1888 S&W 32

by Hawkeye » Wed Apr 13, 2022 10:55 am

Is it or is it not a little jewel from the past?

Built in 1888, this is one of the first that took brass case cartridges in 32 S&W. Back then they use black powder. I can still find ammo but its not black powder so this is a conversation pistol and not a shooter.

Is it or is it not a little jewel?

From what I have researched this pistol is call a (Lemon Squeezer) because of the grip safety.

The 2" models had another name (Bicycle Gun) because when riding bikes back then people use them to keep dogs from attacking them riding this new form of transportation.

The 2" Bicycle Gun is a rare find and could be worth thousands of dollars.

BUT!!

When I checked the serial number with the 2" models this one didn't match.

Turns out this is a 5" model, that thousands and thousands where made, but if it was still a 5" in good shape it would be worth

hundreds. The barrel on this one has been cut. The big clue to what happened to this pistol is the front site, if you look close you can see the site is crooked. Another giveaway is the site is glued in, the original site was pined.

Another thing that killed the price of this pistol is that it has been re-blued, you can tell this if you look close and see that the rust pits are under the bluing and not on top.

It's still a nice piece of history with a story. I'll never shoot it but will keep it in my collection.