S&W Model 1917, Brazilian contract
Official wording
Smith & Wesson, Model 1917 revolver, cal. .45 ACP, produced for Brazil.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade or imported as stated: “produced for Brazil”
- INFOATF states no date; production was about 1937–1938.
Editorial facts · Our research
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section II · PDF p. 17 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: Medium · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “Smith & Wesson” ↗, country: Wikipedia: Smith & Wesson is an American firearm manufacturer, founded in Norwich, Connecticut / Springfield, Massachusetts
- 2. Wikipedia, “M1917 revolver” ↗, action
- 3. Wikipedia, “M1917 revolver” ↗, years (estimate: partly supports it): Wikipedia (M1937 section): "In 1937, Brazil ordered 25,000 Smith & Wesson M1917s for its military"; the 1938 end year is not given
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- 1 change · see below
Correction history
- Evidence passEditorial confidence: High → Medium. Re-rated after its references were re-checked and some details couldn't be confirmed.
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “M1917 revolver.jpg” by Mcumpston (talk)Mike Cumpston, Public domain. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “M1917 revolver”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The M1917 revolvers were six-shot, .45 ACP, large frame double action revolvers adopted by the United States Military in 1917, to supplement the standard M1911 pistol during World War I. 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, to 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 magazine-fed 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 cartridge cases without using moon-clips.