Gun Digest – August 2019

(^16) | GunDigest the magazine AUGUST 2019 gundigest.com
COLLECTOR’S CORNER // JERRY LEE
Smith & Wesson Hand Ejector/Triple-Lock
These pre-World War II handgun styles epitomize S&W.
A
mong the many contri-
butions Smith & Wes-
son has given to the fi re-
arms industry, the most
signifi cant would have
to be the Hand Ejector
revolver. This series of solid-frame,
double-action models with swing-out
cylinders and manual case extraction
has certainly stood the test of time.
Introduced in 1896, its basic design is
still in production, not only by Smith
& Wesson, but also by many other
gun manufacturers around the world.
Author Jim Supica wrote in Standard
Catalog of Smith & Wesson, “The
Hand Ejector is the style of handgun
that epitomizes Smith & Wesson.”
The focus of this column is on
Hand Ejector models of the pre-World
War II years with “Hand Ejector” in
their offi cial names. When referring
to the basic design, all Smith & Wes-
son revolvers made since 1899 can be
described as “hand ejectors,” but my
plan here is to provide a bit of history
on the original named models.
Toward the end of the 19th century,
Smith & Wesson began work on a
new-style revolver—one with a solid
frame that would soon replace the
popular top-break models the com-
pany had been known for since the
1870s. “Hand Ejector” is a reference
to the loading and unloading proce-
dure, whereby the shooter releases
the cylinder to tilt out of the left side
of the gun. This allows the cylinder
to be loaded or for the fi red cases to
be “hand-ejected” by pushing back
on the ejector rod.
Background:
The .32 Hand Ejector
The fi rst revolver to be given the name
was the .32 Hand Ejector Model of
1896, its year of introduction. It was
made on a new frame size called the
I-frame, which had been designed for
a new cartridge, the .32 S&W Long.
Smith & Wesson lengthened the case
of the .32 S&W by 1/8 inch to increase
its powder capacity, and this required
a slightly larger frame.
The Model of 1896—which would
later be known as the .32 Hand Ejec-
tor First Model—was made for only
seven years. It was not a big success
on the civilian market, but a few
major police departments, including
Philadelphia’s, adopted the model as
a service revolver.^1
In 1903, the Second Model was in-
troduced, along with several design
improvements. The .32 Hand Ejector
Model of 1903 remained in produc-
tion until 1917, with a series of fi ve
changes over that time period.^2 These
differences were relatively minor for
the fi rst four model changes, with
somewhat more signifi cant variations
internally with the fi fth change.
The K-Frame Revolver
Another major contribution to fi re-
arms history from Smith & Wesson
occurred in 1899 with the introduc-
tion of the fi rst K-frame revolver—the
.38 Military Model 1899 or .38 Hand
Ejector Military & Police. K-frame
models are still being made and are
now well into their second century.
They remain very popular; more K-
frames have been manufactured than
all other Smith & Wesson revolvers
combined.^3
At the same time the .38 Hand Ejec-
tor of 1899 was introduced, the most
popular revolver cartridge of the 20th
century, the .38 Special—or, to be pre-
cise, the .38 S&W Special—was intro-
duced. Two of the most popular vari-
ants of this model with collectors are
the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy models.
These are marked “U.S. Army/Model
1899” or “U.S.N.” One thousand of
each were made in 1900 and 1901.
The .32-20 was a popular cartridge
in the late-19th and early-20th centuries
and was another .32-caliber Hand Ejec-
tor. It went through six changes as the
.32 Hand Ejector Model of 1902 and
then, the Model of 1905.
The last variant remained in produc-
tion until 1940. It was also made on the
K-frame and could be considered the
predecessor of one of the rarest Smith &
Wesson models: the K-32 Hand Ejector
First Model (K-32 Target). Chambered
for the .32 S&W Long, only about 94
were made throughout the 1936–
period leading up to the beginning of
World War II. Its rarity makes this ver-
sion of the K-32 one of the priciest S&W
collectibles.
The .22s
Several of the early Hand Ejectors were
.22s. The fi rst of these was the .22 Hand
Ejector (LadySmith). Made on the tiny
M-frame, it had a seven-shot cylinder and
was chambered for the .22 S&W cartridge
(which was the same as the .22 Long). It
was in production from 1902 through
1921, with three model changes and se-
rial number ranges.
Smith & Wesson resurrected the name,
written “LadySmith,” in 1990 for a 9mm
This Hand Ejector Second
Model .44 Special is in
excellent condition.
PHOTO: GUNS INTERNATIONAL