What a great find, and a great story. I really need to research more about Skeeter's work and guns. I was born, raised and still reside in Hereford. Now, I should probably letter that first year production Model 57 that I bought locally........just in case.....
Thanks for the info and write-up !!

Congrats on your find! Thanks for sharing the pics and information on that historic S&W.

Hi
To bad about have to sell your 5 inch. They would be the only two Made on a 4 screw frame.
They made one run in the late 70,s with a 5 inch barrel and they were marked 26-1
and had 3 screw frames. They was a special for a state police, but there were 40 that were not marked. I have one of those. There was also one small order made up with 5 inch barrels in 1959. There were 8 of these in target and 45 ACP on 5 screw frames with a
S-14xxxx serial number I also have one of those.
Thanks for the post
Jim Fisher

Congrats Jim. Great story. Would love to shoot that gun.

Were these the tapered 1950 barrels or the heavy 1955 barrels?

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I for the life of me, can't remember. I pretty sure he had Vito in the pro center build them.
I will try and find the invoice this weekend, if it's still around.

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“Cogito, ergo sum armatus

Hi
If I had to guess the barrels he found would have been from the gun in the picture.
These were made in the 80,s and there were some over run parts.
These were marked 26-1 on the frame and were 3 screw frames.
Jim Fisher

Hi
There is no stamping on the grip frame under the Grips.
Jim

Hi
There is a thread on the 1961-1980 fourm that has pictures of shooting the Skeeter gun.
Here is the link.
Jim

Shooting the Skeeter Skelton 25-2 in .45 Colt

A great story and a lot of great Skeeter remembrances. I was priviledged to meet and talk for several hours with Skeeter at his home in 1982. I was a proby Border Patrol Agent in Deming, NM and my wife became acquainted with Skeeter's wife Sally at a business she had in Deming. When my wife told Sally how ga-ga I was over Skeeter, she gave her their phone number and told her to tell me to call him. As my reward for passing my final immigration law and Spanish tests for the USBP I called Skeeter and he invited me out. I had a copy of the special "Skeeter Skelton on Handguns" magazine rolled up and in stuck in the back pocket on my Levi's for him to autograph. We chatted over iced tea and he showed me a number of his special handguns. Later as I was driving away, I remembered the magazine, but was too embarassed to go back. That was the first and last time I saw him, but I'll remember that day for the rest of my life.

Just wow...

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Jorge

Thanks for sharing the photos and story. As a side note, although I never meet 'Skeeter', I have had the pleasure of meeting and visiting with his son, Bart. When Dad retired, he and my 'step-mom', Jean moved to Deming, NM. While visiting Dad one time, we stopped by the old INS office just down from Dad's place and I had a good visit with Bart. At the time he was just beginning his writing career and had been testing some Blazer .44Spec rds. He gave me a couple of boxes. I still have one of them.

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Sheriff Russell Cottle. ret

Wow, the invoice says that gun was about $70 brand new.

I bet you can get at least twice that much now....

; )

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My sgntr is mor thn 30 chrctrs

He probably got the writers' discount. What was retail on a .45 M-1955 back then?

Also, his being a staff editor probably got him consideration that a normal customer might not receive on that special order.

While we're on Skeeter, how many recall that he pretty much gave up on the M-29 as a .44 Magnum? He preferred the 7.5-inch Ruger SA's for hunting and the M-1950 .44 Spcl. for defense.

I understood, but have liked heavy .44 Special loads for the six-inch M-29 and 629. A 250 grain Keith bullet at some 900-1000 fPS will kill a lot of things that you might need to kill. We badly need a lead SWC-HP round like that from the factories, which won't lead barrels. I guess they doubt that the public would buy it.

The N-frame guns are big and heavy, but some like them. I prefer the M-66 except in bear country. It is worth noting that in his later career with US Customs, Skeeter usually kept a M-19 in a Myres holster and belt in his car trunk, carrrying either a customized Colt .45 auto or a Walther PP .380 on his person. By then, he had accepted that the M-19 would hold up okay with reasonable .357 use and was much handier to wear routinely than was the M-27 that he so loved.

One reason why his M-19 held up well was that he usually preferred a handload in .38 cases that amounted to Keith's old .38-44 load. Factory .357 ammo then pounded the gun more and probably killed no better.

They really oughta make this routinely, without The Lock and in stainless steel, in both .44 Special and .45 Colt. It would be a very practical duty gun and good for most wild animals that one might need to shoot. The lanyard ring makes it worthwhile for expeditions to remote areas where river travel is often necessary.

In fact, I understand that this gun will soon be offered...in your dreams!

Yup. That's one reason I often load Federal's rather slow 200 gr LSWCHP 44 Special load for in town CCW, but my handloads for the hills. And like you posted, a lot of folks don't mind carrying a 45 Auto for defense.

Heh, some folks are known to handload 250 gr SWCHP's in 45 Autorim for their defense revolvers.

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July 4, 1776 not Jan 30, 1909

I got to handle the Skeeter gun today. It is truly a beautiful work of S&W art. Thank you to Jim for letting me look at it more closely!

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SWCA 1646

hi
I have added pictures to the first post of Bart with his dads gun.
Jim

Those pics just make this thread even more special!!!!

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Jim, for my money your display (including this historic revolver) was the high point of the NRA Conference. Thank you for sharing with all 86,000 of us!

I truly enjoyed reading many articles authored by Skeeter, and in fact my most memorable story was about the gentleman who carried a .32 20 in a leather shoulder holster who put on a fine shooting demonstration. Today I have a .32 20 (3rd change) as a result of that great story.

You ain't the only one that wound up buying guns because of what Old Skeet wrote!!!!!!!!!!!!

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I had very little interest in handguns until I started reading Skeeter and Elmer.Those guys cost me a lot of money!

This is the reason I love the S&W Forum ... A magnificent firearm with a tremendous back story shared with us all. Thank you, Jim!

Extra bonus: Mr. Ayoob stopping by for a visit!

BTW Jim ... Do you know if the Factory fine-tuned the Skeeter revolver in any way beyond putting together a "custom"?

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I'm with the banned ...

I am going to bring this to the top for another go round........

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dd884
JMHO-YMMV

To what end? It’s eight years old,

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We few... We happy few...

Well, the Forum has added a lot of members since and I'm sure some of them hadn't seen this thread.

You don't have to read old threads, you know.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Great Thread, glad it’s going again.
Have I mentioned seeing the Skeeter Display Case in the Deming Museum?

Attached Images

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I love threads like this and love reading them even if it is a 2nd time.

I hope Jim is doing well.

Great thread thanks for sharing OP..

Skeeter Skelton

From "Dark Canyon" a collection of Skeeter stories.

He was the best gun scribe ever imo...

And never will be matched.