The First S&W .38: The "Baby Russian"
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- čas přidán 28. 07. 2024
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Taking what they had learned in developing their series of large-frame .44 caliber revolvers, Smith & Wesson introduced the “Baby Russian” in 1876 as their first .38 caliber revolver. They actually developed the cartridge first (146 grains at 740 fps), and then designed the revolver around it. The result was a 5-shot, top-break action initially offered with 3.25 inch and 4 inch barrels. It used the same simultaneous extractor as the No.3 revolvers, though this would change after only about a year with the move to a 2nd variation. The first two variations used a single action spur trigger, but this was replaced by a normal trigger and trigger guard on the 3rd variation. In total, about 161,000 were made by the time production ended in 1911.
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"the rear sight is this minuscule teeny tiny...." one might even say.... baby
I have a reproduction of the S&W Russian revolver and it has the same ridiculously tiny sights. In fairness, it was developed as a cavalry weapon and on a moving horse you don't really aim, you just point so maybe the sights were somewhat of an afterthought. Similarly, this wasn't really an "aiming" sort of weapon.
@@itsapittie "I totally shot that guy"
"Nah that was the infantry"
"Nah dude totally nailed him"
*Continues to fire wildly from horseback*
@@fademusic1980 LOL! Yeah, I can imagine that happening. Soldiers haven't changed much since the advent of armies.
“Not suitable for stuffing into a pocket”.
Well, not with THAT attitude.
Im beginning to think Ian just lives at RIA, sneaking around at night to record videos and they don't know he's in there.
Sssssshhhhhhh...
you trying to blow his cover or what???
Sheesh......some folks just dont get it.
🥴👍
Nah, they leave him in a back room with french guns to take apart, RIA's CZcams channel actually made a remark on one of his more recent videos encouraging people not to tap the glass. I forget which one now.
Don't tap the glass. The Ian doesn't like that.
Dang that's who I keep seeing in the shadows here... at night... in RIA... as I myself am sneaking around drooling over firearms. Ninja roommate super teamup attack!
The Phantom of the RIA is there
Inside your mind
It later grew up, moved out, and became a Nagant.
Poor thing drank too much vodka, getting fat and sloppy.
Imagine going from break action to manually ejecting every cartridge. That's true pain right there.
@@dillonc7955 What the hell were the Russians even thinking?
aaaaaaaaaaaaahahahahahaha
@@dillonc7955 we all disappoint our parents
I love Blued Steel but oh man when you see one of these old time nickel plated revolvers they look fantastic.
Usually they look like total crap. This particular gun is near perfect condition which is very rare.
If I could get this in .38 special I would probably carry one today.
They Repop Schofields& No3. If they would do the Baby in 38spl. they would sell like crazy!
"Baby Russian"... This breaks the Russian rule of law: "Heavy is good. Heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work, you can always hit them with it."
igor šajinović - I’ve never been to Uzbekistan. The Uzbek women I have met have been stunningly beautiful though.
"As bent as a Soviet sickle, and as 'ard as the hammer that crosses it. Apparently, it's just Impossible to kill the bastard."
Until I saw the Mud test results, also a description of the AK.
Russian babies hit things.
honestly i think it goes well with the russian pistol tradition of being pitifully w e a k and s m o l
@Toxicmatrix:Boris the blade,nice reference👍👍👍👍
never change Ian, your love for guns and attention to detail makes me forget about all the bullshit going on even if just for a bit.
Agreed. I work as a mechanic, and after turning bolts all day it's so nice to see something disassembled so cleverly that the only tool you need is a pen cap
@@beargillium2369 might you happen to be an AvE fan as well?
Looks to be in amazing condition for its age. Beautiful. 👍🏻
Indeed, i've a double action model 2 from around 1895 and it's pretty fucked. And this one is way older.
Officer: Sir, what's in the bag?
Person: A baby.
Officer: wha-
Person:(Opened the bag and showed this pistol) *A BABY*
IF this was in America them i guess that Officer would shoot him somewhere between opening a bag and showing gun.
... ok actually maybe even between "wha-" and attempt to open a bag if this person was black.
yes yes i know statistically police in America kill more white people than black people, but that's only a joke.
