.357 Magnum vs .38/44 Outdoorsman

[DARE]

The .357 Magnum was introduced in 1935. Registered Magnum until about 1939 and then Non-Registered Magnum until 1940. SCSW 4th Edition says 5224 Registered Magnums and approximately 1400 NRM.
The .38/44 Outdoorsman was introduced in 1931. Between 1931 and 1941, 4761 were produced.
About 40% more .357 Magnums sold in 5 years vs 10 years for the Outdoorsman.
There were 142 Postwar .357 Magnum Transitional guns between 1946 and 1949.
There were 2326 Postwar .38/44 Outdoorsman Transitional revolvers in the same period, 1946 to 1949.
Around 1600% more Outdoorsman guns vs the .357 Magnum.

Does anyone else find these numbers unusual?
It makes my head explode.
I don't think that 40% more people wanted the .357 before the war, but 1600% more people wanted the Outdoorsman after the war. Maybe S&W had a problem producing adequate quantities of the .357.

All threads need pictures, so here is my RM. Sadly, I don't own a .38/44 Outdoorsman.

 

[Truckman]

For Illustration purposes, David, here is one of my pre-war Outdoorsman examples...It came to me with the much later Targets, and this was the day it tried on its bone (unknown donor) grips...It still wears the bones today......Ben

 

[Alk8944]

There were no doubt some people who simply didn't want the recoil and blast of a .357, but did want something "better" than an M&P in .38 Special. There is also the cost to consider. I don't know what the .357 Magnum was selling for between 1935 and early 1950s, but if prices for the post was .357 Magnum are compared to the "standard caliber" N Frame .38-44 models then cost could well have been a large reason too. I suspect many people would have been satisfied with the performance of the .38-44 cartridge!

1940s and 1950s prices seem to us now as being almost insignificant! When adjusted for inflation the cost of the Heavy Duty, about $70, compared to the .357 Magnum at $120 or so that was a big difference. Post WWII people who had lived through the Depression, and then the war, tended to be quite conservative.

Here is one comparison to the 1950s. In 1959 my parents bought a house built in 1929. They paid about $15,000 then. That same house, per the Assessors data, has a market value of nearly $400,000! That is 26 times what my parents paid. Apply that to the difference between the HD and .357 that is the same as a $1,300 difference today. That would have been a very great consideration to many people!

I wasn't buying guns then, but logic tells me these are good reasons the .38-44 out sold the .357 Magnum by a large margin at that time!

 

[DARE]

I think in 1935 the .357 Magnum was $60 and the .38/44 Outdoorsman was $45.
After the war I believe the .357 Magnum went to $100. Don't know the Outdoorsman price.

 

[raljr1]

My buddy paplinker tells me that the 38/44 Outdoorsman is a Registered Magnum without the price tag. Now I haven't examined a 38/44 outdoorsman up close, but I think there is more than a kernel of truth in what he says.


Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

 

[DWalt]

My buddy paplinker tells me that the 38/44 Outdoorsman is a Registered Magnum without the price tag. Now I haven't examined a 38/44 outdoorsman up close, but I think there is more than a kernel of truth in what he says.
Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

There may be some minor points of difference, but the main one is the chamber length. And .38/44 revolvers with chambers later elongated to accept .357 cartridges are not unusual.

 

[paplinker]

There may be some minor points of difference, but the main one is the chamber length. And .38/44 revolvers with chambers later elongated to accept .357 cartridges are not unusual.

I mean mostly in comparison of craftsmanship.

Of course the RM offered more bells and whistles and the new caliber.

 

[paplinker]

My buddy paplinker tells me that the 38/44 Outdoorsman is a Registered Magnum without the price tag. Now I haven't examined a 38/44 outdoorsman up close, but I think there is more than a kernel of truth in what he says.


Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

You wait until we get together for a range session!

Bring your RM. It will be fun comparing form, function and accuracy.

 

[RKmesa]

I love my pre-war Magnums, AND I love the pre-war 38/44 Outdoorsman just as much. I think it is one of the most proportionately beautiful revolvers to ever roll off the assembly line. The fit and finish is out of this world. There for a while, the O/D was all I could think of.





I think it makes a pretty nice canvas for the engraver's art as well...



