Model 1917 commercial in .45 Long Colt ?????

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Scary Gary

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Is there such a thing as a S&W 1917 commercial in .45 Long Colt ?
If so what can you tell me about them?
I may have found one, or not.
MY 11 year old boy and I are going to check it out again.
They are asking $500.00 or so for it.
any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
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I don't know of any 1917s that were manufactured in .45 Colt, but I suppose one could have been converted. Speculation only: don't put any weight on my ignorance and guesses.

A possibility to consider is that this is a .455 HE, Second Model that was converted from .455 Mark II to .45 Colt after the war. I have one of these.

You should be able to tell them apart by the barrel length. A .455 would have a 6.5" barrel, a 1917 5.5". Also the .455 is likelier than not to have British proof marks all over it.

For those who don't know why I am proposing this, the 1917 and the .455/Second both have unshrouded ejector rods. At a glance they look similar; an unwary seller may have misidentified what he is offering.
 
Too bad it's gone. Shows that any N-Frame S&W at $500 is probably a good deal, original or not. (Assuming of course it is in good working order and doesn't have that "dragged behind a truck" look). If it was a factory .45 Colt S&W, ... well, you are probably better off not to know what a deal you just missed out on. Better to tell yourself it was a hack-gunsmith conversion that would actually have been dangerous to shoot.

Mr. DCWilson, if you are an example of ignorance on this forum, I (by comparison) should just leave right now and hope I could say something useful on the Cap Gun Forum.
 
I had one. I simply bought a brand new clyinder in .455, a extra crane, and my gunsmith reamed the clyinder to .45 colt, fit it up with the extra crane and I had a true 45 acp/ 45 colt convertable. He also did other work on it like adding S&W target sights, made a colt trooper type ramp, beavertailed the hammer, I added S&W target grips. Like a fool I traded it for other fine guns back to the friend I got the original gun from. This was around 1970. When my smith got through with it, it looked like the factory had done it! I doubt the gun and entire job cost me $300s in those days!
 
Hi:
I had a Model 1917 that a previous owner had a .45colt cylinder installed and then had it nickeled plated. The cylinder might have been a .455 converted to .45 colt. Loaded .45 colt cases with a .452 bullet. shot fine.
Jimmy
 
There are one or two 1917s in 45 Colt that have been lettered as correct. I believe both of them sold for over $10,000. I once owned a Second Model Hand .455 Ejector that is chambered in 45 Colt and has a 3 3/4-inch barrel. It was made for Mr. Herreshoff, a friend of the Wesson family, in 1916. The gun lettered as being correct. Below is an old photo I took of the revolver.

The "very special" revolvers are out there, but seldom seen or heard of. Sometimes they are displayed at the NRA Annual meeting or the annual meeting of the S&WCA.

Bill

standard.jpg
 
Last edited:
Okay now I'm sick .
I seen it on Thursday and thought about it. Last night I decided to get it. So today my boy and I went there and it was gone.
the gun store did confirm that it was in .45 long colt.
Would've , could've , should've.
I'm going to get a drink now.
 
I also have one of the "1917s in 0.45 Colt" that on inspection before I purchased it turned out to be a reamed and cut 0.455 Mk II. Alongside my 0.455 Mk II all dimensions matched except for the gap in the rear of the cylinder where it had been cut for either 0.45 ACP in moon clips or 0.45 Colt. I cheat and use 255 grain 0.45 colt bullets that my local bullet caster sizes to 0.454 for me in 0.45 AR cases. A real tack drive at 10 yds even though it is closing in on its 100th birthday. Dave_n
 
Scary Gary said:
Okay now I'm sick .
I seen it on Thursday and thought about it. Last night I decided to get it. So today my boy and I went there and it was gone.
the gun store did confirm that it was in .45 long colt.
Would've , could've , should've.
I'm going to get a drink now.
Click to expand...
Chances are good that you did not miss that much.

Do you recall if the gun had the normal LARGE cyl gap at rear like a normal 1917 for moon clips? If so, the gun shipped in 45 ACP. The known guns shipped in 45 Colt had longer cylinders that show a normal, thinner gap.

