In House Shipping:
Make: Smith & Wesson
Model: 38 Regulation Police Model / Pre Model 31
Serial Number: 41837
Year of Manufacture: 1917-1940
Caliber: .38 S&W CTG, Regulation Police Cartridge
Action Type: Single Action or Double Action Revolver with 6 Round Swing-Out Cylinder
Markings: The left side of the barrel is marked “SMITH & WESSON”. The Left side of the frame is marked with the small S&W logo. The yoke and yoke cut are marked “48045”. The right side of the frame is marked “MADE IN U.S.A.”. The right side of the barrel is marked “REGULATION POLICE 38 S&W CTG”. The front strap is marked with the serial number. The sides of the grip frame have inspection marks. The top of the barrel is marked “SMITH & WESSON, SPRINGFIELD, MASS. U.S.A. / PATENTED FEB. 6. 06. SEP. 14. 09. DEC.29.14”. The butt of the left grip panel is stamped with a patent date of “PAT. June 5,1917”
Barrel Length: 4”
Sights / Optics: Service Sights; The front sight is a round raised blade sight conformed to a raised base on the muzzle end of the barrel. The rear sight is a square notch trough milled into the top strap.
Stock Configuration & Condition: The grips are Service style checkered walnut stocks with S&W medallions at their tops, and with smooth diamonds around the screws. The butt of the left grip panel is properly stamped with a patent date of “PAT. June 5,1917”. The checkering is sharp and quite perceivable. There are no chips or cracks. The grips rate in about excellent overall condition. Please see our pictures.
Type of Finish: Blued
Finish Originality: Original
Bore Condition: The bore is bright and the rifling is sharp. There is no erosion in the bore. THe bore appears un fired and rates 10/10 in this writer’s opinion.
Overall Condition: This handgun retains about 100% of its metal finish. There is no finish loss at the muzzle. The cylinder’s fleeting turn line is not through the finish. The screw heads are sharp and the grip screw is sharp with a strong slot. The markings are clear. Overall, this handgun rates in about excellent condition especially for a pre-war C&R.
Mechanics: The action functions correctly. The cylinder lockup has very little play on all six chambers. The double-action trigger is smooth and the single action is crisp. We did not fire this handgun. As with all used firearms, a thorough cleaning may be necessary to meet your maintenance standards.
Box, Paperwork & Accessories: The revolver comes with the extremely rare original box. The label is intact and the penciled number on the bottom of the box matches the serial number. The box is a brown, one-piece, cardboard with yellow label. Some of the corners are torn and the edges are tattered over all the box is in good shape.
Our Assessment: This is a .38 Regulation Police, Pre-Model 31 with a 4″ pinned barrel and a blued finish. The original Model named the .38 Regulation Police, this is a small “I” framed .38 S&W revolver with a 5 shot capacity. The revolver retains about 100% of its metal finish with a perfect bore and excellent mechanics. If you are a Smith collector looking to collect them all, this will be this year's top addition to your S&W collection.