... and the 38/44 O/D is the perfect companion for the K-22 O/D:

 

[46powerwagon]

I think in 1935 the .357 Magnum was $60 and the .38/44 Outdoorsman was $45.
After the war I believe the .357 Magnum went to $100. Don't know the Outdoorsman price.

Pics from the 1939 Stoeger's Catalog have the .357 Magnum listed at $60 and the .38/44 Outdoorsman at $45. Pics attached.

 

[lestert357]

The .357 Magnum was introduced in 1935. Registered Magnum until about 1939 and then Non-Registered Magnum until 1940. SCSW 4th Edition says 5224 Registered Magnums and approximately 1400 NRM.
The .38/44 Outdoorsman was introduced in 1931. Between 1931 and 1941, 4761 were produced.
About 40% more .357 Magnums sold in 5 years vs 10 years for the Outdoorsman.
There were 142 Postwar .357 Magnum Transitional guns between 1946 and 1949.
There were 2326 Postwar .38/44 Outdoorsman Transitional revolvers in the same period, 1946 to 1949.
Around 1600% more Outdoorsman guns vs the .357 Magnum.

Does anyone else find these numbers unusual?
It makes my head explode.
I don't think that 40% more people wanted the .357 before the war, but 1600% more people wanted the Outdoorsman after the war. Maybe S&W had a problem producing adequate quantities of the .357.

Yes. Sounds like a good question for Dr. Jinks.

 

[jimmyj]

Price differences - Yes. $70.00 verus $120.00
In my era and location Agencies did not allow .357s for service revolvers, .38spl only. Plus Officers purchased their service revolvers.

 

[Truckman]

My 1965 copy of Gopher Shooter's Supply wholesale catalog shows Model 27's in blued or nickel, any barrel length at $120, and the Model 23 .38/44 Outdoorsman at $95 (no options)......Ben

 

[1blindref]

You wait until we get together for a range session!

Bring your RM. It will be fun comparing form, function and accuracy.

I see he's in NE Florida so if that range session is down here, I'll come and play. I've got a few I can bring.

 

[SSGRock]

Many times it's about what's available. Back in 1985 I was looking for a Smith and Wesson revolver. Model 19's and 66's were just unavailable. At the end of the search I purchased a model 15. Still got that revolver.

 

[mtgianni]

My 1965 copy of Gopher Shooter's Supply wholesale catalog shows Model 27's in blued or nickel, any barrel length at $120, and the Model 23 .38/44 Outdoorsman at $95 (no options)......Ben

Copies of a union carpenters paycheck stub working out of Salt Lake in my brothers possession, show a wage of $1.66 per hour.

 

[DARE]

Posed this question for Roy Jinks on the SWCA side.
He said that after the war, S&W started producing models that they had frames and parts they could easily modify and put in production. They had .38/44 Outdoorsman frames.

Terry Lester in his latest Journal article on 'Postwar .357 Magnum Transitional Revolver Production' said, "the company completed a small number of .357 Magnums for police and special orders."

This explains why there were so many of the .38/44 Outdoorsman as compared to the .357 Magnums. S&W had frames for the Outdoorsman, but not for the Magnum.

 

[clang444]

And just imagine the post-war market. Lot's of GIs were bringing home guns and the market was probably flooded. S&W chose to use up as many parts as they could that were sitting around instead of producing new guns from scratch. They has a bunch of Outdoorsman frames so they used thm up.

 

[oneeyedpete]

I love them both!

 

[Muley Gil]

Price differences - Yes. $70.00 verus $120.00
In my era and location Agencies did not allow .357s for service revolvers, .38spl only. Plus Officers purchased their service revolvers.

I started my LE career at a small sheriff's office. Most deputies carried M19s, with a few M10s and even fewer M66s. My lieutenant carried a Colt MK III Trooper .357. All were private purchase and there were no restrictions on ammo.

Me, I was different. I started with a 1911 .45, followed by a S&W 1917 and then a M27 converted to .44 Special. When I worked the desk, I occasionally carried a S&W .32-20.

After a 3 month stint as a correctional officer, I went to a medium sized city department. There, the handgun requirement was .38 special, 9mm or BIGGER! I carried .44 Special, .45 ACP and .45 Colt revolvers or .45 ACP pistols. My back-up guns ranged from .22 LR to .44 Special.