PS. before someone gonna curse me or even answering normally in comments, keep in mind that i'm not American, and i'm European, Pole to be precise,
Officer: Oh!? It certainly is cute baby. Does she cause lot of trouble?
@@Taistelukalkkuna Person: Not at all sir infact she help me forget all of my problems.
@@Taistelukalkkuna Person: Well... quite a bit in school
@@crusaderanimation6967 not funny.
About this business of “pockets”, I’ve heard it said that Wyatt Earp carried a .44 Russian during the Gunfight at the OK corral. His later testimony was that he was carrying it in his waistband until Sheriff Johnny Behan approached the Earp party telling them that he had disarmed the Clanton party. Wyatt then put the gun “into his overcoat pocket”, meaning a frock coat, probably open in front since this was Southern Arizona in October, so his gun would not only have been visible but also accessible in his waistband. Apparently this gave him some trouble extracting his gun when everything went sideways and had it been showing the result might have been different. ‘
America: "Ah yes a perfect pistol for our law enforcement."
Russia: "A welcome gift to the world for Dimitry!"
"Спасибо много!" - FSB, KGB, Cheka etc...
Back in the day nickel plating was quite common, I find it very attractive, so much so that I bought a nickel Smith just yesterday, a 29-2, 6", in the presentation case. But people working in the plating shops started getting sick, they got cancers and died, so plating fell from favor. The days before OSHA were perilous times for many.
3ducs Read about how the term, “Mad as a hatter” came from. Really interesting and sad.
Monotech2.0 Can’t wait. KAGA
@@6Sally5 Match girls (as in phosphorus), the girls painting the luminous paint on compasses and sights, asbestos workers, knife grinders, lead solder on early canned rations, first use of X rays, there's a lot of horror stories out there if one digs only a little bit.
I iwned a nickel 1911 for a while. That's how I found out I'm allergic to nickel.
@Monotech2.0 As usual, that is a lie.
Man that thing is in Fantastic condition! The checkering on those grips!
I choose to believe he records all of these in the AM before they get uploaded and spends all of his profit from forgotten weapons searching for 32 french long
Thanks for all the videos, Ian. Great stuff as usual.
My older brother recently bought a S&W Safety Hammerless in .32 caliber and I gotta say.. I'm quite astonished at how similar all these classic S&W revolvers are to each other. Sure some may have a different method of operation and sure they may fire different ammo depending on model but a lot of features are uncanny to each other, some fine examples bein' the really tiny sights, ejection system and just the overall look of the guns themselves. This was a cool video to watch, I hope perhaps one day we could see the .32 S&W revolver.
Cowboys wore the larger revolvers in a holster on a belt. Most eastern and gentrified Americans carried a pocket revolver or derringer concealed because of social etiquette. In the 1870s - 1890s the vest pockets grew to accommodate these revolvers rather than the pocket watches.
Smith and Wesson sold more pocket breaktop revolvers during 1880-1900 than Colt, Remington and S&W, together, could sell big bore revolver during the same time. They where very popular and copied by others.
Thanks for the video! I just inherited a model 2 from my dad and knew nothing about it.
That is a beautiful pistol, exquisite finish on it.
It's so adorable!
I own one of these and have never been able to figure out just exactly what it was. Thank you so much!
I have always loved the look of these pocket size top breaks
I have 2. 1 the cylinder just spins. The other is All engraved Beautiful.. never shot it,
Found one of this at an antique shop in Quito, Ecuador. They wanted $300 but was not able to purchase it because of work restrictions.
I own a third style S&W gun in rough but shootable condition. I hand load .38 S&W cartridges at 400-500 fps to avoid damage in several .38 S&W guns and I don't shoot them unless I'm testing a repair. These guns are cheap because you can't easily get ammo because they were originally black powder cartridges and smokeless can blow up black powder guns. I think they are quite usable weak pocket guns, much better than no gun and of course I have modern guns that I depend on.
I can understand the decision behind not really needing that extra safety feature. 'Cause hey, who's gonna be dumb enough to fire a revolver with the breach unlocked?
But at the same time, I've heard many many stories that all conclude with the simple reality that sooner or later someone is going to be exactly dumb enough to do the one stupid thing you never should.
Thank you , Ian .
Just sitting here hoping for a video about S&W double action break action revolvers, preferably the .32 S&W version with history about that cartridge historical sigificance. Never mind me....
