.357 mag

[krbellinger]

I have a .357mag with no model number. I know it is old, but how old ? The serial number is 46XXX. No Letters at all. The number was under the grip. Can anyone help me ?

[old bear]

Is that number under the grip or no the bottom of the grip frame? The serial number should be stamped into the bottom of the grip frame.

[DCWilson]

If you swing open the cylinder, do you see a stamp REG xxxx on the frame? The xxxx could be a three or four digit number.

And welcome to the forum.

[Dan M]

Welcome to the forum, the serial number you have reported would make the gun a pre war 357 magnum and therefore what is termed by collectors a "Registered Magnum", it Highly desirable by many depending on condition and its particular attributes. Pictures would help us define what you have and let you know whether you have "hit the Jackpot"

Dan

[krbellinger]

Thank you for responding.The numbers under cyl is REG 384. The 46XXX is there also. Its also on bottom of grip frame.

[DCWilson]

Well, it is a Registered Magnum for sure. If it is in top original condition and not modified, it is worth several thousand dollars. Even if somewhat worn looking and not fully original it is still worth quite a bit. If you search in the forum archives for "Registered Magnum" you will find many threads about these revolvers. They were essentially custom-produced revolvers built with an owner-specified barrel length and sighted in at the factory to the owner's preference (center hold vs. six o'clock hold, for example).

Two other RMs with serial and registration numbers in the vicinity of yours shipped in mid 1935, so your gun was probably shipped in that year too.

We'd love it if you could post some photos of this revolver.

[DGT]

Registered Magnums are "grail guns" for many of us. There is more knowledge of such guns here than you are likely to find anywhere else.

As stated above, pictures will help immensely in telling more about your revolver.

[krbellinger]

Got pictures. I have got figure out how to get them here.

[Nightowl]

A good chance it is late 1935.

[DCWilson]

Originally Posted by krbellinger

Got pictures. I have got figure out how to get them here.

Two basic choices:

(1) If you have the images on your computer and they don't exceed the filesize limit, you can attach them to a post and they will come along with the text. Look for a button that says "manage attachments" down below the composition box on the page, and select the pics that you want to show. If the photos are too large, you will need to resize them with a graphics editor. Usually anything under 1000 x 800 is safe (round numbers). The old JPG standard of 640 x 480 is definitely OK. I think there is a five-photo limit on attachments to a single post.

(2) Upload the photos to an image sharing site like Photobucket, and then include the links to your photos as part of your post. If you put the [IMG] and [/IMG] tags before and after each photo link, we will see the picture rather than a link to the picture.

The advantage of Photobucket is that it resizes on the fly and you don't have to worry about whether the files are too big or not.

[wetdog]

Welcome to the forum. Reg 274 shipped 7/24/1935.

[Retired W4]

Pictures, we need pictures! Best of luck with the process.

[ditrina]

Welcome to the forum. Reg 379 shipped 8/27/1935.

[Iggy]

Welcome to the forum.. Talk about making an entrance, you can't do much better than that.