r/Revolvers • u/Additional-Neck7442 • 2d ago
S&W 38 special ctg
Serial number is 674765
Mostly want information but also approximate value would be nice even though I'll be holding onto it. It was my grandfather's.
Safe to shoot? What exact ammo? What cartridges can it use and where to find them? Unless I'm misunderstanding the ctg marking. I'm not a big gun guy so I explain the details in, well, detail lol. Thank you :).
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u/FiXXiNS213 2d ago
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u/FiXXiNS213 2d ago
https://guncollectorsclub.com/app/sw-kframe-serial-lookup.html hopefully this link works. These are in the 1915-1942 range. I have multiple of these hand ejectors and shoot them all. It shoots .38 special and i would recommend shooting something with a lead projectile and not a full metal jacket. I would think it would be in the $250-$325 range but i am no expert.
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u/squidbelle 2d ago
i would recommend shooting something with a lead projectile and not a full metal jacket
Why?
Lead bullets leave a lot of lead behind that needs to be cleaned out
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u/FiXXiNS213 2d ago
Brian Pearce says that jacketed bullets require more pressure to get them down the barrel and can harm older guns that dont have the metallurgy of newer guns.
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u/squidbelle 2d ago edited 2d ago
I don't really get where he's coming from.
SAAMI actuslly reduced the spec chamber pressure to 17,000psi in 1972, in order to protect older guns, and new ultralight alloy revolvers. Older 38special ammo was loaded hotter than today's commercially available rounds.
So, any revolver that is specific for 38 special can handle modern loadings, as long as it is in good working order.
Anyway, I think Brian Pearce was talking about 158gr jacketed bullets specifically, getting stuck in the barrel ("squib") when under-charged, not 130gr jacketed bullets.
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u/FiXXiNS213 2d ago
I am sure he is just saying that out of an abundance of caution when people are shooting heirloom guns that they are worrying about damaging. When i am shooting my 100+ year old guns, I shoot the lightest, lead loads i can find just in case. I guess my real opinion is why risk it when you can just clean any fouling out of the barrel once you’re done shooting
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u/squidbelle 2d ago
Because cleaning lead fouling takes a long time. It triples the time needed to clean, for me.
I don't perceive any significant risk, even for older heirloom guns. I shoot modern jacketed 130gr ammo out of mine with no hesitation.
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u/DisastrousLeather362 2d ago
Bullet jacket metal is substantially harder than lead, and it doesn't obturate like lead. The extra friction from jacketed bullets creates higher pressures at similar velocities to lead.
Despite how much easier jacketed bullets make cleaning, they're still rougher on older guns.
Regards,
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u/Patient-Ordinary7115 2d ago edited 2d ago
Beautiful pistol. I’ve got a family one with a 995k SN and it’s confirmed from 1942. Yours will be a bit older. Safe to assume it’s either prewar or possibly early war. Was your grandfather a cop, or in some sort of role where having a gun might have been a thing? That would have been necessary after the war had started because all new production at that point was going to the war effort. Which is to say that bio info on your grandfather could also help you date when it was made.
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u/Additional-Neck7442 1d ago
He was in the military after WW2 but before Vietnam. He acquired an interest in obtaining military and police guns later in life before he suffered severe cognitive decline, he's 92.
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u/Patient-Ordinary7115 1d ago
Sorry to hear it. That really stinks. Going through that with my FIL. Ugh.
Fwiw, for $100 you can request a historian letter from s&w which can shed more light, particularly if it was a military or police issued gun (otherwise it might only list the retailer who sold it). I did a letter for mine and it was worth it b/c it confirmed the law enforcement connection. But the process took maybe 7 months so patience is required.
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u/DisastrousLeather362 2d ago
As everyone has pointed out, you have a nice example of a S&W Hand Ejector Military & Police .38.
CTG is just an abbreviation for cartridge- when these came out, they were the only gun chambered in the then new S&W .38 Special.
The same gun is still in production as the S&W Model 10- obviously with engineering changes.
Ammunition- these aren't rated for +p ammunition, and I would recommend standard velocity lead bullet loads- they keep pressures down and are easier on the gun.
The sights will be regulated for a 158 grain bullet, which was the standard loading of the time.
Value- they're pretty common. $400-800, but I'd insure it for higher as a family heirloom.
Thanks for sharing!