This gun was shipped to the Milwaukee Police Dept. in a single gun shipment in 1954. It was a special order 3 1/2' barrel, w/ red ramp front sight, target hammer, and rosewood target stocks. Std. matte blue. It is unfired. It's the only one I've ever seen. I had a post on it several years back, and since have mastered uploading pictures on a new PC. I wish I had the original box!

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First: Thank you for your US Army service as well as your Fireman service!

So nice to see a completely righteous special order 1950 Target with 3 1/2" barrel.

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Jim
S&WCA #819

I actually read your previous thread just the other day. What a fantastic .44. I must say I am a big fan of it. Thank you for sharing.

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Matthew Conrad

Jeez.. that is awesome.. you guys are killing me.

I musta missed your earlier thread...unicorns do exist! That is truly and exceptional find. I am incredibly envious.

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Randy
Provenance nerd

I love the gun and am a bit jealous. But, what is the story on the stocks?

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Some collect art; I shoot it!

I think they were originally plain rosewood and checkered later. The checkering is well done but don't seem to follow the type that S&W used.

Stunning, just stunning! Great gun and stocks.

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Tim
SWCA #2697

LOVE IT!!!!

Yeah the stocks jump out at ya.

I'm from the Milwaukee area. I wonder what other revolvers their PD have used over the years.

A little story.... One time I live in an area called "river west" in milwaukee. It was right after high school and that area is sort of transitional between a college area and the ghetto. So it was sort of rough, sort of not.

One day I'm in a convenient store on a corner by my house and I'm looking at the candy bars or something to eat and these 2 cops walk in slowly and one had his shiny revolver drawn and pointed skyward. I wasn't super into handguns back then but it was like wooooah. First off I was sort of taken aback by the finish. You always thing black guns for cops. And secondly I almost crapped my pants because there were guns drawn in a store. But apparently the store had just been robbed not long before I got there. I was like, "what did I do?". I didn't actually say that but I was thinking it. hehhehehehe

I think it might have been a model 64.......

Great 44!!! One of six 1950 44 Targets known to have shipped with a 3 1/2-inch barrel.

Bill

Just too desirable for me to stand! Wow, factor all the way!

Wow! That is a fantastic classic S&W.

44 SPL has become my favorite caliber to shoot and reload. When my budget allows I'd love to start collecting some S&W 44's.

So let's see now--------you have this drop dead gorgeous, super rare gun---and you're fussing about not having the box.

Okay---I guess I understand that---sort of.

Ralph Tremaine

It only took Lew Horton and S&W 30 more years after your gun was made....about 5000 in blue and an equal number in stainless. These guns trade regularly here for four figure prices.

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Bob.
SWCA 1821

Wow. I can't believe it was not fired. That looks like something a serious cop would have ordered and used.

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NHI, 10-8.

Outstanding revolver...My Lew Horton 24-3 is my favorite personal carry piece. I've been fooling around with heavy full wadcutter "trash can" bullets, it shoots them accurately.

What a great gun. I too love the stocks and agree with you that the checkering was most likely done after it left the factory.

I assume that it is coated in wax, oil or cosmoline?

Thanks for sharing,

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Nobody can guarantee that a gun was unfired. Certainly they are test fired at the factory prior to shipping. Maybe "un-used" would be a better term. Only a very slight drag mark on the cylinder, and no case head marks on the recoil shield. On most post war S&W's I've seen over the years, the ejector rod hole in the crane is not a nicely finished hole, most are rough. Work the ejector rod a few times and the finish on the rod is marred. The gun is just as I found it some forty years ago. No touch up blue, no mods of any kind. Only lightly handled. Since S&W always gave president to law enforcement orders, it's possible an outside associate or friend of some cop had them order it on their letterhead, knowing that it would get priority. I just can't figure an officer carrying a non issue weapon. Who knows?

"I just can't figure an officer carrying a non issue weapon. Who knows?"

In 25 years of law enforcement, I mainly carried my own side arms. Why? The departments I worked for required you to provide your own handgun.

Later on, I was able to carry some issued handguns. These came from the PD's lost, found and condemned inventory. But there was no such thing as a uniform handgun that every officer carried. The PD required that you carry a .38, a 9mm OR LARGER. If you could qualify with it, you could carry it.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

That's true in many dept.s. Out where I live that's the case. But most large dept.s like the MPD or State Police mandated what gun could be carried on duty. Off duty might be another matter thou. The big .44's were popular in the SW, but up north in the 50's, many had to carry .38's. I'm not sure what the MPD had to carry. maybe someone out there knows.

Your 1950 3.5" Target 44SPL is truly a Gem.

