POTD: The Shield Before it was Cool – Smith and Wesson .35 Auto
Sam.S 04.27.21
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! Produced from 1913-1921, the Smith and Wesson .35 Auto was introduced to battle the Colt 1903 Pocket Hammerless which was chambered for .32 ACP and the later Model 1908 in .380 ACP. The most interesting part about the handgun itself is the new cartridge! This is also the biggest reason that it was unsuccessful and fairly quickly discontinued.
The Smith and Wesson .35 Auto cartridge was actually technically/vaguely .32 caliber (it is 8mm) and only called .35 Auto to set itself apart in the market and better yet sound bigger (cause bigger bullet means bigger hole). The Colt pocket guns were extremely popular and available and better yet they were introduced in a standardized cartridge used around the world. According to the my research, .32 ACP can be fired through the Smith and Wesson .35 Auto, but may produce some reliability issues.
“The Smith & Wesson .35 Auto. This small handgun was named for the .35 S&W cartridge which actually used a .32 caliber bullet. Intended to be a competitor to Colt’s pocket guns, it was introduced in 1912 but sold less than 10,000 examples before it was discontinued in 1921
-Cody Firearms Museum’s Facebook.”
The Smith & Wesson .35 Auto [Photograph found in Photos, Cody Firearms Museum Facebook]. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2021, from https://www.facebook.com/CodyFirearmsMuseum/photos/2931838950373598