I know two are known, and it sticks in my mind that 3 are.
One of the known guns also lettered as Nickel!
 
Doc44 said:
There are one or two 1917s in 45 Colt that have been lettered as correct. I believe both of them sold for over $10,000. I once owned a Second Model Hand .455 Ejector that is chambered in 45 Colt and has a 3 3/4-inch barrel. It was made for Mr. Herreshoff, a friend of the Wesson family, in 1916. The gun lettered as being correct. Below is an old photo I took of the revolver.

The "very special" revolvers are out there, but seldom seen or heard of. Sometimes they are displayed at the NRA Annual meeting or the annual meeting of the S&WCA.

Bill

standard.jpg
Click to expand...

Bill,
Do you recall how the front sight base was attached?
Was it actually forged on the barrel?
 
Mr. Jarrett
I don't recall. I stopped buy on Thursday I think. I was working and the Co. I work for is really anti gun. So stopping off at a gun shop could be considered a bad thing by some management. So I was not in there long. I'm new to the S&W collecting thing so I don't always know what I'm looking at. But what I did notice was that it looked to me to be a 1917 in .45 long colt. I Love the .45 long colt and the for sale sign said. S&W 1917 .45 long colt. When I looked at it I think I seen that it said .45
long on the barrel . I asked if this was the same as .45 long colt and I was told that yes it was. It looked like a older gun. It looked like it had what I thought was coke bottle grips with the diamond . I'm guessing the finish was 85 95 % . There were no military markings on it so I asked if it was a commercial gun and they said yes. This looked to me and sounded to me like a commercial S&W 1917 in .45 long colt. The more I thought about it the more I liked it. When I got home I tried to look it up in my Standard Catalog Of Smith & Wesson and could not find it. So I thought well I'll go back and take a look and if it looks factor authentic I'd get it and then try and pin point what it is. Well I went back and it was gone.
My life story.
A day late and a $ short.
 
Don't beat yourself up too badly. Anyone in this game has done something similar. We all regrett the one that got away. Its part of how we learn about our hobby. It sharpens our target aquisition system. Notice how thick the SCSW has become, there is a lot to learn and this forum is one of the best tools available.
 
Lee...the ramp base was either forged with the barrel or attached in another manner. I know it was not pinned to the barrel. I looked at a larger printed photo I have and could not see any seam between the barrel and the ramp base.

Jim Fisher would be able to tell you.

Bill
 
Was it a rare factory original, maybe but doubtful. Gunshop owners don't stay in business if they don't know one gun from another. If it will make you feel any better I had one like that. It was the British .45 reamed out to take a .45 Colt. It looked exactly like a 1917 but would take the 45 Colt cartridge. I had always wanted an S&W in .45 Colt but the thing was so inaccurate I traded it off. You may not have been happy with it for $500. It would take a new barrel and perhaps a new cylinder plus the cost of a gunsmith to fit it out. You probably would have been money ahead to buy a new Model 22-4.

Hope this helps.

Bill
 
I figure if I was always successful in getting every gun I ever wanted there would no longer be a challenge in it. I still get to keep looking for one. So I got that going for me.
 
It's been a wile but I found another one.
Only this one is a .455 converted to .45 Long Colt.
It doesn't have any U.S. markings on it but it does have a lanyard ring.
They want $550.00 for it.
 
I saw a factory original 45 colt, factory renickel.

.455 in 45 colt sold this winter at auction in Knightston Indiana for a cool thousand. Someone around this forum probably knows where it went. The owner told me it was a special order, claimed to be the second owner. It was pretty sweet.
 
Hi Lee / Bill
We will have to take a good look at the 455 Target at the annual meeting. I can not see any gap under the front sight boss.
it was made in the tool room in 1916 at the request of Joe Wesson for his friend Hereshoff. So your guess is as good as mine. When you are the President of the company you can get anything made you want.
In my display at the annual meeting this year there will be 4 more original 45 colt revolvers that letter as 45 colts.
Jim Fisher
 
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