S&W 1917...Just got a honey... in American Military & Police Handguns Forum

0 Points

Forum Jump

S&W 1917...Just got a honey...

Author	Comment
MichaelD	S&W 1917...Just got a honey...	Lead	[-]
Posts: 9 May 30 09 2:33 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Tags : None I ordered some full moon clips from S&W and anxiously awaiting their delivery. It sure seems that the ACP cartridge's set way back in the chamber. I have never owned one of these. When I saw it, I had to have it....just seemed like the right thing to do. Looks like something Bonnie or Clyde would be using. I figured it would take the long colt cartridges, but I found out different. I have enjoyed searching and reading all the comments you guys have posted on this historic piece and have learned alot about it...Thanks!
	Remove this ad
Duane58		#1	[-]
Posts: 46 May 30 09 3:04 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	That's a real beauty you've got there. Has it been reblued? It's pristine! If it hasn't been reblued, you've got one in exceptional condition and worth a great deal. I had one like that and like a complete idiot, sold it; same thing with a Colt 1917 I had. I'll always regret that. Which inspection stamp is on it? You'll find it on the left side on the upper frame by the hammer. It may have JMG or GHS or firebomb or eagle's head. The first two I mentioned are the earliest. GHS being the earliest. If you're shootin' it, have you considered the .45 auto rim? It's a sweet little cartridge designed espescially for the 1917 having a rim so they can be easily ejected and no need for the moon clips. If you're interested in learning about your gun, you should try to get the book, U.S. Handguns of WWII by Charles W. Pate. You can find it on the internet. A wonderful book and extremely informative! Congratulations on your find!
DuWhat		#2	[-]
Posts: 107 May 30 09 4:47 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Now that is a honey! Beautiful. Makes mine look like a dog.
MichaelD		#3	[-]
Posts: 9 May 30 09 4:57 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks Duane...This is getting better all the time. The mark is a GHS in a circle. The gun was given to me by my brother for helping him with some stuff. He has had it since the late 70's. He had traded some things for it and put the gun up without ever firing it or knowing anything about it. When he saw my eyes light up and toungue drool, he gave it to me for helping. It is such a lustrous blue I figure it must have been reblued, but if so...it was before my brother got it. The serial number on both the butt and cylinder is 16,788 if that helps in dating it. I'm looking forward to shooting her, but the moon clips did not come today...darn it! Thanks for all that information Duane...I really appreciate it. I'll check into that book you mentioned.
MichaelD		#4	[-]
Posts: 9 May 30 09 5:00 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	"Makes mine look like a dog"....Hahahaha DuWhat, actually I do not think one of these, in any condition, could look bad.
Duane58		#5	[-]
Posts: 46 May 31 09 4:41 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Proud to be of help MichaelD. The thing about the bluing of the S&W 1917's is that if you find one that's mint or almost, you have to look very closely and kind of have an (eye) for the old bluing versus contemporary. If that makes any sense. Also another thing to look for is look at all the lettering on the gun. If it is in very original condition I think all the inscriptions should be very crisp, new looking. Understand? Because if it was reblued, it was polished down and would somewhat buff down the crispness of the inscriptions. I have seen handguns reblued where someone got carried away with the buffer and really smeared the lettering. But that's in cases where someone didn't know what they were doing or most likely the damage to the original bluing was severe.
MichaelD		#6	[-]
Posts: 9 May 31 09 4:52 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Thanks again Duane. I'll take some close up pictures tomorrow and post them up and see what you and others might think. I'm expecting it to have been reblued as nice as it looks however. Either way it falls out is fine with me as I just enjoy owning it. I did read that S&W made these guns with a lustrous finish, wheras Colt subdued them for military purpose.
Duane58		#7	[-]
