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07-04-2017, 03:08 PM
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357 Reg Mag - Patriotism in Steel, My Most Complete "Package"
The pre-war .357 Magnum is a (if not The) pinnacle of American revolver craftsmanship and a recent posting of a very complete 5" RM package got me thinking about my most complete package. It is a 7" RM that I picked up about 8 years ago at a local gun show. It was tucked on a table next to a crowded ammo seller and somehow got overlooked by the dealers who were there.
This beauty was shipped a little over 80 years ago on 6/17/1937. The package came to me as you see it, with the exception that I added the ammo and the SAT (Screwdriver).
I have never done a nice photo shoot of this gun and accessories, so to celebrate the freedoms granted to us in this country, I took it out in the AZ sunlight and photographed the gun and the package. I hope you don't get tired of me sharing:
The "mostly complete" package...
It has been shot but is still in very nice condition. I have dreams that the shipping tube will magically appear in my safe - probably not...  I'll just have to be happy with what I have... and I am happy, very happy.  
Happy 4th of July
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Richard
Engraved S&W fan
Last edited by RKmesa; 07-05-2017 at 01:36 AM.
Reason: grammar correction
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07-04-2017, 03:33 PM
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I agree that a Registered Magnum is the epitome of American Firearms manufacture. A complete Registered Magnum is hard to come by and I am fortunate to possess this example. I am the 4th owner, the last being Charles Petty and this gun is pictured in Jink's and Neal's book on S&W.
I had the pleasure of speaking with Charles' son Mike at 2017 Shot Show and I asked if his dad shot it much. Mike told me he took it to he dump and shot rats with it.
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SWCA 1932 SWHF 135
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07-04-2017, 03:40 PM
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Patriotism in Steel - My Most Complete Reg Mag Package
Very nice Richard! It's very hard to acquire all of the items needed for a "complete" package. I started with the Helpful Hints... and now I'm up to this...obviously missing the most important item. Someday an Indianapolis Police Registered Magnum?
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Beau
SWCA #3106 - SWHF #643
Last edited by Hoosier45; 07-04-2017 at 03:42 PM.
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07-04-2017, 03:57 PM
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Someday, someday one of those boxes will find me. Nice, Very, very nice.
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Randy
Provenance nerd
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07-04-2017, 06:01 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Hoosier45
Very nice Richard! It's very hard to acquire all of the items needed for a "complete" package. I started with the Helpful Hints... and now I'm up to this...obviously missing the most important item. Someday an Indianapolis Police Registered Magnum?
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Your post makes me smile. It is hope personified in the "if I build it, they will come" mentality... You are a man after my own heart. I have more than a handful of boxes just waiting for the perfect gun to fill them. I keep hoping and keep looking. And as I remind my wife and others - I am a S&W collector, which makes me a gun collector, a box collector, a tool collector and a paperwork collector...
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Richard
Engraved S&W fan
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07-04-2017, 09:54 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RKmesa
I hope you don't get tired of me sharing:
Happy 4th of July
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Envious maybe, tired of you sharing, never.
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07-04-2017, 10:03 PM
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I'll never get tired of your posts. Your photos are helping me to build a good reference collection. I appreciate all that you share! This beautiful RM is no exception.
Last edited by Shark Bait; 07-04-2017 at 10:04 PM.
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07-04-2017, 10:44 PM
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Thank you for sharing
and making mention of the great country we have here for our lives. Never growing tired of either. Happy Independence Day!
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07-04-2017, 11:01 PM
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One word.
Awesome.
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07-05-2017, 01:12 AM
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Probably will never see one of the Registered Magnums in real life. So when they are posted here it's a real treat. Thanks, Frank
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07-05-2017, 06:46 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Frank46
Probably will never see one of the Registered Magnums in real life. So when they are posted here it's a real treat. Thanks, Frank
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You need to join the S&W Collector's Association and attend a yearly meeting. I saw a BUNCH of them in Charlotte this year!
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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!
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07-05-2017, 06:52 AM
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Wow ! Nothing more just WOW!
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07-05-2017, 07:13 AM
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Absent Comrade
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Richard,
Beautiful package. Love the 7" bbl and McGivern gold bead. I agree that the 1930's was the pinnacle of gunmaking craftsmanship.
