This one followed me home from Michigan Antique Gun Show, need some help to ID. Made by JP Saur & Son, West Germany, sold by Hawes. The right sideplate is made from Plexiglass, & shows internal working parts. Model number marked inside crane is SR3. Serial # K0003. A very well made gun, rivals any Smith or Colt. Anyone ever seen a saleman sample Hawes before??? Jim.

So, That's where Taurus got the idea for the "View", they stole it from Hawes. A company that (as far as I know) has been out of buisness since Fido was a pup!

Cant say as I had seen one before but that is rather neat! I just cant say why the JP Saur & Son firearms got so little respect here in the States, they are well built and strong guns. I have a Hawes Western Marshall SA in .44 Mag that is a rather nicely done piece that shoots well other than poorly regulated fixed sights, not a sin exclusive to JP Saur & Son firearms . Thanks for sharing that one!

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Stay safe people!

Hawes is gone as a business in the USA because they elected to sell their copy of the Colt SAA as just that, an exact copy without modification to prevent NDs when dropped on the hammer over a live cartridge. They were sued out of existence here after victims discovered they sold the Western Marshall with no warning label about the only safe way to carry the gun was with the hammer over an empty chamber. There were so many successful lawsuits against 'Hawes' that they had no choice but to close up and go back to Germany. I was once an 'expert witness' in one such lawsuit. I had original J.P. Sauer blueprints of their version and an original set of Colt blueprints of their version. I had to testify that upon my examination I could find no design differences between the two. I did testify that IMHO the metallurgy of the Hawes was probably better of the two, but that didn't put a hammer block in the Sauer version. To this day I wish I had the Colt blueprints copied for my library. .............. Big Cholla

I remember Hawes single-actions as well made guns, but they flamed out in the U.S. for several reasons, including the lawsuits. I don't recall ever even seeing a double-action.

Your demo gun looks to have a really nice finish on it, and I also remember when jeweled hammers were all the rage. Yours has an interesting fit on the stocks...guess that's to show off the lockwork better?

Looks like a great conversation piece...probably aren't a lot of them around.

Does anyone know the timeline of Hawes in Los Angeles ? The previous owner talked to the Blue Book people & was told the gun was probably one of a kind, with the special model & serial numbers. Date of manufacture was estimated 1948.

So I'm wondering-maybe a Defendant's model for one of the trials they were involved with?!

I have a mid 60's or a little later JP Sauer 357 that shoots great but the finish is terrible. Looks sort of parkerized. Ivan

Hawes was only sued over their copy of the SAA and their failure to warn the consumer to carry safely the user must load only 5 cylinders and then be certain to lower the hammer over the empty chamber. This handgun in question is a SA/DA and looks to me to be a near copy of the S&W "N" Frame action. This gun would not have the same ND problem if dropped on the hammer over a loaded cylinder. I believe that the OP is correct that this is a 'Salesman's Sample' gun and was not meant to be fired. .................... Big Cholla