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Ken

Thank you Ken. When I bought it in the late 70's I had no idea of it's rarity. Being a big fan of the .44 Special, any and all .44's were of interest to me. I was looking for a 6 1/2" at the time, and have since seen many, but never a 3 1/2". I've heard that only 6 were probably ever ordered. That was a damned lucky day for me!

Yes It has a light coating of rust prevent. Sorry, I should have wiped it clean for the pictures. I guess I'm too overly protective of my guns.

That is spectacular. Thanks for sharing.

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Eccentric old coot

Sir,
You already know it, but you have about as dandy a revolver as it's possible to have, at least in my books. It was indeed a lucky day for you when you bought it. Fired or not makes no nevermind. Yeah, the box would be nice, icing on the cake I guess, but wow! I'm thrilled for you, Sir!

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So long ... Ken

Fascinating gun! I too would like to know more about the grips. Perhaps you could get a little closer pic on the medallions, and are there any marks on the backside?

Thanks,

Jerry

Super neat revolver! Thank you for posting and sharing.

I agree with you about the ejector rod and the ejector rod hole not being nicely finished. Also, having just purchased a new ejector rod from Brownell's for my model 15-2, I noticed that there is little, if any, polishing is done to that part and the bluing is nowhere as nice as the bluing on my revolver. The ejector rod on your revolver would closely match the new rod I just received from Brownell's.
Congrats on being the owner of a truly rare and desirable S&W. Wish it were mine.

*
It varies. Some agencies issued sidearms; some specified what had to be carried, but allowed them to be personally owned; some specified the sidearms, but they were individual officer purchases (NYPD, for example); some mandated personally owned sidearms with only the broadest of specifications.

There are pros and cons to all of these systems. The worst arguments I have ever seen for uniformity, and the ones that prove that the command personnel need to be fired, are the concept of ammo/magazine exchange* (you waste all your ammo and expect me to give you mine? Hah!), or parade ground appearance silliness with the goal of every officer looking the same. I don't object to the honor guard looking the same - that's a goal of its own, but has nothing to do with being the police and doing the work. Shiny gear, Class A style uniforms and hats are clownshoes. My experience is that there is an inverse correlation between the appearance fetish of an agency and its core proficiency and integrity.

*For quite a while I was one of a few who qualified to carry a 1911, and I did buy a few Glock 21 mags, load them with my own purchase of the issue ammo, and keep them in the car just in case. I also carried my own AR and 4 magazines of my purchase of duty ammo in addition to the car's load, and likewise the our shotgun ammo. That was because I generally worked in a rural area, and L. Cpl. Din wasn't going to bring anyone anything in a timely manner.

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NHI, 10-8.

"There are pros and cons to all of these systems. The worst arguments I have ever seen for uniformity, and the ones that prove that the command personnel need to be fired, are the concept of ammo/magazine exchange* (you waste all your ammo and expect me to give you mine? Hah!), or parade ground appearance silliness with the goal of every officer looking the same. I don't object to the honor guard looking the same - that's a goal of its own, but has nothing to do with being the police and doing the work. Shiny gear, Class A style uniforms and hats are clownshoes. My experience is that there is an inverse correlation between the appearance fetish of an agency and its core proficiency and integrity."

To me, the worst example of "uniformity" was the Illinois State Police and their M39 S&Ws. The handguns were OK, but all of their troopers were required to carry them in cross draw flap holsters on the left side of the Sam Browne belt, EVEN THE LEFT HANDED TROOPERS!!!

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

That ended by the time I moved to Illinois as far as I can recall, but I think Michigan did that too, as did Washington State Patrol for many years. You can't fix that kind of stupid - all that can be done is a Loudermill hearing, a trespass notice, and a vigorous boot in the gluteal complex.

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NHI, 10-8.

Many large dept's fancy themselves as a sort of military organization, so weapons standardization is the norm. A good friend of my mine who was on the Illinois State Police for many years carried a .38 Chiefs Special as a backup. He's retired now and that gun is always with him.

Very nice revolver. You are a fortunate person.

Wow, very nice indeed! And thank you for your service as well.

I had a 24-3 mint in the box a dozen years a go. Sold it thinking I would collect the pre model number 44 handejector s. Back they are he were around $1200. Then suddenly boom they are now 6k. Wish now I would of kept it.

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Bob
Sic Semper Tyrannis

Fantastic. I can see what I am missing, and will never have. Thanks for sharing.
Walt

All I can say about the revolver, is, "Wow!"
And, mine was the 85th "like" on your post. Thanks for sharing.

I started in LE as a deputy sheriff, where we all wore black basket weave leather and were told when to go to short sleeves or long sleeves. The department I retired from was much less strict. I liked the high ride, thumb break M29 Safariland holster. Others liked the Jordan style, with a safety strap. Some carried revolvers, others semi-autos. Some had speed loaders, others drop boxes or loops. Some officers wore short sleeves year round. At the end of the day though, everything got done, no matter what we wore or carried.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

The great grandpa to the Lew Horton 24-3 snubs!