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07-05-2017, 10:41 AM
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Richard,...Some of the nicest guns and posts I have seen. Never gets tiring keep-em comen!!...............................M*
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07-05-2017, 11:02 AM
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The holy grail of revolvers. Even the first generation Colt SAA pales in comparison and I have 2. I am pushing 70 and probably will never own one, so the posted photos are outstanding!! Please keep them coming,especially law enforcement related magnums with badges.
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07-05-2017, 12:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RKmesa
Your post makes me smile. It is hope personified in the "if I build it, they will come" mentality... You are a man after my own heart. I have more than a handful of boxes just waiting for the perfect gun to fill them. I keep hoping and keep looking. And as I remind my wife and others - I am a S&W collector, which makes me a gun collector, a box collector, a tool collector and a paperwork collector... |
Richard,
I can fully relate to you and these comments. I have the "collector bug" which means boxes, ammo, tools, manuals etc. I lucked into the box for a "reasonable" amount and know that I will one day "need" a Registered Magnum to finish my collection. So I'd like to say I've learned enough hanging around here to keep the box (not sell for a profit) and the paperwork. The guns are somewhat easy to find if you have the money. I'm still young in my career and the money will come. But you never know when a box/manual/SAT will show up and must be ready to buy! I had to explain to my wife that my boxes and wood pile are worth more than some guns
Lastly, if anyone is a man after our hearts it's you! Please keep the eye candy coming, as you have one of the finest collections of .357 Magnums! Always a pleasure to see your photography skills at work sir!
-Beau
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07-05-2017, 12:40 PM
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Banned
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RKmesa
The pre-war .357 Magnum is a (if not The) pinnacle of American revolver craftsmanship and a recent posting of a very complete 5" RM package got me thinking about my most complete package. It is a 7" RM that I picked up about 8 years ago at a local gun show. It was tucked on a table next to a crowded ammo seller and somehow got overlooked by the dealers who were there.
This beauty was shipped a little over 80 years ago on 6/17/1937. The package came to me as you see it, with the exception that I added the ammo and the SAT (Screwdriver).
I have never done a nice photo shoot of this gun and accessories, so to celebrate the freedoms granted to us in this country, I took it out in the AZ sunlight and photographed the gun and the package. I hope you don't get tired of me sharing:
The "mostly complete" package...
It has been shot but is still in very nice condition. I have dreams that the shipping tube will magically appear in my safe - probably not... I'll just have to be happy with what I have... and I am happy, very happy.
Happy 4th of July |
OH MY!!!!! Wonderful.....
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07-05-2017, 12:50 PM
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What a wonderful, and beautiful, piece of history!
Thanks for sharing!
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07-05-2017, 05:43 PM
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Roy Jinks estimates that there were approx 72 of the 7" barreled RMs that left the factory. Of the approximately 5,200 - 5,500 (depending on how you count them) RMs shipped, that is just a little more than 1% of the ones that shipped. Of RM's that shipped with barrel lengths in the even 1/2" or 1" lengths (e.g. 3.5", 4", 4.5", 5", 5.5", 6", 6.5", ...) only the barrel lengths of 8" and 8.5" have fewer shipped, than the 7" RMs. Barrels in the 1/4" lenghts all have fewer than 72 as well...
For those of you still interested, here are a couple more photos of some paperwork that comprises this RM's "package."
Historical letter confirming the information on the certificate:
This brochure was folded in the bottom of the box when I received it and had absorbed more than its fair share of gun oil or cleaning solvent. The condition of the brochure is not readily apparent in the RM "cornucopia" photo above, so I thought I'd show it separately. The stapled "binding"/fold has disintegrated leaving a stack of pages, several of which are frayed with bent corners, and small tears and rips on the fold seams. It is not mint, or even close thereto, rather, it is yellowed, aged and soiled and in my opinion it is "perfect" for the RM that it has been its partner for the last 80+ years.
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Richard
Engraved S&W fan
Last edited by RKmesa; 07-06-2017 at 12:08 PM.
Reason: added a little more info...
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07-05-2017, 06:18 PM
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Man am I learning a lot here fast! Beautiful is all I can say
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07-05-2017, 06:49 PM
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Getting tired of you sharing is like getting tired of Sinatra singing...theoretically possible, I suppose, but not very likely.
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07-05-2017, 07:30 PM
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As much as we collectors cherish the Registered Magnums they were still a machine assembled by humans.
