the Model 15 into your searchin. last one I got I picked up for $180 out the door at a gun show. the finish was rough on one side, but the interior showed ZERO wear. And it shoots very very well.

<---would not feel at all out gunned carryin a old school Smith & Wesson revolver in 38 or 357
<---carryin a J 37-2 today :supergrin:

[machinisttx]

ejohnson, all of the S&W double action revolvers with a swing out cylinder have been equipped with a hammer block safety. The old style was pretty marginal though, and during WW2(after the death of a sailor) the Ordnance Board ordered S&W to fix the problem, resulting in the "new" slide action hammer block.

[armybass]

What about an older S&W 36 snub?

[machinisttx]

Any S&W revolver made since 1944/1945 has the new style hammer block and is safe to carry with all the chambers loaded. It is NOT a transfer bar and does not function like one. This means guns made post war, but prior to model numbers being stamped are safe.

S&W started stamping model numbers on guns in in the late 1950s, 1957 I think. Any gun you find with a model # in it is safe.

Most likely, your wife shot a M&P/Model 10(blue) or a model 64(stainless).


What about an older S&W 36 snub?

Did you read the parts in red?

[Lone_Wolfe]

Any 19/65/66 would be a great choice. Enough weight that shooting 38's through them would be comfortable. But capable of eating 357's if you want to....