An engraved pre 27 in a rig so flashy I can only wear it at night

[lawman445]

Mr. RKmesa brought this one up in another thread and reminded me I needed to post some new pictures of it. It came to me a few years ago with the SD Meyers holster with silver plate and already wearing the Bohlin marked silver steer head grips which I thought was pretty cool but it also had a gold plated hammer, trigger, cylinder release, and ejector rod which I thought was a bit much.

I`m a big fan of nickel but have never been much on gold plating which to my eye clashed with the silver color of the engraving on this gun which looks to be through the factory blue and into the steel then clear coated with something to keep it from rusting.

I finally found the right donor gun to swap out the gold parts on - a blued 5 screw 3 1/2" pre 27 that had some light engraving with a gold wash applied to the scroll work and a pair of ram horn grips. I still wouldn`t have had those parts plated myself, but they look way more at home on that other pre 27.

 

[lawman445]

The gun shipped to a hardware store in Joplin, MO in January of 1955 but I`ve never been able to figure out who the initials ACM from the grips belong to. The engraver is also unknown but from the style of the bear on the sideplate it looks like it was probably done by one of the artists that came over from Asia after WW2. I`ve never seen another holster quite like this one and always wondered if the silver work was done by SD Meyers or if it was added later by someone else. One of the experts who knows way more than I do about Meyers holsters looked at it at the last symposium in Tulsa though and thinks it was done in house by them.

 

[CH4]

…or you could wear sunglasses

 

[rednichols]

I have an image of gun and holster in my Jelly Bryce file, thought I had a good reason but don't find it now. Thought it had been a mag cover but that was another from the Zuni tribe to Jelly.

 

[RKmesa]

Love It!!! That right there screams Texas BBQ.

Thank you for sharing the photos, and I agree that it looks much better with the CCH hammer and trigger.

 

[Rusty parrot]

That rig is meant to be worn when you're sitting astride a horse with a Bohlin parade saddle on it. Gene and Roy would be jealous. The silver work is amazing and thanks for sharing.

 

[Hawg Rider]

Wow, when you look up "BBQ Gun" in the encyclopedia you'll see a picture of this set. Pretty spectacular! Congratulations!

 

[Venom6]

"And the first-place award for Barbeque Gun goes to Lawman445!"

 

[quinn]

Thanks for that. I needed an eye opener this morning, and that hit the spot. It woud really be fun to learn who the hombre was that assembled that rig in the first plac. That is a stunner!

 

[Retired W4]

The bear on the sideplate looks like he has a salmon in his claws. Reminds me of Alaska.

 

[rct269]

This makes only the third nicely done "through the blue" engraved gun I've seen---up close and personal, as they say. The first two were what I now know were a 3 1/2" Registered Magnum, and a Chiefs Special carried by an ALWAYS nattily attired, and rather small and quiet gentleman employed by the ATF. He and I (as an awe struck teenager) were regular attendees at a regular Saturday gathering of like minded souls at a rather disreputable gun shop in St. Louis-----a looooooooooooong time ago. He attended as a gun nut---just like all the rest of us, but was always the center of attention because of his well publicized and somewhat frequent activities as a gunfighter---but was never regarded as one who'd put notches on the butt of his guns.

Both guns were done in the Orient (either Japan or Korea) during the time of his military service in Korea---full coverage on both, yet subdued in design---and for the life of me, I can't remember the grips on either one of them. They must have been subdued too.

Ralph Tremaine

 

[robvious]

I can smell the brisket that goes with that piece of art... wow

 

[2152hq]

When these 'thru the blue' engraving jobs are done, many are completed w/o even disassembling the firearm.
Beyond removing the grips and taking the cyinder out of the frame, thats about as far as disassembly goes.

Not real need to do any. There's no pre-polishing, no refinishing to do.
When you're done cutting,,you are done.

Lots of engravers have cut this way. Especially 'Show Engravers',,those that engrave w/an audience watching. Sometimes in a shop. Othertimes at gunshows or other arts attractions.
It is more common for the Spanish and Asian artists to cut this way than the US engravers but not unk here for sure.

It's considered kind of lower rung of the ladder to do work by this method in the US & European way of Engraving thought.
Right along with cutting thru Color Case Hardened surfaces too. That can sometimes be done with plain HS tools as not all CCH surfaces are actually Hard as the name implies. But most demand Carbide engraving chisels to punch thru the hard skin.
Generally looks ratty as the edges chip out. But some still do it especially in Spain.

This job is quite extensive and has but a couple slips of the chisel to see in the pattern. The Thru the Blue work is unforgiving when that happens.
Most purveyors of this type go one step further and swab the piece with cold blue and that'll pretty much hide any slip ups.
I think the bright steel of the cuts contrasts much better with the orig blued surfaces and the cold blue applications when done don't help the look at all.

The grips look like they were engraved by someone else. The cutting and pattern are different.
Not unusual to see.
Nice BBQ outfit!

 

[lkabug]

That gun screams BBQ with hot sauce!

 

[Kansasgunner]

It's a very cool gun and holster! I like it much better with the case hardened parts on it. Glad you brought it to the Tulsa Symposium!

 

[lawman445]

Love It!!! That right there screams Texas BBQ.

Thank you for sharing the photos, and I agree that it looks much better with the CCH hammer and trigger.

I`m usually too busy working all the time trying to support my gun buying habit to go to many BBQ`s, but I have worn it a couple times to the courthouse for conference room training session or to waste half a day after getting subpoenaed before someone from the DA`s office finally tells me "nevermind, we don`t need you after all but thanks for coming, (tee-hee)"

I have several engraved guns that I shoot and carry regularly,
but this isn`t one of them with the original bright blue as nice as it is. Since I obviously HAD to carry it at least every now and then, I did take it to the range one time and shoot it just enough to see that it doesn`t have any hang ups and hits where I need it to with duty ammo.

The sterling silver grips are cool and I like the look, but they sure do add a good amount of weight to an already plenty heavy gun! I don`t think I`d want to carry this set up every day...

 

[lawman445]

It's a very cool gun and holster! I like it much better with the case hardened parts on it. Glad you brought it to the Tulsa Symposium!

It`s probably lucky for me it had the gold parts in it before though to ugly it up just a little- otherwise Ray Brazille might not have ever ended up with it in the first place so he could end up selling it to me at a price I could just barely afford...

 

[Flygas]

Would you mind posting a pic of the factory letter, please? I live in Joplin, MO, I'm curious as to the hardware store. Have you checked with the Historical Society to see if there are any additional records?

The gun shipped to a hardware store in Joplin, MO in January of 1955 but I`ve never been able to figure out who the initials ACM from the grips belong to. The engraver is also unknown but from the style of the bear on the sideplate it looks like it was probably done by one of the artists that came over from Asia after WW2. I`ve never seen another holster quite like this one and always wondered if the silver work was done by SD Meyers or if it was added later by someone else. One of the experts who knows way more than I do about Meyers holsters looked at it at the last symposium in Tulsa though and thinks it was done in house by them.

 

[CH4]

OP, is the silver in the engraving white base metal or filled?

 

[Kansasgunner]

Would you mind posting a pic of the factory letter, please? I live in Joplin, MO, I'm curious as to the hardware store. Have you checked with the Historical Society to see if there are any additional records?

This gun shipped to Myers Hardware Co. Joplin, MO in January 1955. Not the OP, but I still have a copy of the letter since I was the previous caretaker.