I have one of the DA only "lemon squeezers" in .38 S&W. It's pretty cool.
7:50 thanks for making this
Neat pistol. Great cartridge story! THANKS.
I have a No. 3 in .44 Russian from around 1895. Interesting note: My great uncle took it off of a Japanese officer at Iwo Jima after the officer had... no further use for it.
Interesting. My great grandfather supposedly picked up a last ditch Nazi Luger off of a Japanese officer.
@@jeramyw The gun certainly made its rounds. It was made in Massachusetts, went to Russia, found it's way to Japan and then my uncle brought it back to Mass after the war. How it got around I have no idea. Maybe as a battlefield trophy when Russia and Japan fought. The leather holster has some Japanese writing on it but it's impossible to make out after all of the time that passed.
@@25xxfrostxx I'm sure officers around the world could carry whatever they wanted. In WWII especially I'm sure they used every gun at their disposal. I wish I had my great grandfather's weapons. I guess that's where I got my "gun nut gene" along with my grandpa on the other side of the family. They both had awesome collections from what I've heard. Great grandpa was a millionaire surgeon after WWII yet I didn't see a cent. Grandpa had full auto fun like an M14 and a Ma deuce, though the MPs took that away decades ago. Oh well.
I had one those back in day it shot good Love video
It's one of the early pistols that in some EU countries over 18 can own sans permis
Really? Can you be more specific? Which countries, dates of manufacture etc.?
@@bobs3354 Google is your best friend. Also should read about penalties for bringing them across the borders, if you plan to take one home.
@@francislematt7079 I have no plans to transport a firearm in Europe, I’m just curious.
Everyone always sees Colt .45s in westerns, but there were 2/3 more people carrying these small caliber guns back then, production number wise. I can’t think of any classic western films that ever showed one of these small guns being used.
Enjoyable Information. Love that.
I want break-action revolvers to come back so bad. This lefty is very sad at the lack of left-hand revolvers. :(
There's a Webley Mark VII, but it's expensive as fuck, and a 22 break action revolver. Top break is just less easy to produce from what I know.
Hi Ian, Thanks to this video I now know what the small pistol my mom gave me is. It is a 4th model "lemon squeezer" in .38 S&W. No idea what date but it has wood grips, and SN# 259***. If you ever need one for a video getting it to you from Mesa shouldn't be to hard :D
This gun is so cool.
Early comments yes! You might actually see it. You're a legend mate, I have learned sooo much from you ! Thank you
These videos have been my inspiration into gunsmithing school so whenever someone wanna pay my tuition ill give us a true wwsd rifle
@@hanzgrueber145 damn, nice dude
Mate....
Since most forgotten weapons videos i see after a day or two, i consider this exceptionally early
@@hanzgrueber145 ey yo didn't you fall from the Nakatomi Plaza? You survived??
Thats a thing of beauty
S&W made revolvers in 38 S&W caliber until 1974
Love these
That's in beautiful condition!
Ian, the double action version you mentioned was made in .38 S&W & in .44 S&W Russian. I have one in .44 S&W Russian serial # 1068 of 54668 made. Look at the 40th anniversary edition blue book of Guns on page 1887, 3rd from the bottom for more information. On a side note my pistol still shoots!
This gun is in just gorgeous condition.
Great vid
One of these was given to my grandfather as payment for treatment (doctor) and we still have it. Of course it doesn't look as good as the one shown as it had been carried quite a bit but still has the logo. My great grandfathers revolver had the logo rubbed off as he carried it everyday.
Those Enfield revolvers in .38 S&W are pretty cool, a good friend of mine has a pair of them. :)
Have the Webley & Enfield , plus a Iver Johnson Secret Service , 38 S&W with the safety [ 5 shot ]
I need to get my 3rd model re-finished since it's nickle plating is in very rough shape. Functionally it seems fine, and the original pearl grips are in great shape. Prev Owner kept it in a sock drawer for many many years before passing and he left it to me in his will since he knew I love old revolvers.
I have the exact situation. Heard there is a company in Pennsylvania that re-nickles guns.
The fit and finish is just beautiful. Goddamn Smith and Wesson could ALWAYS make a fine looking pistol.
Harrington & Richardson and Iver Johnson both made various revolvers in that caliber as well.
