Hawes Sauer .44 Magnum Revolver?

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David Sinko

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I have a chance to buy a Hawes Sauer .44 Magnum revolver for $150. I have never seen or heard of such a thing. The name Hawes Sauer sounds familiar to me but I did not know they made revolvers. The seller says it has a 6" barrel but other than that he does not know a whole lot about it. Does anybody know anything about these revolvers? Do they have a Colt SAA type action or transfer bar ignition? Fixed or adjustable sights? Were these good shooters or junk? I guess I can get a look at it in the next few days but I'd like to know some background on these if possible.

Dave Sinko
 
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They are really J.P. Sauer and Sons. The importer was Hawes firearms located in Van Nuys California. Manufactured in Germany and they filled a void when Colt interrupted the SAA production. Not the top quality today, but they did seem to work well. Action is very similar to the COLT SAA, but there is no transfer bar safety. Be Careful. The CAS game drove the demand up for these in the late 80's early 90's until Italy caught up. Prices vary depending on condition and desirability to local markets. $100 on the low side to possibly $300.00 on the high side. Hope this helps.
 
I owned one in the mid 80's. Not too bad. Heavily constructed with a fair/good finish. Action & timing were good. Trigger was decent. My gun shot about 4 inches right at 25 yards. My only complaint was recoil against my middle finger. Full power magnum loads would smash the trigger guard against my knuckle. That's when I knew why Ruger designed their trigger guard the way they did. :)
 
I have several --including one my dad bought way back when -- and have bought and sold several. Most of my keepers are low mileage box included guns.

I always thought my dad might have done some trigger work on his as it has a light trigger pull. I got one in and the trigger pull was so light it was hard to get your finger in the guard without a bang. My son noticed and commented on the same thing.

I figure they came with a light trigger and then with bunches of use it gets lighter.

If it checks out (usual used gun things) and you try the trigger and it is acceptable ---I say get it.

They made them in blue -ususally labeled Western Marshal, blue with brass frame label (usually only on the box) Montana Marshal, and even a chrome with pearl grips - labeled Texas Marshal ---not sure what that's all about --guess they figured we Texans like the glitter. I've even seen one -forget the name-- with chrome cylinder, blue frame, brass grip....and there is a target model with bigger grips and a raised target sight on the back --labeled Chief Marshal --and I've seen a short barrel version ---maybe Town Marshal

One of mine has the orginal price sticker of $89.95 ---

I believe the J.P Sauer is the same as the later Sig Sauer
 
Not for sure, but isn't the Interarms 'Virginian Dragoon' .44 mag just an adjustable sight version/sister gun to the Hawes six-shooters?

The Interarms Dragoons had some good press back in the days they wer imported.
 
I have a Western Marshal six inch in .44 Mag, it's acually a rather nice revolver, shoots well and locks up like a bank vault. Other than the sights not being well regulated, shoots four inchs high and two right. Im happy enough with it. Makes a nice bang about gun. Attached a couple of pics, heck, whens the next time I can do this with a Hawes!
 

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Stevie said:
Not for sure, but isn't the Interarms 'Virginian Dragoon' .44 mag just an adjustable sight version/sister gun to the Hawes six-shooters?

The Interarms Dragoons had some good press back in the days they wer imported.
Click to expand...

I think they were made by Hammerli. My dad had two with 5 inch barrels and in 45 Colt. They were his favorites.

Until someone broke in and stole them...(I won't mention what I think of whoever did...it would be inappropriate)

I have never found any like them since.
 
My father-in-law had one, the Western Marshall, in 45 colt. I "inherited" it when he passed away. It seems to be pretty well-built and looks good. He was very good with it and used it as his HD gun.
 
I had one of the J P Sauer & Sons 357 single action revolvers for several years and shot many thousands of rounds through it. Never had a single problem and the gun was quite accurate. I sold it to help pay for my first model 27 and would still have it today if not for the lack of gun collecting funds back in those days. I especially liked mine because it had a larger grip frame than the Colt and Ruger and was more comfortable for me to shoot. And yes, some of the Sauer guns were sold through Herters before the GCA 68 put them out of the retail mail order gun business.
 
Iggy said:
Weren't Herter's guns made by the same folks?
Click to expand...

I think they are the same as the Herter's guns. I had a Herter's (made by J.P. Sauer and Sons) in .44 mag. It was a well-made, solid built gun. But the recoil was VICIOUS!! I shoot Super Blackhawks and Redhawks, so .44 recoil doesn't usually bother me. The action on the Herter's (they also had the .401 Herter's Powermag) was like a Colt SA.
For $150.00, I would snap it up.
 
IIRC the Interarms Virginian was made by Hammerli (?) was a Colt SAA size frame in .357 and 45 Colt, the Virginian Dragoon was a US made revolver with the frame upgraded and enlarged to acoomodate the 44 Magnum.
 
I worked on a couple of the Hawes/Sauer guns a long time ago. Seemed like decent guns as best I can recall. Both had trigger pulls that were too light for the owners likeing but were easy enough to fix.

Here's a rundown on the Interarms Virginian revolver history FWIW
http://www.singleactions.com/VADragoons.pdf
 
I'd be all over that as well. I had a .357 Hawes about 20 years ago and traded it off for something I long forgot. Wish I had it back, it was a nice pistol.
 
I have never heard of one. But I would buy it for the money. Anyone have a picture of one?
 
sigmaman said:
I think they are the same as the Herter's guns. I had a Herter's (made by J.P. Sauer and Sons) in .44 mag. It was a well-made, solid built gun. But the recoil was VICIOUS!! I shoot Super Blackhawks and Redhawks, so .44 recoil doesn't usually bother me. The action on the Herter's (they also had the .401 Herter's Powermag) was like a Colt SA.
For $150.00, I would snap it up.
Click to expand...

Still have my Herter's .401 Powermag.

PC150001.jpg


This is a Hawes in .45 Colt.

P7070003-1.jpg



Yes , made by the highly respected old world firm of J.P.Sauer & Sohn , Germany. They were well made but a bit , odd , in some design aspects.The original Virginian was indeed made by Hammerli but later Dragoons were made in Virginia by a company owned by Interarms.
 
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mkk41,How did the 401 powermag come to be?
What was it derived from or was it its own design?

I remember those from Herters as a kid.Your's looks great.
Thanks,
D.G.
 
DeathGrip said:
mkk41,How did the 401 powermag come to be?
What was it derived from or was it its own design?

I remember those from Herters as a kid.Your's looks great.
Thanks,
D.G.
Click to expand...

Thanks , it had exactly 25rds thru it when I bought it from the original owners grandson. It came with half a box of original ammo , listed on the original bill of sale.

It's a true .40 mag. Case lengths are the same as .357 , .41 or .44 Rem Mag. I use hard cast SWCs of .401 dia bullets , or 180gr JSPs for the .38/40 when I can find them.


Here's a good article on it. http://www.singleactions.com/files/401HerterPowerMagsUpdated.pdf
 
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