I told a friend of mine that you rarely see anything really nice at the local show. So the 2nd table I look at today has this RM #1401 on the table for a relatively reasonable price. Re-blued, 6" bbl., maybe replaced trigger but all matching numbers except the stocks, which are still pre WWII. Seller said he has the Jenks letter but not with him. He didn't recall any details other that the King's red bead frontand white outline rear. So I am waiting on the letter. Still looking for that mint RM for $500.00 I keep hearing about.

I don't even want to know

Fortune smiled on you today. If it's refinished, it's an above average job. It's also the kind of item that keeps me going to shows. Congrats on a great acquisition. Time to buy the lotto ticket. Jim

Nice! Reblued or not, I'd buy that one in a heartbeat. I found my non-reg mag in a gunshop in SoCal for $900.00, mis-marked as a "pre-27". They're out there.
Bob

Beautiful RM! I don't see any obvious sign of a refinish - and the condition of the grips is outstanding. Enjoy,

Jerry

Nice gun!
If that's a reblue, it's well done; the S&W emblem on the left side still looks very sharp.

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John

Gotta' love the gun shows.

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Living a dream - S&WCA #2364

Nice catch, did you pay 500 for the gun? I'd love to find a shooter RM, even re- finished. It doesn't matter if you shoot the heck out of this gun bc the collector value is gone and you shouldn't loose any value. Enjoy and let us know how it shoots. Larry

Sweet! wanna make a quick 50$? LOL!

Always great to find a treasure. Truly a very neat find. Joe.

Great find ...... did you look under the grips to see if it's a factory refinish?

Beautiful RM! How do you know its a refinish? Is the frame so-marked? did the seller just assume it was? I think it could be very much original. The logos look very nice

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Kris
OGCA, NRA LM

That is a very nice gun and the pictures show it well. If it is a reblue all the emblems and letters certainly look good as well as side plate and screws. Congratulations.

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James
On the Llano Estacado

I think this is a good example of how even decent photos can fool you. The reblue (not S&W quality) was not overly polished leaving lots of small pits around the logos, but if you see it in hand there is no doubt. no re-work markings of any kind. Mint bore and a perfect lock up with an incredibly smooth double action. Price was reasonable relative to the astronomical prices I see on really nice examples, but still more than that mythological $500.00. A really nice set of $300/$350 N frame diamond grips made it easier decide to buy.

Nice catch Larry! And you might be a little light on your value estimate on those prewar magnas. I'll send you 350 for them right now if you want to sell!

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Even older, even crankier....

I defer to your judgement on the reblue issue, as you have the gun in hand and the rest of us are only looking at pics on the computer. That's often the problem when someone posts a "What's it worth?" thread.
Still, it's a very nice RM with great looking grips. Nice catch.

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John

Nice find!

"Waiting on the letter" to buy the gun or did you already buy it?

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Bought it. Letter update to follow with Historical paper if any.

I think you would find that the stocks on that gun would fetch closer to $700 on ebay.

Also: keep looking for that $500 registered magnum. I only paid $150 for mine at a gunshow.

So you're the guy!!!! I was right behind you

To be fair mine had some terrible grips on it, no rear sight, and a hole drilled in the top strap along with a bit of the lovely checkering they do up there ground out. Also the finish is... just gone.

If the ebayer measured correctly I should have a sight that fits, but not quite correct (pre war N-Frame should have grooves below the sight and be less of a high polish blue) in the mail right now.

So, if all goes well, it should be back to shooting like it did when it shipped in the next couple weeks here.

It only took 2.5 years to track down a set of Magnas and a fitting sight and I will have slightly more then $400 into it at that point. So in a way it is sort of your mythical $500 Registered magnum.



Keep your eyes open for them!

Sixgun, how's it shoot? Set of grips for it went on e-bay for 760.00 last week. Nice gun for the the price. Is the timing OK? Larry, if your gun isn't refinished, it's still a good buy. Larry

Shoots fantastic. I have a modified post war N Frame sight that I cut down to fit on it and I have shot it quite a bit.

Once I have that sight on there the only real problem with it is that the cylinder release is a little, I'm not sure how to put it exactly, sticky? It's like the cylinder release doesn't quite unlock it enough and you have to put more pressure on the cylinder then is normal for an old Smith to get it to swing out. I've been fixated on getting the sight and stocks replaced, but once those are done I figured I would have a look at that part (Actually I figured I would start a thread about it here and ask if anyone could tell me how to go about fixing that.)

Timing and lockup are perfect, no end shake to speak of. It may look like hell, but it shoots like heaven.

That's actually why I bought it. At the time I was only vaguely aware of what a Registered Magnum even was, and I never expected to find one. The only reason I purchased it was because I thought, hell, its a .357 magnum with a $150 price tag on it, the sight can't be that hard to replace right? Turns out it was, but that's not a reason to regret buying it.

Someone makes the rear sights for replacement. I'd leave it as you have it. Sometimes, e- bay will have one, not often. The modern sights are easier to see. I'd go with a bead front and make a U notch rear. Larry

More often than not the hard cylinder release is a result of grime build up on the ejector assembly. try unscrewing it, remember it is (should be) a normal right hand thread. then look at the detent pin in the ejector shroud. if it isn't going back far enough it can make opening hard. not rocket science but the pin retaining the detent rod is rounded. Brownells sells a nice cupped tip pin assortment that you should have if you take any smith apart.

take the side plate off and give the internals a good cleaning too. that often helps.

No one makes a reproduction, and modern sights don't fit. The tang of the sight was wider after the war.


Thanks for the advice on the sticky cylinder guys, I'll go see if it's just a cleaning. Honestly I've been pretty afraid of taking apart these old guns, just starting to work up the guts to do it. I know this old Registered Magnum needs the side plate taken off and the internals a good going over, I'll probably do it when I get a set of correct screwdrivers.

Sixgun,

In the meantime just flood the action with breakfree, MPro 7 or similar product and let drain well.

A 'sticky swingout'; 1st thing to check is for loose ejection rod. If that's not it and it's clean under the star, next is:

with cyl open, push the lock rod forward flush with the star using a flat surfaced large pin punch, or Washington's forehead on a quarter, or the like. While holding it flush, make sure the other end of the rod comes out at least flush with the ejector rod knob or slightly more. If not flush with knob, the knob needs to be filed down so it is flush.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

Yeah, I've been a big fan of flushing the inside out with Breakfree for some time. I find it works pretty well, but I'm still thinking it's no substitute for a proper sideplate off cleaning.

On the Ejector Rod: thanks, that's exactly what I needed.

So the rod is is flush, but it is also ever so slightly dimpled in the middle. I think it's that dimple that is causing the problem because it means that the rod, while perfectly flush, isn't perfectly flat.

I think knowing what causes the problem is enough for me, it's just sticky enough to not be "right" but not actually a legitimate problem. Frankly, S&W made a heck of a gun if that's the only problematic wear on a gun that was clearly used as hard as this one was.

What a great find and congrats on the purchase

"I'll probably do it when I get a set of correct screwdrivers."

YEAH!!!!!!

I think that is the only time I've seen that phrase in print in this or ANY forum in my life!!!

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

very nice find

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Cheers, Charles
SWCA #2442