I thought it would be fun to start a discussion on the coolest RMs . These are my thoughts. Please chime in.
- RM #1 . Of course. Presented to J. Edgar Hoover. I saw a picture of it once. If someone saved the pic, pls post it.
- RM #506. General George S. Patton’s “killing gun”.
- RM #8. Delivered to Ed McGivern, shooter extraordinaire.
- Prototypes 0372 and 0373. Used by Douglas Wesson for his big game hunting and highly successful marketing campaign.
- RM #100. Delivered to Jimmy Stewart. My favorite actor.
- RM #4112. Elmer Keith. Shooter, promoter of S&W, helped in development of 44 magnum.
- RM #2. Presented to Phil Sharpe. Gun journalist and contributed mightily to development of the RM.
- RM #2787. Delivered to T.J. Ryder, Sheriff, Dubuque Iowa. Lawman, hangman, Dillinger pursuer and murder-solver.
- RM #657. Owned by James “Doc’ White. Texas Ranger, FBI agent. Shootouts with Dillinger, Nelson, and Ma Barker gang.
- Sasha Siemel’s RM. Could not find his registration number after brief search. Greatest hunter of all time.
Well, how did I do ? Which RM did I forget? Let me know!
Thanks Dave.
The Jimmy Stewart gun, RM100-45796, was shipped to Harper & Reynolds in Los Angeles June 1935 and the order form was signed G. Beemer, Rm 1102 – 810 So. Flower St, Los Angeles, Calif. The gun was 8.750”, red face patridge illuminated ramp, square notch white outline, sighted in at 100 yds. with Magnum ammo with a dead-center hold and fitted with a Wesson grip adapter. 3 pound trigger.
The address of 810 S. Flower Street was the main building for the Southern California Gas Co. and although I can’t find the documents, I seem to recall seeing something that suggested Beemer was a high-up in the Company. Maybe a gift for Stewart, maybe a gun that changed hands a few times and landed in Stewarts lap. I’m really not familiar with the Jimmy Stewart gun, so if someone has a link pointing towards more info on it…..
Sasha Siemel had at least two Registered Magnums: RM10-45792 and RM3655-55989
RM10 was 8.750”, Special order custom sights that Siemel sketched out on his order form, V-notch rear sight, sighted at 20 yds. with Magnum ammo and a 6 o’clock hold with Wesson Grip Adapter attached.
RM3655 was identical to the first except it was sighted in at 25 yds. with a Dead Center hold.
There is a note from LTCOL Patton on letterhead from Headquarters Hawaiian Department Office of The Assistant Chief of Staff For Military Intelligence, Fort Shafter, T.H. dated 16AUG35 where Patton is requesting a booklet on the new Magnum revolver.
This is followed by a memo form that dates from October 1935 showing shipment of RM506 at a cost of $43.64 plus $4.36 Excise Tax for a total cost of $48.
I think this list is pretty good.
I think that there is, understandably, a lot of room for what makes an RM really cool.
For instance, RM1 that went to Hoover is cool, but is an RM that sat in a desk drawer and never fired in anger as cool as one carried by some Sheriffs Deputy in Indiana or Illinois who once used his Magnum to peg a couple rounds at Dillinger?
Is Jimmy Stewarts Magnum as exciting as one that Siemel may have used to shoot Jaguars in South America?
There were an amazing amount of ‘famous” (by the standards of that era) people who bought Magnums, especially early on. DBW travelled in a somewhat rarified circles. He was friends with the business world mover and shakers of that time and it was not a challenging task for him to convince some titan of industry over a golf game or bird hunt to order up a new Magnum (almost certainly at a discount).
The guy who made the diesel engine famous in the US, Cummins, had one as did his second-in-command. EF McDonald, president of Zenith Radio Corp. ordered almost a dozen and would give then away as gifts. Daniels of Archer, Daniels, Midland fame had a couple, including one he gave to his son-in-law. There is quite a list of movers and shakers, many of whom you would not think of as ‘gun guys’, who had early RM’s.
There is documentation of a few RM’s going into battle in WW2 and undoubtedly a lot more that were never written about. I’ve seen correspondence from a few people who would write asking for replacement parts because their son “..went overseas and I gave him my Magnum to take with him…”. To me a Magnum documented to have been in The Big One would be super cool!
RM’s are my gateway gun into what is rapidly becoming my newest historical passion, pre-war N-frames.
Best,
RM Vivas