I owned a 3 1/2 inch that was shipped to a F.B.I. agent and when he sent back for some work he asked S&W to check the gun and he had heard of some flying open during rapids fire.
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SWCA 1932 SWHF 135
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07-05-2017, 08:27 PM
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The registered magnums and the triple locks. Studies in craftsmanship. Found a triple lock and hope someday to get me a registered magnum.
Very nice package. Thanks for sharing.
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07-06-2017, 09:31 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Toyman
...I owned a 3 1/2 inch that was shipped to a F.B.I. agent and when he sent back for some work he asked S&W to check the gun and he had heard of some flying open during rapids fire.
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Roy:
Do you have a photo of that FBI gun? I'd like to see its finished configuration...
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Richard
Engraved S&W fan
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07-06-2017, 11:43 AM
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I had Keith Brown craft magnas like the ones shown on Jerry Campbell's.
The gun was originally blue and was returned to S&W in 1946 to be nickel plated
[url=https://ibb.co/eTp6Ka]  [/url
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SWCA 1932 SWHF 135
Last edited by Toyman; 07-06-2017 at 12:09 PM.
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07-06-2017, 01:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Toyman
...The gun was originally blue and was returned to S&W in 1946 to be nickel plated.
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What a beauty... 
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Richard
Engraved S&W fan
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07-07-2017, 11:11 AM
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Last piece of information on this "package". In the below photo, you will notice that there is a small tan envelop that has hand written on it "Extra rear sight - Don't loose" and then the serial number. Inside the envelope is another rear sight blade.
Apparently many of the pre-war .357 Magnums shipped with an extra rear sight blade, in case someone wanted to swap them out.
Pretty cool that the prior caretakers of this gun followed the instructions - "Don't loose"
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Richard
Engraved S&W fan
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07-07-2017, 09:25 PM
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Awesome guns guys.thanks.i never saw a nickel one b4. Are they rarer than blue? More valuable?i think I like the nickel ones better...
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07-07-2017, 09:33 PM
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Richard what is a6 00 sight? What does double action mean?sighted at 100 yards. Does that mean the shooter expected to get his shots off from 100 yes? Thanks I'm new
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07-08-2017, 10:07 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thinnes
Awesome guns guys.thanks.i never saw a nickel one b4. Are they rarer than blue? More valuable?i think I like the nickel ones better...
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Factory Nickel pre-war .357 Magnums are mush less common than the blued ones. Of the total 6,647 or so pre-war 357 Magnums produced, it is estimated that less than 150 were nickel. As a result, confirmed factory nickel ones in like condition trade hands at a premium to their blued counterparts. Guns that have been nickeled after they left the factory as blued are worth less than guns that retain their original factory finish.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Thinnes
Richard what is a 6 00 sight? What does double action mean? sighted at 100 yards. Does that mean the shooter expected to get his shots off from 100 yes? Thanks I'm new
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I assume that you are asking the question because of your grandpa's beautiful registered magnum package that has caused quite a lot of excitement among us 357 collectors... It is a beautiful gun and package. I attached a copy of your certificate above for reference.
"6 o'clock hold" refers to the sight position when you are shooting the revolver. If you picture the target you are aiming at as a clock, a shooter with a 6 o'clock hold would aim for the bottom (6 o'clock) and expect to the bullet to hit in the middle of the clock, see chart below:
"Double action" is when you pull the trigger, causing the cylinder to turn, lock and fire the round in a single motion without manually cocking the hammer. If you manually cock the hammer (which rotates and locks the cylinder), then pull the trigger that is called "single action". Shooting double action requires more pressure on the trigger - in your case 10 lbs, vs single action, which only takes 3.5 lbs on your grandpa's gun.
"Sighted at 100 yards" means that the factory adjusted the sights to compensate for gravity and bullet trajectory of a shooter shooting at targets 100 yards away. That is a fairly long shot for a handgun shooter and most of the 357 magnums were sighted at closer distances, although I have seen more than a handful of certificates where they were sighted in at 100 yards.
I hope that helps. Take care of your Grandpa's beautiful revolver!
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Richard
Engraved S&W fan
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07-08-2017, 11:44 PM
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Yes sir.thanks again.ive learned so much the last few days.the gun shop had a used 375 s&w that I've been thinking about buying. Wanted to fire the RM but I wont
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