Posts: 46 May 31 09 8:13 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Mike, glad to be a help. I can see where you think your Smith may have been reblued but, there's a good possibility it wasn't. I had the same problem when I bought mine, it just seemed way too pristine. I had done buisness previously with the guy I bought it from and he seemed ethical enough and he swore it hadn't been reblued. But with the bluing Smith used, it's hard to tell. Now the Colt 1917's, they had a very distinct bluing. It was lighter and had distinctive patterns on the gun so you could tell if it had been reblued. By the way, GHS, or Gilbert H. Stewart's inspection stamp was used on Smiths until around April 1918. Got that from Pate's book.
Duane58		#8	[-]
Posts: 46 May 31 09 8:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Mike, forgot to add, Bonnie and Clyde may have had one of these in their arsenal, I think they did have some Colt New Services. I know for sure John Dillinger did have a Smith 1917 and he filed off all the serial numbers and all that. My grandfather personally knew Bonnie and Clyde. They were about the same age and grew up in the same area.
MichaelD	Got a few pictures tonight...	#9	[-]
Posts: 9 May 31 09 8:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	I ran out of good light as I tried to take a picture of the patent information on the barrel, but the camera would not foucus. What do you guys think of the pics I did take...reblued or not, what's the verdict The lettering looks pretty crisp to me, but you guys have a better eye for this stuff. Thanks for any comments...Mike
Duane58		#10	[-]
Posts: 46 May 31 09 9:43 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Okay Mike, glad you sent those pics. You took some good, close up pics that reveal minor scratches, wear, etc. I think the most revealing pic is the butt of the grip. You can tell the lanyard hasn't been reblued but it does seem to have a little more wear than the rest of the gun. However, the butt shows some wear and it of course is part of the main weapon. Just to venture my opinion, it hasn't been reblued. Regardless, you've got a sweet one there. Be sure and read what I posted earlier about the inspection stamp. Congrats on your fabulous find. I invite all the other contributors to view these pics and see if they agree with me.
	Remove this ad
MichaelD	Now I'm scared to shoot or holster the gun....	#11	[-]
Posts: 9 Jun 1 09 7:15 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Don't want to rough the blue up That was some cool information on Gilbert H. Stewart's inspection stamp. Gonna have to get that book by Pate and read more. A couple week's ago I knew my brother was giving me a great gift that I would have some good fun with. It's getting to be more than that now, but I'm hesitant to use it...Hey DuWhat, how about an even up trade for that 'dog' of yours? At least I can shoot up boxes of ammo and holster and re-holster and not be afraid to mar it up Once again Duane...Thanks and I'm looking forward to other comments and opinions on this cool historic piece. BTW Duane...When I was a kid, my Mom and Dad took us kids on a vacation to DC. While going through the FBI building, they had a large display about John Dillinger. They even had a wallet with a few dollars that he was carrying in his breast pocket when he was shot by agents. The wallet and paper money had a bullet hole through them as it passed through and entered his chest wall. Very cool display!
dogngun	That looks like a period dark nearly black blue	#12	[-]
Posts: 284 Jul 9 09 2:34 AM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	to me, anyway. My 1936 version is just that color, but shows much more wear. Nice Smith - they are great revolvers. mark
eb in oregon		#13	[-]
Posts: 2473 Jul 9 09 3:20 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Pretty crisp corners and lettering if it's been re-blued. The guy would have had to be a master with sand paper and a polishing wheel and had nothing but time on his hands. I concur if that means anything. Now the matter of the wear on the lanyard loop is unusual. I would think that it demonstrates much use in and out of the holster, yet there is no apparent holster wear on the barrel or cylinder. So, to conjecture how such an annomoly occured, the original lanyard may have been damaged somehow and replaced with a used one. No telling what really happened, but that is the only issue with the pistol I see. It's a beautiful S&W 1917. eb "We must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately." Benjamin Franklin, July 4 1776
Parashooter		#14	[-]
