I recently acquired a Smith & Wesson snubnose 38 from my father, who is 86 years old and in poor health. He realized his hands are too shaky to safely handle a firearm and gave it to me. A few years ago I had asked if he would leave it to me and he said yes, but I don’t think it ever got put in the will. The revolver belonged to my great-grandfather, who was a salesman. He traveled by train and kept it for personal protection. It’s around one hundred years old. I have about 20 bullets as well, no idea what type.
I have almost no knowledge or experience with guns. I’m planning to take a basic firearms course. I don’t have to register it here in New Mexico or get a permit except for concealed carry. I’ve read that a snubnose might not be the best choice for a first-time gun owner. I may enjoy it enough to buy another gun at some point but I don’t want to invest in one until I’m sure.
I’m not keeping it for self-defense and it will be unloaded most of the time. It will strictly be a hobby for me. So I’m looking for advice, ideas, and suggestions on ammo, maintenance, safety, or anything else related to gun ownership.
Oh, and how to find more info on the age and value. What little research I’ve done so far suggests that it can be difficult to date old revolvers like this. I’ll try to post some photos soon.
Many revolvers cannot be dry-fired without damaging the firing pin (pulling trigger without bullets in it). So you need to find out if your gun fits this profile. If it does get snap caps to practice pulling the trigger smoothly.
A century old gun should not be fired with modern high-intensity loads. Not because the gun will explode, but because it will cause accelerated wear on parts that may not easily be replaced. Use loads marketed to SASS/Cowboy Action Shooters when you decide to take it out. Parts for the old revolvers are harder to find every year, as are guys qualified to work on them. Treat your gun accordingly.
I’d suggest you take it to a gun store to have it checked out. You’ll probably want some cleaning supplies and instructions on what parts to clean and how to clean them. And you’ll want recommendations for ammunition.
I don’t know what your local laws are or the local customs in gun stores, so you’d probably want to play it safe. Generally, you’re safe legally if there are at least 3 steps between you sitting behind the wheel of your car and you sitting behind the wheel with a loaded pistol in your hand. So, transport it in unloaded in a zipped up bag in the truck of your car when you take it to a gun store. And walk in empty handed and talk to someone behind the counter to let them know you want to bring your pistol inside the store for them to check out BEFORE you do it.
Go to local gun shops and have them look at it. Go to a few places and see what you find out. When you’re at the shops find out if there’s any local clubs, then go there for evaluations also. Take everything with a grain of salt, free advice is often worth what you paid for it. That applies here too, evaluate all sources of information.
Hopefully you’re in or close to a city or town that has nearby shops, clubs and ranges…
A snub-nosed .38 is fine for an intro to firearms. Every gun has advantages and disadvantages. Local ranges likely have similar guns you can rent. Try firing those but only after getting some good basic training.
Find an NRA-certified trainer and learn from him/her. Be safe, relaxed, learn and hopefully you will enjoy it. But be safe and develop excellent habits right from the start.
I hope I didn’t damage it already! :smack: But this is exactly the kind of advice I was looking for.
I live in a suburb of Albuquerque so plenty of shops, ranges etc. to choose from. I’m considering the Handgun A-Z course at Calibers.
You guys have already given me some good suggestions and things to consider that never would have occurred to me. Thanks! I will definitely take it to a local gun store and get it checked out.
Do look for the model number (e.g. Model 10, one of the common .38 models), and serial number (although there probably isn’t one at that age).
If the ammo does not have a box, look on the bottom of the case and it should have a code you can Google. Finding out the exact load (which presumably has been used in it before) helps narrow down what you’d feed it.
If it’s that old, make sure that it’s marked .38 SPECIAL and not .38 Smith & Wesson or something similarly obsolete. I doubt it is anything else but Special, but you never know. .38 Special ammo that has markings like +P or +P+ or “Overpressure” on it should probably not be used.
Even California does require that much. Obviously it should be unloaded, but with revolvers that’s easy to tell. Any gun store is not going to balk at a firearm brought in. Brandishing is a different issue. Some big boxes may ask you to declare it at the door. But you should certainly call ahead just to check if someone qualified is currently working!
A second to pretty much everything else said and a bigger one on that part. I got an old S&W I broke for parts (explanation to follow) that was .38 S&W and not .38 Special – shorter round than the Spl. The previous owner had fired it quite a bit with Spl full wadcutters because “heck - they fit - barely” and pretty much destroyed the gun in a couple boxes. He was lucky they were light target loads or it could have failed drastically.
Based on what thelurkinghorror says above, be careful about assuming it is .38SP. It may be something slightly different, and that might be an important difference.
The four rules of gun safety, first and foremost, memorize and abide:
All guns are always loaded. (Treat them so!)
Never point the gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.
Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on target (and you have made the decision to shoot).
Be sure of your target and what is beyond it. (bullets travel past the target!)
Novice gun handlers nearly always place their finger on the trigger immediately. NEVER DO THAT.
Practice picking it up with your trigger finger along the side of the gun above the guard. ALWAYS.
You will learn a lot taking a course. I’ve gone from firing a pistol for the first time in December, to being an owner and taking the CCW class in two days. I really enjoy target practice and have taken private instruction. Worth it.
In the meantime, there’s a lot of good stuff on YouTube. There’s a bunch of dumb stuff, too, but lots of good! Start with Iraqveteran8888 and their Gun Gripes videos. Also search for “basic gun safety” and you’ll get lots of hits.
Yup that means .38 Special. So you can shoot the common caliber, but the above advice ano it +P and cowboy rounds still holds until someone checks it out.
With revolver rounds, the weaker/shorter versions of each round can shoot in the bigger revolver, but .38 S&W is not related to Special, which is why I mentioned it specifically. It is a larger diameter (by 0.1mm). Next thing to learn: the cartridge names are guidelines, not rules. Never assume.
Ammo should not go “bad,” beyond obvious reasons like rust. I have shot ammo that is decades old and it fires just fine. If you pull the trigger and it clicks but no “boom,” then you should wait with the muzzle pointed downrange for about 30 seconds in case of hang fire, and then remove the ammo. Check the cartridge and barrel for squib loads. Also check the primer for a dent, and discard or dismantle if it has one. But this advice is true whether it is old or reloads or brand new factory ammo.
Again, in pretty much all 50 states you can legally transport guns and ammo together. It is only in some states that it must be unloaded and they cannot be in the same compartment (usually gun in trunk, ammo in seats), but it is legal to have them in the same vehicle. How the heck would you do a range trip, figure out some variant of the fox-chicken-grain problem?
Two caveats:
Old ammo may have collector’s value.
Old ammo may be corrosive (not sure if .38 ever was). This has no bearing on safety, but what it means for you is that you should clean the gun thoroughly ASAP after using.
If you want the gun checked over, take it to a qualified gunsmith, not just a gunshop. Most shop owners are not gunsmiths. In the meantime, you can run through this checklist yourself. That is basically what a gunsmith will do if you ask him to look it over. Magnafluxing and such aren’t part of a routine inspection.
Can you name any stat where it’s legal to transport a particular gun but illegal to transport the gun and ammo in the same vehicle? I have never heard of this, and even in the most restrictive states carrying an unloaded gun in a case and a box of ammo for it in a vehicle is completely legal.
This is really weird advice for the OP, who lives in NM where it’s legal to carry a loaded, concealed firearm in your car with no permit at all.
