1955 mfg. Model of 1950 .44 Target w/ .500" hammer & trigger?

[Muzzlefire]

The Standard Catalog of S&W teaches me that the Model of 1950 .44 Target was standard equipped with a .400" target hammer and a .265" serrated trigger.

Question to you senior collectors: Would a Model of 1950 .44 Target, 6,5"-barrel, near mint 99,5+% condition, bright sparkling blue finish, mfg. year 1955, equipped with a .500" target hammer and a .500" serrated trigger, be less or more desirable, if compared with a gun with standard hammer/trigger configuration?
From a pure collectors standpoint, would this .500" hammer/trigger configuration affect the gun's worth in any way?

 

[moosedog]

It may effect it a small amount if the buyer desires the TH & TT over standards.
It would have been a small special order item but not as important value wise as say a special order finish like Brite Blue or Nickel.

 

[WILL TERRY]

You might double check to see if your s&w 45acp sixgun

Is really a MODEL OF 1950 or a MODEL OF 1955 which had the wrong barrel markings rolled upon it. Mine is one of the latter,a 1955 marked as a MODEL OF 1950.
Near as I can call it my mismarked 45 pistol maybe worth at least fifteen or twenty cents more than a correctly marked gun.
The way to tell easily is the 1950 has the tapered barrel and the 1955 has the nearly straight heavy barrel.

 

[Muzzlefire]

Is really a MODEL OF 1950 or a MODEL OF 1955 which had the wrong barrel markings rolled upon it. Mine is one of the latter,a 1955 marked as a MODEL OF 1950.
Near as I can call it my mismarked 45 pistol maybe worth at least fifteen or twenty cents more than a correctly marked gun.
The way to tell easily is the 1950 has the tapered barrel and the 1955 has the nearly straight heavy barrel.

Will Terry, it's a true and correctly marked Model of 1950 .44 Special Target, with tapered barrel.

 

[Art Doc]

If the Target T/H are little seen options, and are original to the gun, then yes it would bring a premium with collectors. No idea how much, but scarcity is part of the value and if few were made this way it makes it scarce.

 

[Homie]

The Target Hammer and Target Trigger COULD be correct for a "55 gun. Only a letter can tell for sure.

Good shooting.

 

[JSR III]

From the January 1950 AMC, the target hammer and target stocks were available as an upgrade for $2.50 and $5.00 respectively. If ordered later as parts, they were $5.00 and $7.50. The .38/44 Outdoorsman was $77.00 and offered in blue only whereas the .38/44 Heavy Duty was offered in blue for $64.00 and nickel for $70.50.

As far as your question, I agree with those that feel that if the gun was ordered this way, then there is a small premium over its non special ordered brother. If you use the percentage then as compared to now, the wider hammer and stocks represented about 10% of the then gun value of $77.00. So using that comparison, you might see those added features make a $1,000 gun worth $1,100 in todays market. If added later, there might still be a premium, but the purist collector would place less value on the upgrade, maybe only a $50 premium.

*NOTE-I used the above year and models for illustration only because I had that AMC on my desk. I know that the question was about another model of the same time period.

 

[Muzzlefire]

Only a letter can tell for sure.

Gentlemen, thank you for all the inputs so far.
I have no clue if the gun left in 1955 the factory this way, or if the hammer/trigger modification was done later. Yes, I will order a factory letter.

 

[JSR III]

PS: Will Terry, the question was asked about the 1950 .44 Target (pre model 24). Do not confuse this gun with the 1950 .45 Target Model ( pre model 26) and the 1955 .45 Target Model (pre model 25) that have mis stamped barrels.

The .44 Target shoots the .44 S&W Special and the .45 Target shoots the .45 ACP.

Muzzlefire, one quick way to tell if they were done later by the factory is to pull the stocks and see if the frame has any date codes stamped on the frame. You might find a number like (6 59) that would indicate that the gun was returned to the factory in June of 1959 for work. No telling what that work was but it is an indicator. Unfortunately, if the parts were done later by bubba or a gun smith, the frame will not be marked. A letter is truly the only way to learn how the gun was shipped. Make sure that you supply all information that you can, pictures if possible and explain what mystery you are trying to solve. That makes it much easier for the historian to give you the correct details.

 

[Muzzlefire]

Muzzlefire, one quick way to tell if they were done later by the factory is to pull the stocks and see if the frame has any date codes stamped on the frame. Unfortunately, if the parts were done later by bubba or a gun smith, the frame will not be marked.

