...hey, ho, way to go, Ohio!
I wanted to share with you all a somewhat early 44 magnum I just bought from OH recently. It just came in this past Saturday. Its a 5 screw, 6.5in 44 magnum (pre 29), S153XXX. I don't have a letter yet. The gun is in beautiful shape. There is a small nick in the right grip panel, but I will live with that. The metal condition is fabulous, which I would say is 98%, very slight edge wear, with no holster wear that I can see. I'm still amazed I got this 44 because this is my second 5 screw 44 mag this year. I'm hoping this gun is also a first year example, but many S153XXX range guns shipped in 1957, so I will have to wait and see. The earliest ship date for that SN range that I found was 7-2-56, so there is a chance that it will end up being first year production. Crossing my fingers...Here she is:
No rebuild stampings, finish is all original. One nice thing about these early 44 mags is since many shooters bit off more than they could chew, so to speak, when they bought these, many are still in high condition today. This is fortunate for us collectors, because we all like guns with condition.
There really is no wear to speak of on the barrel. I'm glad no one carried this one, and whoever had it, stored it properly and took care of it. Many vintage guns aren't so lucky.
Here is the little nick in the right grip panel. I know for some of you, that would ruin it for you, but I figure that nick was the result of some botched bank robbery shootout in San Francisco in the 1970s
Here is the factory letter I got a few months after getting the revolver.
I luckily have an extra black pebble grain case, that I got earlier this year. However, if it shipped after July, this case would be wrong because didn't the smooth case start appearing half way through 1956?
Unfortunately, I need the innards for this case...
That other 44 mag I got this year, S130937, which shipped 4-2-56, ended up getting a black pebble grain case some months back from a generous forum member. Thanks Clocks! Here is how it looks in its black pebble grain case:
Here is a shot of my early production 44 mag family thus far: top S130937, middle S153562 (the gun of this thread) and bottom a 4 screw 44 magnum (pre 29) S177XXX.
I wanted to share with you all a somewhat early 44 magnum I just bought from OH recently. It just came in this past Saturday. Its a 5 screw, 6.5in 44 magnum (pre 29), S153XXX. I don't have a letter yet. The gun is in beautiful shape. There is a small nick in the right grip panel, but I will live with that. The metal condition is fabulous, which I would say is 98%, very slight edge wear, with no holster wear that I can see. I'm still amazed I got this 44 because this is my second 5 screw 44 mag this year. I'm hoping this gun is also a first year example, but many S153XXX range guns shipped in 1957, so I will have to wait and see. The earliest ship date for that SN range that I found was 7-2-56, so there is a chance that it will end up being first year production. Crossing my fingers...Here she is:
No rebuild stampings, finish is all original. One nice thing about these early 44 mags is since many shooters bit off more than they could chew, so to speak, when they bought these, many are still in high condition today. This is fortunate for us collectors, because we all like guns with condition.
There really is no wear to speak of on the barrel. I'm glad no one carried this one, and whoever had it, stored it properly and took care of it. Many vintage guns aren't so lucky.
Here is the little nick in the right grip panel. I know for some of you, that would ruin it for you, but I figure that nick was the result of some botched bank robbery shootout in San Francisco in the 1970s
Here is the factory letter I got a few months after getting the revolver.
I luckily have an extra black pebble grain case, that I got earlier this year. However, if it shipped after July, this case would be wrong because didn't the smooth case start appearing half way through 1956?
Unfortunately, I need the innards for this case...
That other 44 mag I got this year, S130937, which shipped 4-2-56, ended up getting a black pebble grain case some months back from a generous forum member. Thanks Clocks! Here is how it looks in its black pebble grain case:
Here is a shot of my early production 44 mag family thus far: top S130937, middle S153562 (the gun of this thread) and bottom a 4 screw 44 magnum (pre 29) S177XXX.
Last edited:
