This has a been a long journey for this gun and I. First heard about this gun from my LGS who was trying to buy it but that didn't go well at all. Some how after several months the owner contacted me, told me the gun had been sold to his sister in-law, At this point I was trying to figure out how she ended up with it.


Come to find out her father was the original owner and the gun was once again for sale. After several phone calls and visits we struck a deal.


The original owners were Mr & Mrs Henry C Stillman. They lived in Cortland NY, Henry died in 1971 and Nannette died in 1972. They were at one time 2 of the best shooters in NY and the northern tier of PA. Both were big into bench rest shooting.


My goal was to find a registered magnum close to where I live. This one spent it's entire life in Cortland NY, about 30 miles from my house. I could not be happier with is gun!


Smith&Wesson Pre War 357 Magnum Serial #47259 REG #777. It is all correct and numbers in all the right places even the box. Enjoy.


















This picture and artical is about the future Mrs Stillman. February 3rd 1941.

This picture is of the Iropuois Shooting Team of the Empire Keystone League comprised of teams of Northern PA and Southern NY. This picture was taken between 1934 and 1936 from what there daughter could remember. Mr Stillman is seated on her right.

Factory letter request has been sent and have already contacted the S&WHF. Will update when all information is received.

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George Jamison

Yes you may, and we're happy you did. Outstanding! Congratulations on finding that special gun that has "roots" to home.

Great gun and a very cool story. Sounds like a prime candidate for the "if my gun could talk" display this year.

Interesting how they published young Miss Weirick's address in the newspaper article - guess they figured she could take care of herself if trouble came knocking at her door .

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

It's always nicer to get the story that went with the gun. Congrats on a great find.

Beautiful revolver, great backstory. Congratulations and thanks for sharing both with us.

That's a terrific revolver, and I can't wait to learn what the letter will tell you about it.

And a King reflector front sight with white outline rear leaf! Is that a six-inch barrel? Six and a half? I can't make my eye read it.

I assume that the factory kept some King sights around to mount them at a customer's request, but for all I know the factory put together the gun that the customer wanted except for the King sight, shipped it to San Francisco to have it worked on there, and then received it back after King's gunsmiths made the desired modification. Either way, I have some speculation for you. The front sight blade seems quite wide and also has no red or white post on it, which is a little unusual given the reflector base. I wonder if the blade there now is a replacement for an earlier, narrower blade that carried a bead or post. The notch in the rear leaf appears to have been opened up to accommodate the width of the blade up front.

Not that modified sights would either the gun's appeal or its value in any way at all. That's the kind of modification that a true shooter makes to his gun in order to have exactly the configuration that he wants. It just further defines the gun and adds to its individual history.

Can't beat that Reg number for its symbolism -- you sure lucked out on a gun that once seemed to have slipped beyond your reach. Congratulations!

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David Wilson

Congratulations on your find.

Nice bit of history close to home, good luck with it.

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Doesn't hasta call me Johnson

Thanks for a great post, and congratulations for finding the one with that "Special" number on it.

The barrel is 6 1/2" and I do think that the front was changed or modified, you are correct on it having a King reflector sight base.

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George Jamison

The only flaw I can find in it is that it's yours and not mine. Other than that it's fantastic. She even had great taste in rifles.

When King sights were ordered for a Magnum, S&W purchased the sights from King via a purchase order.

Bill

Beautiful RM with a great heritage and just the right amount of silver in its shine.

Thanks for sharing,

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Thank you for sharing the history of this Registered Magnum and congratulations on finding this piece of history. If only it could talk.

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James
On the Llano Estacado

Good to know. Thank you.

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David Wilson

I love guns with a story. Thanks for posting and congratulations.

George that's a fabulous gun! I was just thinking about RM's this morning (I really was) and what I would want in one. I really like the earlier ones, with a three (or less) Reg number and service grips. It seems to me that the VAST majority had the magna's. While I do love the magna's I am gravitated to service grips, small logo and small reg number. If you don't mind I think I will stare at your pics a little longer. Did the box come with the deal or was it one you added?

Roger

Nevermind, I reread post and see that the box numbers to the gun! Dang mister!

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Eph 2:8-9

As i was slowly scrolling through the pics and reading the post all I could think of was "I am SO going to LIKE this post."

That revolver was well used and well cared for. The perfect combination in my book.




Many thanks for the pics and backstory.

Very nice, you even have the box. Has enough wear to take a few shots with it. Larry

Sometimes people ask me why I am *so* into S&Ws.

This is why, this kind of story, this kind of history, especially local history. I love it, congratulations on a fantastic purchase!

Totally AGREED! Wow that hammer is a work of art.

Congratulations to the new owner and to the new member of the family...

Both are deserving of one another and thank you very much for this great story!

So true! You just know that this gun was shot a lot by someone who knew what they were doing. It also means that the new owner can have fun doing the same.

I'll second that!. Love those hammers.......total class.

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Miss My Buddy crsides!!

From other RMs on my SN list, it looks like the shipping date would probably have been in the late 1935-early 1936 period.

WOW,WOW, WOW!! I find guns like that more appealing than the "never fired, never taken out of the box" collector pieces. Congratulations!

A well used, but not abused gun is much more interesting than a lack of turn line and crisp looking cardboard box.

Great gun and great story.

Thank you everyone for the kind word about this gun. I was going to shoot it yesterday but mother nature decided we needed 4" of snow. Hopping to shoot it this week.

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George Jamison

wow, NICE gun, good for you, that is the way to find them.........
we like it!!

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dan
NRA Benefactor,PMA

Updated with factory and SWHF paper work...

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George Jamison

Some perhaps interesting trivia-------------------

RM's #643, 644, and 645 were shipped December 19, 1935 (all to the same individual, all the same configuration, apparently to be Christmas presents----given the rather frantic correspondence concerning getting them shipped). Given #777 shipped early February, 1936, The folks in Springfield were cranking them out right along----no doubt making them happy campers.

The police price of $48 is also interesting. The three guns noted above were ordered through a retailer/through a distributor/to S&W. The distributor price was $47.04 (each gun), leaving a scant $13 profit to be shared by the distributor and the dealer. I suspect this was by design (to discourage the middlemen), given S&W's obvious intent to sell these guns direct to the end user---thereby maximizing their profit

Ralph Tremaine.

I wasn't here for the original post; sure glad you updated it with the "new" letters.

The gun, the story (history), and the documentation--priceless. A far more significant piece than ANIB would be. Congrats. Enjoy.

Bob

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Wrangler of stray Chiefs
Bob