JSR III, I pulled the original magna stocks (which are numbered to the gun), but there is no date code stamped on the frame.
By the way, sorry for not being able to put pictures of this gun, at least at the moment. I'm still photographing the old (film) way. Will have to buy a digital camera.

 

[Doc44]

Muzzlefire...the 1950 Target 44 and 45 were shipped prior to 1955 with a standard hammer and trigger unless a target hammer was special ordered. The target trigger did not become available until very late in 1954 or early in 1955.

If the revolver was shipped with a TH and TT, the invoice (and hence, the factory letter) should confirm them as there would be an extra charge for these special order features. It was also easy for any gunsmith to replace the standard hammer and trigger with the target versions.

If a collector was to purchase the gun in 99.5 percent condition (like new), it would be desirable to have the original hammer and trigger present. If you want to eventually sell the gun as collectible, a factory letter would aid in the sale.

Bill

 

[WILL TERRY]

PS: Will Terry, the question was asked about the 1950 .44 Target (pre model 24). Do not confuse this gun with the 1950 .45 Target Model ( pre model 26) and the 1955 .45 Target Model (pre model 25) that have mis stamped barrels.

Holy Moly you are right !! I had a serious case of rectal/cranial inversion when I read that the first time. Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I have all those other sixguns too and not a one of 'em flashed through my memory blank.

 

[Muzzlefire]

Doc44, my sincerest thanks for your competent answer in this matter.

 

[Muzzlefire]

Mr. Jinks factory letter came in!

Hi again Gentlemen. I got today the factory letter as requested from Mr. Roy Jinks seven weeks ago. He states:
"(...) We have researched your Smith & Wesson .44 Target Model of 1950 Pre-Model 24, five screw variation, caliber .44 S&W Special, in company records which indicate that your handgun, with serial number S146480, was shipped from our factory on January 10, 1956, and delivered to Baker Hamilton Co., San Francisco, CA. The records indicate that this firearm was shipped with a 6.5 inch barrel, blue finish, and checkered walnut grips. This shipment was for 6 units all in the same configuration. None of these revolvers were equipped with target accessories."

It's a great gun in outstanding, near mint condition. But I can't deny that the fact that someone changed the standard hammer and trigger configuration to a target hammer and trigger configuration, is a little bit a disappointment to me. At least both target parts have nice vivid case colors without any scratch marks on their sides.

 

[Doc44]

Even though the TH and TT are not original, they are still great upgrades to your revolver and I prefer them to the original parts.

Bill

 

[Art Doc]

Not being a serious collector I am not much interested in originality. I am far more concerned with whether I like the gun than if it's correct in every detail. I would much rather have the gun in the configuration I prefer than maintain strict originality if the original features are not to my liking.

I am not alone. Pictured is a pair of 1950 44 Targets that were shipped several months apart in 1955. One went to St. Louis and the other to New Orleans. By 1970 they were together under one roof and the owner returned them to S&W for modification.

Both started out with 6.5" barrels. One had a replacement 5" barrel installed and the other was cut to that length. Makes me think this was the very last 5" barrel in the parts bin since they wouldn't have cut the second one had another spare barrel been available. The replacement tube was not stamped with the serial, BTW.

In addition to the barrel modifications, the owner had the factory swap the triggers. The standard narrow, serrated units were replaced with the wide, smooth versions some folks call "combat triggers" (although I am sure that's not any sort of official designation). It also appears that "semi-target" hammers were installed, as well.

I love the guns the way they are and don't lament their loss of originality for even a moment. Would they be worth more money if unmodified? Probably. But I don't care.

When I bought these, I was reminded of a Model 28* I had back in the late 1970s that also wore the smooth trigger some previous owner had put in place. I realized that I liked this feature and bought a bag of them (literally, a member here had a bag full of smooth triggers and I bought them all for a pittance). I have swapped them onto most of my 27s and by the way, all but one dropped in and worked fine without special fitting.

In your case, if you are interested in the collector value of the gun (as it sounds to me) then simply acquire the correct parts and return the gun to original configuration. You could likely find someone willing to swap his parts for yours and a previously mated hammer and trigger will doubtlessly drop right in.

*Yes, it was a Model 28. Not a Model 28-1 or 28-2 it was a Model 28. That means a Model 28 NO DASH for those of you unable to figure out what Model 28 means.