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Psalm 27:2

That’s the neatest S&W I have seen in a long time.

I can think of about 50 guns that applies to...

SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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PTLAPTA!

My father was an officer for the MPD from 1954 until his passing in 1980.

His department issued revolver was Model 10, (4” as I recall). However, MPD did allow officers to purchase and carry their own revolvers.

His final carry gun was a 4” Model 28-2 Highway Patrolman. While it was obviously a 357 Magnum, he was required to only fire and carry lead round nose .38 specials. As far as I know, that was the standard revolver issued by the MPD.

BTW, I still have and fire the HP. It will pass to my son when I am gone.

Bill

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"What does this button do..."

Re Bill's post on 8-11: Does the quantity of six 3.5" bbl 1950 Model 44s include my consecutively-numbered pair ordered in mid-1955 & received 13 months later ca August 1956?

I was in the US Army in the Panama Canal Zone and learned I could order handguns thru the PX. Having read Elmer Keith at a tender age, my first purchase was a standard 6.5" with target hammer & grips that I waited for 5 months & 20 days. I wanted to get a pair of carry guns but the shortest bbl that could be had on the fixed-sight gun was 4 inches. The shortest bbl the factory would provide on an N-frame Target Model was 3.5" at that time. BTW, I still have the original boxes for these treasures.

My guess is that the reason Lew Horton was able to get 3" barrels during the early 80-s is that they ordered a large enough quantity to cover the factory's tooling costs.

I'd love to see pictures of the pair!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

Magnificent ! Your post also helps put to rest a long running controversy of barrel markings. In another thread a member posted post war .44 Special, (not a target version) that did not have "dingbats" (yes, that is the official word) or "Maltese Cross" emblems fore and aft the ".44 S&W SPECIAL CTG." barrel markings.

That 1954 ship date and condition of the piece is just amazing.

I have a 4" Target, special ordered for Emerson Axe, major S&W stockholder and member of S&W Board of Directors, shipped in 1950.

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ANTIQUESMITHS
LM1300 SWHF425

j w matthews...My number of six does not include your pair. I covered the period, 1950-June 1956 when orders for the 44 Special dropped off in favor of the 44 Magnum. With your two, the number shipped is eight.

Bill

It is not my intention in any way to "hijack" Member 1869's original post on his new purchase. I do appreciate knowing that my pair brings the total number of 3.5" bbl 1950 Model .44's to eight. Since this forum is for sharing & a post above requested photos, here are a couple shots of my two revolvers.

It may not be easy to see in the photos, but the barrel markings lack the Maltese Crosses. (An earlier post mentioned those stamps that used to appear at the beginning & end of the barrel lettering.)

The serials are in the S145,000 range. The lower-numbered gun has a plain black ramp front sight (standard rear sight) & the hammer spur was removed for a faster draw at short distance. The other gun has a red ramp front sight (no white-outline rear) & hammer spur intact for easier single-cocking at longer distance. My initials are on the bottom of the trigger guards. The only work not done by the factory was degrooving the triggers. (I had not thought to ask for that when placing my order.) That work was done by the man in charge of the Army Ordnance small arms repair shop in Balboa, CZ. I met him through the Balboa Gun Club where I spent most of my weekends while stationed in Panama.

One mistake I made was requesting the bright blue finish, because holster wear appears more quickly on a highly-polished gun. I have not carried or shot these guns in many years as they are now difficult to conceal because of my expanded waistline, but I prize them highly, knowing they are among a very few 1950 Target .44's made with 3.5" barrels.

My inventory shows that I received the guns in April of 1956. (Does that bring the total number back down to six?) The original price each was $86.77, but apply the inflation calculator to determine the equivalent amount today before getting too envious. Also, as a PFC I was paid something like $120/mo and a third of that was sent home for savings with another third going for deposits on guns; had my own special rack in the company arms room!

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The total should be six as I included April 1956 in my initial search.

Bill

Those are two really beautiful revolvers you have jw! I'm glad I posted my gun. I've owned this gun since about 1975, and never saw any others. I had no idea of their rarity. Luckily even thou I'm a shooter/collector, I've never fired mine. The Maltese crosses don't appear on the barrel markings on my gun either. Funny being a more compact .44, that it was ordered with target stocks, instead of the standard stocks like yours. Most N frame guns I've seen that have 3 1/2" barrels came with the standard stocks. It was also ordered with the target hammer, features normally found on longer barreled target guns. It's neat that back then, a person could special order just about any option they wanted that was within reason. It's made our collecting much more interesting!