Hey Guys,

I finally got my letter back from Mr. Jinks! Very cool.

"The records indicate this revolver was shipped with a 6.5" barrel, drift adjustable rear sight, blue finish and checkered black hard rubber grips".

Mr. Jinks goes on to say it looks as if the barrel has been cut. He is right it is now 5". So the grips, and front sight are not original and the barrel has been cut, also he suspects it has been refinished.

My question is about the factory rear sight, it is not a target sight as it has no adjustments screws it is only "drift adjustable". So what is the deal with this rear sight? I've only heard of the target sights that were adjustable.

My guess is that the rear sight was modified to the drift adjustable blade after leaving the factory. It appears the original rear sight was ground off when they did that.

Yes, the gun is refinished.

__________________
Regards,
Lee Jarrett

I wouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet as I'm pretty sure this Sight is Original given it's "Lettered" as such!! I'm also relatively sure it's the Type 5 Target Sight, or Factory variant of, that Bob Neal wrote about in an Arms Gazette Article back around 1977!! The Article was entitled "The Evolution of Smith & Wesson Target Sights" & was in Two Parts if memory serves!! The Sight is Very Rare & I believe those ordered with it had the Std. Factory Sight milled off because it interfered with the line of sight being it is on the same plane as the Original Sight!!

I also believe these are generally found on 32/44 & 38/44 Target Revolvers so it "Lettering" as Correct on a 44 DA I'd certainly think this makes his Revolver not only a Very Scarce Variation of a 44 DA, but somewhat valuable as well even though it's Refinished & the Barrel's been cut!!

Hopefully Ed (opoefc) will see this Thread as he may have some further insight about it!!

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Masterpiece

My mistake.
I did not really absorb what I read.
It obviously letters with the driftable sight!

__________________
Regards,
Lee Jarrett

In my first photo posting of this gun Ralph Tremaine mentioned the type 5 rear sight, but it seemed like only a hypothetical possibility. Now that Mr. Jinks says it left the factory with a "drift adjustable" rear sight I'm very curious what that means? Is this a "type 5"? What is the significance of type 5 sights?

Also since this is my grandfather's gun and he assumes (can't recall) he recieved it from his father who would have purchased it pre-1940, now I really want to try and learn more about the original owner. I have the name of the individual that it was shipped to in June of 1893, but no address.

Any tips on this type of investigation? Am I right to assume that back in those days that the original owner was likely geographically close to my great-grandfather? Was it common for a used gun dealer to get inventory from distant places back then or more likely local?

This gun was ordered with the drift adjustable rear sight, per the factory letter. The usual reason for this is that the owner was a target shooter who competed in matches requiring non-adjustable rear sights ( drift adjustable ). Matches of this type were mostly in Europe, however some matches in the US had that requirement, such as military revolver matches. If you know the original purchaser's name, you might want to research the records of the NRA pistol matches and the Springfield Revolver Club matches at the time of the shipment and thereafter, to see if the owner was a participant. Ed.

Thanks Ed! Where would I go to search those records, just call up the NRA?

Also curious about the other modifications and the likelihood that they were made by the original owner. From what I know about accuracy it would seem that a longer barrel would be more accurate does this make it unlikely that the original owner would've had the barrel shortened? What bout the wood grips? Seems no checkering would have reduced grip also a disadvantage for target shooting?

The front sight is unique and when seen through the sight window almost has the shape of a human silhouette, like the black targets you see cops shooting at in TV/Movies (see below). This I could see being a modification to suit a particular target shooter's taste, but the grip and barrel cutting would seem not conducive to target shooting based on my limited knowledge.


At the same time my great-grandfather was a farmer and it seems unlikely that a farmer would've bothered to (or had the money to) make modifications to a gun? Of course there might have been other owners between my great-grandfather and the original owner.

Also it occurs to me the name in the letter could be a local gun shop proprietor and doesn't identify the original owner. Is this a likely possibility or are individual names on records usually the person who would own the gun?

Any thoughts?

Big6ft6,

Sorry, I didn't know that you'd made a previous post inquiring about your Revolver & had already been made aware there was a Type 5 Fixed Target Sight!! What I based my comment on about it being a Type 5 was by Two 32/44 Target's I had seen in years past with Type 5's as well as what Bob Neal's Type 5 Sight looked like in the article he'd written back in the Late 70's!!

Also, just so you know, the Type 5 in his Article "Was" a Fixed Sight...Not Drift Adjustable...but given how S&W would pretty much build a customer anything they'd ask for back then is why I stated that Your Sight may have been a "Variant" of that Style Sight being it was still Fixed, but also Drift Adjustable...Sorry if I made it sound as though it was exactly the same Sight!!

I am glad to see that Ed showed up to give you his thoughts as far as why sometimes Fixed "Drift Adjustable" (Windage Only) Sights were required to be used in some Early Target Match Events rather than the Fully-Adjustable (Windage & Elevation) Type & explained it much more clearly than I could have myself!! Thanks Ed!!

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Masterpiece

Is Bob Neal's article posted anywhere? I googled it and didn't find any results?

Also would this drift adjustable sight be a rare feature worth writing home about, or not really? I would love if Roy would make commentary about the rarity of a feature in his letters, but i realize that isn't the purpose of the letters.

I absolutely love daydreaming about the original owner of this gun and guessing like Ed did why someone would've asked for this sight!

Any others willing to share their thoughts/hypothesis I'd be so grateful. I talked to my grandpa this afternoon, but his hearing is so bad it is difficult to have a detailed conversation over the phone. He doesn't recognize the name the revolver was shipped to.

What's the ship date and the shipping destination name in the factory letter? It may be a name other posters will recognize. NRA archives will have the names of shooters entered in their matches, plus Camp Perry matches. Springfield Revolver Club records are kept by Joe Miller. I don't have his email address handy, but other posters here may have it and can supply it. A Model .44DA is an unusual gun to have original drift adjustable rear sight, as that feature is normally associated with a more conventional target revolver, such as a New Model No. 3. In fact, .44DAs are rare birds if they have any kind of factory target sights. Kind of like lipstick on a pig, so to speak. And, as you say, cutting a longer barrel on a target revolver is counterproductive to the gun's original configuration and intended use. Apparently your gun has been through several hands with different perspectives. Ed.

Big6ft6,

As far as Bob's Article...No...not to my knowledge!! I have the Issues the Article was in, but sorry to say I have no way to make copies or I would gladly send them to you although I'll PM you with an alternative that may help when I'm through here!!

Now as far as Your .44 DA "Lettering Correct" with the Drift Adjustable Sight being a Rare Feature worth noting...Yes it most certainly is as you can assume by the comments I made earlier!! Especially to the right person as it's likely Rarer to see than the (Type or Style) 5 Fixed Target Sight Bob makes mention of in his article "Period"...let alone the fact it was ordered on a .44 DA as Ed made mention of!!

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Masterpiece

Thanks Ed and Masterpiece for your thoughts. I'm very proud to have an unusual gun that seems to have contradictory personality traits, fits me well as I'm a bit of an unusual guy myself!

The gun was shipped to a Maurice Steele. Unfortunately no address was in the factory records. My grandfather is from a small town west of Appleton, WI and as I mentioned before he believes this to have been handed down to him from his father (my great grandfather) along with his father's other guns.

My great grandfather grew up on the same farm in Wisconsin and passed away before 1950.