Hello All,
Yesterday I had plans to go to the gun show with a good friend of mine; however, he had to cancel last minute. I debated not going by myself because the trip is a little over an hour one way, but I just kept thinking nothing ventured, nothing gained.
So I get there & do a quick walk through looking for anything that interest me, specifically Pre War S&W Target Revolvers. After the first pass I only found a set of nice old stag pre war grips. I did my second pass and just before leaving I saw this really nice M&P 1905 with a King front reflector & a King rear adjustable sight. The gun is in fine condition, but it does have a star on the butt and a date code of 6/50 on the frame. The gun was priced $625, and I consider that a bargain for such a fine Target revolver! The stocks it was wearing was a well used non medallion service grip. I had these Sandersons waiting for her at home that I got off the forum from Scott (SAfireman). This is my third King Modified revolver & I'm now officially hooked on his guns.

So, needless to say all the way home I just kept thinking how glad I was that I made the trip!
Hope you enjoy the pictures, & thanks for letting me show off my new revolver!
Paul






Here is a picture of the Stag Grips I found...

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Paul
SWCA #2864

That worked out VERY well. I just got my first KING gun and I am a convert.

That is a very good day at the show.

And the stags are great too Paul

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On the Oak Savannah

Paul:

Congrats on finding a great revolver. I too love the King modified guns.

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

"Don't hate him because he got lucky. Don't hate him because he got lucky. Don't hate..."

Nope, it's not working. I can get it down to blind jealousy, but that's about the best I can do. I would have been excited over finding the King Conversion or the stags, and elated over the Sandersons, and you show off all three in one post?

"I must not hate my fellow forum members. I must not hate my fellow forum members. I must not hate... "

Nope, still not working!

Froggie

A great score at a terrific price! Congratulations from yet another fan of King-improved handguns.

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David Wilson

It is kind of like a piece of art. Do you plan on shooting it? If so, let us know the results. Bob

Paul, The finish looks righteous to me. Must of had some repair work done. Great find!

Nice ! Sure would like to see how it shoots!

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

Holy cow Batman, what a day at the show! Nice would be a understatement, thanks for sharing.

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Stay safe people!

Wow wee! That's nice.

These unusual finds at gun shows are getting more rare. For the same vicarious reasons people tune into a show about finding lost treasure we tune into the forum to see the occasional treasure hunter who strikes gold.

Thanks for posting your successful treasure hunt.

John
Still have not sighted Big Foot.

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Scoundrel & Ne'er-Do-Well

Looks like we both found King guns yesterday. I however, had to settle for a Colt

Wow, Beauitful Colt! You got to tell the
Details of how you got it.
I have a Colt OM King Super Target, but it's not near as nice as yours.

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Paul
SWCA #2864

Found it while walking the aisles at the Market Hall gun show in Dallas, have a thread going in other guns section

There was a two-day auction this past weekend that featured a very large number of
guns. In particular, and relevant to this thread, were the largest number of King ribs
and Roper (style) grips that I have ever seen, in one place at one time. All of these came from the estate of John and Jan Wills, who lived in Alaska. John was a very fine gunsmith, among other pursuits.

Some of these grips, while featuring the Roper ribbon, have other very different characteristics; the width of the ribbon, the placement of the diamond, the transition from the bottom rim to the ribbon, the amount of wood from the top of the checkering to the top edge of the grip, are some of the features I observed.

Being a talented gunsmith, I suspect John made some of these grips. I also suspect that he added the King ribs himself to some of the guns.

The catalog was almost an inch thick. I cut and pasted most, but not all, of the guns that
had King and Roper accessories. The following three images are what I put together. The purpose of my posting here is to show this massive collection of King and Roper work; unfortunately the guns are not S&W's, but another manufacturer.







Regards, Mike Priwer

Hi Folks.

I ended up buying a few of the guns as pictured and being discussed. I'm not an expert on Roper grips so am presenting better pics in the hopes that they can be authenticated. Your comments would be most appreciated!

Set 1. Exhibits characterstics that I would expect to see in Ropers, including the square jig holes and various notes/marks in pencil.




Set 2. Same characteristics as above.



Set 3. Previous owner(?) put his name on the backside of the grips.



Set 4. I originally thought this set would be the "fake" as it has a different (much coarser) checkering pattern. The gun itself is much bigger - did Roper use different patterns depending on the size of the gun? But the backside looks ok?



Set 5. This set is off. The back of the wood looks different and I can't find the jig holes. Also there is much less wood at the top of the ribbon.



So did perhaps John Wills make Set 5? No. Including in the purchase was a lot of detailed documentation. For this particular gun John's own notes state that he bought it in 1982 as the "Las Vegas Show" and that it was in "100% mint condition" along with "Mint Roper Grips". So John himself thought he was buying the gun with Ropers.

Let me know if there are any other pictures you would like to see. Thanks for any information you can provide.

Cheers!

A few of the Guns? Looks like You bought half or more to me...

Are those grips stag or bone???

What Grips?

The grips in picture #7 of the OP.
Ed

Thanks for the photos. I love old target revolvers. I'll bet that revolver has shot its fair share of 10's over the years. It probably has a lot more left in her.

I'm not for sure. I first thought they were stag, but now I'm leaning to jigged bone??

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Paul
SWCA #2864

My vote would be for Jigged Bone from that picture. A really neat set too.

I agree they are Jigged Bone not Stag.