Description
Ready to own a piece of history? Look no further. This Smith is nothing average, in fact one in this kind of condition is pretty rare. The one you are looking at was made in 1918, so it could have been issued during both world wars! Check out the pictures for yourself, there is some honest wear on it but obviously not abused.
The model M1917 were six-shot, 45 ACP large frame revolvers adopted by the United States Military in 1917, to supplement the standard M1911 during WWII. There were two variations of the M1917, one made by Colt and the other by Smith & Wesson. They used moon-clips to hold the cartridges in position, facilitate reloading, and to aid in extraction since revolvers had been designed to eject rimmed cartridges and .45 ACP rounds were rimless for use with the M1911. After World War I, they gained a strong following among civilian shooters. A commercial rimmed cartridge, the 45 Auto-Rim was also developed, so M1917 revolvers could eject spent rounds without using moon-clips.
The Smith & Wesson Model 1917 is essentially an adaptation of the company’s 44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model chambered instead in .45 ACP and employing a shortened cylinder and a lanyard ring on the butt of its frame.
The S&W M1917 is distinguishable from the Colt M1917 in that the S&W cylinder has a shoulder machined into it to permit rimless .45 ACP cartridges to headspace on the case mouth (as they do in pistols). The S&W M1917 can thus be used without half-moon clips, though empty .45 ACP cases, being rimless, must be poked out manually through the cylinder face as the extractor cannot engage them.
