It all started at the Wanenmacher Tulsa Gun show in October 2004. My good friend David Carroll told me he had a very nice Heavy Duty that I should add to my collection so I bought it. I had no idea how special this gun was. I soon sent off a letter request for it. Here is a pic of 49485:


Just before Christmas Day 2004, a large white envelope arrived and I started reading the first two letters. When I started reading the third letter I could not believe where the gun had been shipped-Charlottesville Hardware Company on November 30, 1936! I had frequented the store many times as I was growing up. Here is a picture of the store in the 1930s:


Over the years, the hardware store transitioned to an Ice Cream Store. One thing is for sure, the gun is still as fine as it left the factory in 1936!

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38-44heavyduty.com

A hardware store like that brings back pleasant memories.The little town where I grew up had two hardware stores and both sold guns, fishing tackle and all of the good stuff.
The old( he seemed old to me) gentleman who owned one of the stores must have had a warm spot in his heart for little boys with .22's. If you didn't have enough money to buy a box of shorts for your hunting expedition he would break a box sell you a nickle or dimes worth.
It makes me sad to think about the kids growing up today and not having a chance at the .22's, the hunting and fishing like we had.

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Mighty 90's,Trying 4 a 100!

Back when I was a kid, it was common practice for the numerous "Mom & Pop" country grocery stores to sell .22 ammunition and shotshells (usually Federal) by the round. Where I grew up, not a whole lot of the locals could afford to buy a full box of ammunition.

Very nice! I love the smell of a real hardware store, the mix of sawdust, oil, slightly damp concrete, maybe a whiff of paint and Brasso, and the occasional electric brass miasma as a new key is cut...

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We few... We happy few...

Very nice Bill!

I love the history on these pre-war and early post war guns. Having a hometown connection is icing on the cake

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On the Oak Savannah

That's just cool! My dad owned an old school hardware store from 1957-90.....I still miss him and the old wood floors, a deal on a handshake, credit for anyone, nails by the 1/2 pound, ect. spent many days there!

That’s really awesome. A direct link to a different time and place...and a very nice looking link to boot.

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Some Might Say.

Kinda off subject but in my small hometown several of the stores would sell single cigarettes out of a glass or cup sitting on the counter. We certainly have changed a lot since then!

That's a beaut!!!

Thanks for sharing,

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

My father and grandfather bought a piece of property soon after WWII. They cleared stumps off the property using dynamite they bought at the hardware store!

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You're shy a few manners.

Seeing an old Smith like that makes me tear up a bit---for a couple of reasons. It's so gratifying to know they still exist in that condition and think about the skilled craftsmen that put so much pride into each and every revolver. The other reason is that I'm sad it's not mine. What a beautiful old gun.

I like everything you wrote about as well as the memories others are posting.
Great looking Smith and the box...what a find.
What a great remembrance of "days gone by" Oddly enough, there are a couple of these old stores still around and they're fun to find.
Placerville Hardware in CA. is the oldest in CA. and the oldest general store west of the Mississippi. No guns anymore but plenty of neat stuff.

In my travels for my work over the years has sent me to & through many a small town. I always try to find the old "downtown" area & see if there's an old hardware or gun shop hiding there.

I have found some good stuff at good prices over the years, but nothing that comes close to that beauty. I realize you didn't get it from an old store, but there are still a lot of them around in the hills & hollers of Kentucky & Tennessee. After 40 + years, I still look & hope.

Congratulations!

As I sip coffee and ease into Friday, figure I might as well reiterate what others have said: That is a great gun, but the thread it has stimulated is even better. I grew up in a really small town in the NE. Loved going into the town hardware store with my dad (who, thank goodness is very much still with us). The smells, the creaking of the floors, the people who all new each other by name, the friendliness and willingness to talk one through a project and find you just what you needed...……
Thanks for posting this one!

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"You're messin' up my Zen"

The little town that I grew up in also had a little mom-n-pop hardware store. When I read this post I could almost imagine the smell and hear the popping of the old worn hardwood floor with every step. Store didn't have a lot of anything but they had a little bit of everything.

I am not familiar with this term "heavy duty". Was this gun built on a "K" or "N"frame and if it was built on a "K" frame why is it called a heavy duty?

Post script. Never mind the question I look it up. Its built on the "N" frame and is a 38/44. Correct me if I am in error.

Actually, this gun started out being called the 38/44 Super Police. After either looking around or being contacted by ammo companies who were using Super Police on their ammo, S&W changed the name to Heavy Duty. The change was in 1931-32 time frame.

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38-44heavyduty.com

One of the things I forgot to mention is that one of the Hardware stores had a big old wood stove close to the rear of the store, a place where a lot of the older men hung out in the winter.

The store was on the corner of a block with a big, wide dirt road on the east. On that corner was a big tree with wooden benches around it and that was the summertime hangout for the same men. It was commonly known as Whittlers Corner and those benches were there for years. They discussed and solved a lot of problems but little did they know what their grand kids and great grand kids would be facing.

The women folk did not have to go many places to find their husband, they were usually at Whittlers Corner, the pool hall or one filling station that had lots of seats.
The town didn't have but one paved street, the highway going through it.
It was paved about 1930 and I can barely remember seeing them working on it.

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Mighty 90's,Trying 4 a 100!