Welcome to as we speak’s Photo of the Day! Right here we now have a Smith & Wesson .38 Navy & Police (Mannequin of 1902) Goal that obtained the “final improve” – a barrel by Harry Pope, America’s premier accuracy specialist of the early 1900s. The manufacturing unit letter tells an attention-grabbing story. This revolver shipped to C.T.G. Armstrong in Boston on June 26, 1903, with no barrel size listed – uncommon for Smith & Wesson information. Roy Jinks theorizes this indicated both a particular barrel size or, extra probably, that it shipped with no barrel so Armstrong might have Pope do the work.
Armstrong seems to be the well-known aggressive shooter George Armstrong, energetic in matches throughout Washington, Oregon, and California within the early 1900s. The connection is smart – Pope had a gun store in San Francisco till the 1906 earthquake pressured him again to Massachusetts. A severe West Coast competitor would naturally search out Pope’s legendary accuracy work.
Solely 12,827 “Mannequin of 1902” revolvers have been made, with collectors estimating simply 5-10% have been Goal variants. That places whole Goal manufacturing round 640-1,280 weapons, making this Pope-barreled instance exceptionally uncommon. Pope’s signature barrel work is clear – “H.M.POPE” stamped on high together with his serial quantity “269” on the underside. The adjustable rear sight and pinned beaded entrance sight have been important for the precision taking pictures Armstrong probably pursued.
Most of our POTDs make the most of pictures from our mates at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms public sale in the US. Take a while to browse their current auctions – who is aware of, perhaps you’ll discover a piece of historical past to take dwelling!
“Pope Barreled Smith & Wesson 38 M&P 2nd Mannequin Goal Revolver.” Rock Island Public sale, www.rockislandauction.com/element/4095/340/pope-barreled-smith-wesson-38-mp-2nd-model-target-revolver. Accessed 12 Aug. 2025.
Author | TheFirearmBlog
Author | AllOutdoor.com Instagram | sfsgunsmith Outdated soul, licensed gunsmith, printed creator, avid firearm historical past learner, and appreciator of previous and distinctive weapons.
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