A Good Find?

Indiana Neri · Post by **Indiana Neri** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:26 am

I went to a local gunstore today and found an actual 1917 S&W .45 DA (I have no clue what that means), complete with lanyard ring and stamped by the US Army. It had the moon-sight and I THINK it was a 5" barrel, maybe a 4.5"(?). The only flaw I saw with this piece was the right grip was cracked from top to bottom, but those would be swapped for the medallion grips. The price was $899. Is this too much for this pistol? Times like these I wish I had a camera-phone

carebear · Post by **carebear** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:23 am

DA stands for double action, meaning the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer.

SA is like a cowboy gun, you have to cock the hammer by hand. All the trigger does is release it.

Remember the barrel on a revolver is measured from the muzzle to the back of the forcing cone (the part that is right up against the cylinder) not to the front of the frame. It is almost certainly a standard length which is 5.5" (IIRC).

Anyway, on an older revolver the value is going to be determined by the condition of the finish, the bore and the tightness of the action. Also whether it has been fired much, if at all, and if it comes with the original box and papers.

Grading guns is an art, the determination no one can help you with is whether that particular gun is worth that price to you. It is almost always possible to find an equal condition gun online for less, but those are "birds in the bush" so to speak.

Kaplan · Post by **Kaplan** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:48 am

I can't make a lot of judgments without seeing it. But my advice would be to take your $899 and look at places like auctionarms.com or gunbroker. You will get a better bang for your buck if you're lucky.

Luke Warmwater · Post by **Luke Warmwater** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:53 am

If it's in front of you, and you like it, that's sometimes better than searching for the perfect bargain.

Mulceber · Post by **Mulceber** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:11 pm

SA is like a cowboy gun, you have to cock the hammer by hand. All the trigger does is release it.

I'm pretty sure there are scenes in Raiders where the revolver is DA. :junior: -M

carebear · Post by **carebear** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 1:07 pm

Mulceber wrote:
SA is like a cowboy gun, you have to cock the hammer by hand. All the trigger does is release it.
I'm pretty sure there are scenes in Raiders where the revolver is DA. :junior: -M

I was explaining firearms nomenclature in a simple way, not a particular pistol.

Indiana Neri · Post by **Indiana Neri** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:23 pm

I knew what double-action and single action meant, I just never thought of the abbrievation at the time of the post, lol. But it's nice to clearify. The finish, from what I could tell was pretty good, in my opinion (then again, I AM the person who psoted the 'What To Look For' thread, lol). Again, I wish I had a camera phone.

carebear · Post by **carebear** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 10:35 pm

Indiana Neri wrote:I knew what double-action and single action meant, I just never thought of the abbrievation at the time of the post, lol. But it's nice to clearify. The finish, from what I could tell was pretty good, in my opinion (then again, I AM the person who psoted the 'What To Look For' thread, lol). Again, I wish I had a camera phone.

Sorry for the over-simplification then.

I tell ya what, I look in my Blue Book at the various finish examples and I wouldn't want to be the guy making the call.

You should be able to get more "weathered" examples for less online if you want to take the time, but...

If you can afford it, and want it now, it is within the "price range".

If you do buy it stop looking, all buyer's remorse will do is tear you up inside.

Indiana Neri · Post by **Indiana Neri** » Thu Apr 17, 2008 11:42 pm

carebear wrote:
If you do buy it stop looking, all buyer's remorse will do is tear you up inside.

A feeling I know ALL TOO well

Maybe I'll pick it up with my tax-return check. I'm not in a particular rush to buy a handgun, although it would be my first purchase. I'd have to justify the means: car payment vs handgun

The Pilot · Post by **The Pilot** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 1:01 am

carebear wrote:I tell ya what, I look in my Blue Book at the various finish examples and I wouldn't want to be the guy making the call.

I posted this in another thread:

The Pilot wrote:OK, I've had to break out the Non-Volatile Random Access Storage Medium (the book).

According to Standard Catalog Of Smith & Wesson published in 2006:
Code: Select all
As New     $2,000
Exc+       $1,350
Exc        $  950
VG         $  700
Good       $  475
Fair       $  375
Poor       $  275
That's for the military version with the 1 - 209791 serial number range, which were produced from c.1917 to 1946.

I'd be interested to hear how those numbers compare to the Blue Book ones.

carebear · Post by **carebear** » Fri Apr 18, 2008 11:06 pm

Here ya go for comparison purposes.

27th Ed. Blue Book of Gun Values 2006

There are three listings for the .45 Hand Ejector:

.45 Hand Ejector, (Model of 1917) Military: 175,000 mfg. 1917-1919

100% - $900
98% - $650
95% - $475
90% - $350
80% - $300
70% - $275
60% - $250

Commercial guns mfg 1920-1941 will bring 200% more due to rarity, post-war about the same.

-----------------------------------------------

.45 Hand Ejector, Brazilian Contract of 1937 Military: 25,000 orig. sold to Brazil, 14K imported back

100% - $350
98% - $285
95% - $260
90% - $240
80% - $230
70% - $220
60% - $210

-------------------------------------------

Model 22 (.45 Hand Ejector, Model of 1950 Military): 1,200 mfg. 1950-1966

This is the gun the new Model 22's are based on.

100% - $1,500
98% - $1,100
95% - $900
90% - $800
80% - $700
70% - $600
60% - $500