My friend has one of these that was passed down through his family since the late 1800s
The six dislikes are from the six guys who were shot with this gun
only a 5 round cylinder so the 6th guy should not have hung around lol
@@rippervtol9516
Oh no they managed to get a bullet in the chamber to hold six rounds
@@prussiangermansoldier2987 that that is not how a revolver works
@@keepermovin5906
You just gotta have skill
@@prussiangermansoldier2987 ah I see
Lovely little revolver.
thats a beautiful gun.
38SW still is a popular cartrige in south america lots of old revolvers still arround magtech and CBC still produce it , by the way i have a SW last top break revolver the Perfected model that has the traditional top break and the side latch of the more modern swing cilinder guns redundant mecanism neat pice only 50000 made by 1919
Nifty, are they built strong enough to take smokeless level loadings? Or are the cartridges still largely around black powder potency?
@@CtrlAltRetreat the perfected and all the SW swing cilinder revólvers are suited for smokeles powder, erlier SW pre 1900 should be checked out carefuly
@@CtrlAltRetreat yes new cartriges are loaded with smokeles
@@luisantolafrancis519
I need to track one of these down then. I've always liked the top breaks but webleys are restricted in ca because they're double action and I'm looking for something a bit thumpier than a hr 22 that i can reload.
@@CtrlAltRetreat look in gunbroker for a perfected in 38SW there are some for sale and not for too much money 250 to 350 range the most colectable ones are the 6 inch barrel ones the 4 as mine are neat too they usualy are nickel plated with black hard rubber grips, pearl grips and blued can be found too. If you get one you will like it a lot and the 38sw is no slouch it packs a litle but heafty punch, hope you found one! Cheers!!
I have a nearly-identical-looking 38 S&W pistol, but with a trigger guard and it's double action. I believe it's dated 1883 or a little after on it, iirc. Was tough to find cartridges for it, but I did once and it shot well. Slightly later model, I guess.
What is your serial number start with.
I have 1 made in 1885, serial number141xxx?
I think the 3rd model came out in 1884.
Could you include a Manhattan revolver on this channel soon please and maybe a ol' Remington? You got one of the top 5 channels on the tub if you ask me! Cheerios keep it up :D
How do you dislike this video? It's such a cutie toot. I love .38 s&w as a cartridge so this is wicked.
Will you ever be able to bring the arx 160-200 on the channel btw I really love your content keep up like this
That makes me wonder, How often do companies develop the ammunition first and then a gun around It? There's got to be some advantages to It right?
Idk, but I would like to see magnum research put out a 5 shot revolver in
3" 12ga
If nothing else it might make people shut up about s&w 500.
I mean why don't we just drop the charade and admit that a lot of us just want to break our arms and make fun of our friends for not firing the weapon?
@@scottyj6226 pretty sure that already exists. It's called the MTs-255.
Not very often. I'm not sure about the 10mm, but the 4.7 and 5.7 cartridges were designed first, then the weapons that hold them.
I’m so curious about if my Enfield webley I can hold the “latch” to hold back the ejector as well. I think this would have done better with a round closer to the 38/200
Put in some loaded and empty shells then open your Webley slowly. It should only kick out the empties.
Jeramy Whitwell yeah I had figured out that one the only time I got to take it to the range pre-covid. I just was curious about stopping the ejector just for curiosity :) thank you for the tip!!
Wish I could own both. My baby gun, the back up pistol, could be concealed under my toupee.
That gun is in incredible condition to be that old.
Give.
That revolver looks like it could have been made yesterday, and not 140 years ago!
I have an American Arms 32, essentially a knock-off of a S&W model 4, with those same sights. I happened to grab it one night to dispatch a raccoon. At 3 yards I couldn't figure out where the bullet was going and had to grab a different gun. Definitely an up-close "get off me" gun.
what a cool revolver
I'm guessing these use black powder cartridges so keep new factory ammo away. X-ring rubber bullets over a magnum primer only, no powder, is a great way to shoot and with the right backstop the bullets are reusable.
I'm not much in to older revolvers but that is a cool little gun.
My Dad had a very similar S&W but with birds head grip and no ejector override. It was in 32 S&W. Otherwise looked much the same.
I have a unrelated question.
When did people start using the "caliber" designation rather than the style "bore" designation for rifled guns?
