Is this an Iver Johnson 38?

[BNE]

I went shooting with some friends yesterday and one of them pulled this pistol out to shoot.

He had some store bought S&W38s to shoot in it. I was not sure if they were the right bullets for the gun. Other than a serial number, there are no readable markings on the pistol. He knows his father carried it in WW2, but nothing else.

I am guessing it is an Iver Johnson due to the "IJ" in the handle. It seems to lock up tight and function correctly. We did not shoot it because I was hesitant to damage a family keepsake.

What can you tell me about it and are there websites that will tell me more info given the serial number?

175361

175362

[bouncer50]

Yes that would be a IJ as long it lock up tight i see no harm shooting it once in a while. Its not a pistol i would shoot every day. They must have made a ton of them i see them at gun shops gun shows begging for a new owner.

[Kraschenbirn]

Appears to be a 3rd Model (1908-1941) Iver Johnson 'Safety Hammerless'. My grandfather had a .32 IJ Hammerless that he carried as an 'off-duty' in the 1940s and 1950s then kept as a 'house gun' until he died. Unfortunately, when he passed away, my uncle snagged onto it, had it reblued, and framed it to hang on the wall of his den.

Bill

[Ithaca Gunner]

I don't see an issue shooting it with factory loads, or equivalent hand loads. Just bear in mind, it was made for personal defense, not an everyday shooter.

[BNE]

Thanks for the input.

[Ilwil]

Iver Johnson's trademark was an owl's head embossed on the grips. I used my grandfather's .38 S&W as a prop in he school play, with the full consent of the drama teacher. Everyone took turns at dry fire. When the play was done, I took it home. That was a long time ago. When I tell younger people of it, they cannot comprehend it.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

It looks like an Iver Johnson and probably is, but there is very little that is patentable in external appearance of a revolver. You wouldn't conclude that a revolver is a Colt SAA just because it has the styling of one. Here is the action of the break-open Iver Johnsons, with the double action hammer lifter which they copied from the French military 1873 and extended to act as a transfer bar, letting them out of the need for a rebounding hammer.

175410

If it has a tight action and seems well finished, even if not an Iver Johnson, that would suggest materials good enough for standard commercial .38S&W loads, which were designed to be safe in revolvers of this type.