How much of a premium over a standard value will a 8 1/4 inch barrel length registered magnum bring?

If any were ordered in this length (and I have to wonder why anyone would) it would likely be very uncommon and scarcity adds to value with collectors. Exactly how much? Who knows. Generally speaking the rare lengths aside the longer the barrel the less interest amongst potential buyers and hence lower prices. The 3.5" length continues to be the most popular and the most sought after.

For me, the condition would trump the barrel length. I'm not a big fan of the longer barrels but a 8 1/4" in excellent condition would be more desirable than an average condition 6". Just my opinion...

I imagine that such an uncommon variant within the world of RM collecting could not be tagged with a value in advance. The price would emerge from negotiations between the owner and the few collectors willing to dig deep for what might be a singleton specimen. And even after the sale, RM watchers could argue about how much of the purchase price reflected the gun's underlying condition, history and any accessories, leaving the value kick of the barrel length uncertain.

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David Wilson

There were <10 ordered with this barrel length and they command a pretty large premium to the right collector(s).

Regards,
Kevin Williams

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

There you go. A very small number produced equals higher value to a collector.

But why in the world would anyone order an 8 & 1/4" barrel?

In my experience, the Registered Magnum revolvers can be counted on as being very precise in measuring a specific barrel length. If it was ordered as 8 1/4 in., it will be 8 1/4 inches, etc. That's not always true with the run of the mill older S&Ws, as a tolerance of up to an 1/8th of an inch from the advertised barrel length, did not keep the gun from being shipped, especially in barrels of shorter than usual length. The only reason I can suggest as to why someone would order an 8 1/4 in. barrel in a Reg. Mag. is they were thinking of competing in shooting matches where 8 and 3/8th inch barrels were the maximum length allowed and they were erring on the safe side, being knowledgable that before the Reg. Mags. came along , a 1/8th in. tolerance error could happen. Ed.

The first issue was the length it was shipped with. Any shorter than 8 3/4 has the possibility of being cut to that length. The 8 1/4 would have been a logical length for a gun used in competition after the discovery 8 3/4 wasn't legal in competition. The factory settled on 8 3/8s, but 8 1/4 would surely be easy to measure as being legal.

Any RM with an odd length requires a factory letter. If the seller wants to realize a huge premium, he needs to include the letter in the mix. When you get down to 4 1/2 or 4 3/4 it really brings up the question of a fake. And remember, some lengths were only ordered by one or two folks.

And keep in mind just because 10 of those were ordered doesn't mean they remained in this country or have surfaced. Could be there are only one or two in captivity. That would boost the value significantly. Kevin keeps the registry of all known RMs.

If you're buying the gun, demand the factory letter to confirm its original. If you're selling it, order the letter before you get serious.

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Dick Burg

The gun has just sold.The asking price was 6,899.00.It had a red bead king target front sight and a white outline rear blade.It was in prestine condition but did not have the correct grips.Someone gave it a pair of target grips.Boy what a beauty.

Was it lettered?

I don't think so.It was listed on the internet with no mention of a letter.Well the book says a non common barrel lenght on a rm can be worth multiples of standard value.I think this was the case with this gun.2540547_swrgmag_06.jpg

2540547_swrgmag_05.jpg

2540547_swrgmag_02.jpg

Did the listing have the serial and/or registration numbers?

Thanks,
Kevin Williams

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208

Kevin registration number is 2394 .If i ever decide to dish out that kind of money for a rm or non-rm I want the correct grips on it.There is a chance those plastic target grips left a mark on the frame and sideplate.Mike

The gun has a turn line on the cylinder and is almost perfect. There are no marks on the side plate nor on the frame from the plastic Pointer grips. And Cabelas is sometimes very negotiable on price. BTW The gun now sports a set of KB repro prewar magnas and the actual barrel length is 8 5/16" right in between to 8.25" and 8.375". Request for a letter will go out in the next couple of days. Better photos posted next time I get the camera and light box out..

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Congratulations Richard. Look forward to hearing what the letter says.

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!