Posts: 2009 Jul 9 09 5:23 PM Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	It's a pretty one, but a re-blue. First clue is that some fairly deep old scratches are dark, not white. Second is the lanyard loop, which was obviously off when most of the revolver went in the tank. Third, the shiny black surface overall - compare the slotted nut that retains the thumb piece, which still has the original blue except where burred and worn. Finally, there are a lot of edges that were slightly rounded during the polish job, most visible on the cylinder flutes and barrel markings (except those on the bottom flat, which wasn't as thoroughly polished). It was a nice, careful job - but not quite the same as an original. Good pictures!
MichaelD		#15	[-]
Posts: 9 Jul 13 09 6:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	thanks you guys. I really appreciate all the comments and expertise opinions on this gun. With all the history of the 1917 and for it to be a looker like this one...I was expecting it to have been re-blued somewhere along the line. Either way, I am glad to own it and she is not only a looker but a sweet shooter as well. Thanks again!!
CurioVirginian		#16	[-]
Posts: 433 Aug 22 09 8:11 AM active member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	The Colt bluing was different not just from the fact they didn't polish the guns as well as S&W, but the process of each company was different. The process for the orginal bluing in 1917-18 was before modern "hot salts blue" had even been invented so if you have a gun with a modern looking finish or a plum colored cylinder it has almost certainly been refinished. Colt used a gas oven finish where the parts were cleaned in hot gasoline, dried and then like a conveyor belt, run through the furnace for a set amount of time to get a deep blue finish. S&W used a slighly different process, parts were highly polished, cleaned with naptha, then dipped in Carbonia oil and then put into a gas oven for a set amount of time to get a more dark, deep charcoal blue that seems to draw your eye into it. I personally like the way all S&Ws from this time period are finished compared to Colt. Last Edited By: CurioVirginian Aug 22 09 8:14 AM. Edited 1 times.
hgbrandon	The 1917 S&W ACP	#17	[-]
Posts: 1 Sep 1 09 8:51 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	Hi, yes you are right; Clyde Barrow used or owned at least one, probably several of these guns. I assume the general idea was that he wanted to use the same ammo in as many of his guns as possible to avoid trouble finding the right cartridges in a gunfight, and 9 Gvt automatics .45 were found in the death car, so... It is a very nice gun you have. I have found a 4" S&W .ACP with a nice engraving, and think I'll buy it. Otherwise, I collect originals from the Civil War, besides modern firearms. A favourite is the Browning Auto 5 in gauge 12. KEEP POSTING! Good luck! HGB
Rick Harris		#18	[-]
Posts: 35 Oct 10 09 9:49 PM Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	You can shoot the rimless ammo without the clips. The cylinder has a shoulder in each hole to catch the case mouth just like an auto pistol. You'll need a pencil or something similar to push the fired cases out, but shooting them is no problem. .45 auto rims are great but expensive and hard to find.
A square 10		#19	[-]
Posts: 1921 Dec 24 09 10:13 PM Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	i agree with the above - but i reload autorims for the webleys i have that are cut , the brass is readily available , both the smith and the later colts were xshouldered to headspace on the case , eary colts were not , the colt finih never was as nice as the S&W , but they were colts :>} the M1917 was a substitute for the M1911s they couldnt produce fast enough , strickly 45acp , the colt M1909 was the 45LC , heres my S&W M1917- and my colt M1909 , they look very much alike - http://steyrmannlicher.yuku.com/directory "the original yesterdays weapons"
A square 10		#20	[-]
Posts: 1921 Aug 10 10 10:40 PM Veteran member Reply Quote More My Recent Posts	i am no expert in the fine details of these , i do know a good looking piece when i see it and that looks superb , congrats , the S&W was finished to the quality of its prewar level , they are noted for their finish - both the colt and s&w are noted for their accuracy and robust design , and that one is pretty nice looking In these times 'I'll keep my God, my freedom, my gun and my money. Anyone that supports this insanity can keep "THE CHANGE".
	Remove this ad

<< Previous Topic Next Topic >>

Add Reply

Yuku free message boards

S&W 1917...Just got a honey...

S&W 1917...Just got a honey...