Could you do a video on how they calculated bullet velocity back in the day?
Huh one of the first guns on this channel that is sitting in my safe.
Man they really missed a good opportunity by not offering this in the Russian 44 cartridge. Compact with good firepower!
Metallurgy has advanced a lot since then. They probably couldn't safely contain the power of the larger cartridge in a gun that size with the quality of steel alloys they were working with at the time.
Very similar to the little owl head , iver Johnson 38 smith and Wesson revolvers. Their slogan was hammer the hammer. I believe they had a drop bar safety. Neat guns but not very collectible I don’t believe. But what do I know, I could be all wrong. Great videos, excellent content, thank you !
I think its cool how the .32 SW is just a baby tiny version of that. The .38 HR appears to be pretty much a clone, owing to its Wesson roots id guess. Ive got the hammer-less double action though.
Hey Ian, is anything planned with the DesertTech MDR in the future or is it just sitting on a rack somewhere?
"B-b-ba"
"Shit, here goes nothing!"
"BLYANG!"
Beautiful. Are the grips original?
If you open the action slowly enough you can get rid off the used cartridges without emptying the cylinder.
I love top break revolvers!
If I recall correct the S&W Russians had a bird's head grip with a lanyard ring. I think the full sized #3 in the video is Schofield or New Model 3.
44 . Russian has "sawhandle grip" like the baby's. 44 in video is a Schofield.
I had to just now google the difference between the S&W "Russian" models he was talking about and the "Schofield". I have more of a casual interest in firearms, and the whole time Ian was talking about the "Russian" they looked like the 'Schofield' I was casually familiar with, but as he never said the word "Schofield" I was unsure of the difference. And I was a little afraid to ask in the comment section, gun nerds, I mean serious firearm enthusiasts, can sometimes get very needlessly mean in comments when faced with ignorance of proper/common nomenclature. In this case I think I would have been fine as both the Russian and Schofield are derivations on the S&W model 3 (amazing what the above mentioned 2 minute google search will teach you).
The Schofield has a frame-mounted latch. That is a first model Russian. The second model Russian has the saw grip and trigger guard spur.
@@brianbeverly1216 You are correct Sir!
A really pretty revolver.
Heh...betcha that big Russian would fit Paul Harrell's pocket. 😜
P.S. -- Such a cute baby. 😁
Sus
Rebounding hammer? What makes it drop safe? Or isn't it?
I like break open style pistols. I actually prefer that style over the cylinder model we have nowadays.
Question? The finish on this is quite nice. Is this polished nickel? Stainless wasn’t available for decades? I guess what caught my eye was just shiny and how little patina was on it. Great condition.
Kyle Davis yep, nickel plated...
What's the deal with uploading this just before 05:00 AM Arizona Time, Ian?
Gives his local fanbase a video to watch in the morning.
10pm Australian eastern time.. perfect timing lol
So we in Italy can see it after lunch.
Same in France.
Mariano Prodomo -yess,, 14:00 in Amsterdam too
A really cool pocket revolver.
My Grandmother carried one of these. The lack of a trigger guard made it feel awkward to shoot, but it doesn't have a slide that will wreck your hand's shit like a Colt 25, or Baby Browning. Hand hurts just thinking about it.
I inherited an old .38 S&W pocket revolver that looks very similar, nickel finish and all. The difference is that it’s a double action only with a shrouded hammer and a standard trigger. Did S&W make a variant of this line like that or is it a totally different series?
Cool, from what you describe, it is from a different series. I'm pretty sure what you inherited is/was popularly called the "lemon squeezer". . . That's a neat revolver you've got there!
1876? Looks more like it was produced last week.
What a magnificent condition.
Whats the reason behind spur triggers? I mean the history behind them etc...
I have a Smith and Wesson model 2, the follow up to the baby russian. number 4422.
I think it would look better if you did an all black powder coated finish, then stone tumble The whole gun. Replace the grips with black carbon fiber and make a tactical Kydex holster for it.
I have one similar to it
I have a 1901 hopkins and Allan 38 similar to this. But with a full trigger guard. Handed down by my dad. I wouldn’t dare to shoot it. Lol.
Its a NAA .22 ! Nifty.
Did Ian just assume the size of my pockets?
I really, really want one. That's a nice baby.