Not sure if I'm in the right area of the forum or not--but did Smith and Wesson produce a "registered magnum" in 44 spl? A LGS has a 95% 6" in 44 spl that he says is a registered magnum, and he can produce the letter for it from the current owner. He has it in his shop on pawn. The gun is in very good shape, and has the diamond magnas and a very slight turn line. I'm calling it 95%, but it may be better than that. He said the owner has 3 more, two of which are still in the box, and have letters. My concern is the caliber, or does it matter? Educate me. thanks

I would find another gun shop and NEVER go back. The R.M. is a model 27 in .357 caliber. SOMEHOW, SOMEWAY one MAY have been made in a .44 mag, hey this is S&W where anything is possible. However for one guy to have FOUR of them???????????

Talk about 'smoke and mirrors'!
The previous reply should be taken as GREAT ADVICE!!
Unless its the only game in town or for miles around - treat them like they have 'the plague'!!!

Take one of your S&W friends with you, I would say caveat emptor, on the other hand, if it is a 44 special it from that era, it will be worth the trip. Let us know what you find out and a price range, as always pics would help lots. billymagg

I'd want to check out it and the letter. Could have been converted to 44 Spl.
I'd like to see it.

Yes, go back and look at it. Understand that the serial must have a number between 45,000 and 62,000 with no letter prefix. Then look at the gun. I will have the checkering on the to strap. RMs have a barrel rib. Can you tell its a 44? If all that checks out and the price isn't too high, consider it. The best bet is that its been rebored to 44 by some gunsmith. Some top name people are doing that kind of conversion. If well done, its a gem.

And all RMs may not be 357s. Some rumors exist as to other calibers, notably 22 and 38 special. Until you handle one, don't be a strong believer.

__________________
Dick Burg

Elmer Keith suggested to Doug Wesson in 1935 he bring out the Registered Magnum in 44 Special Caliber, but Doug ignored him. After all, the Model of 1926 (with target options) in 44 Special Caliber was nearly the same gun. Except for the one in .22 Long Rifle Caliber, all the Registered Magnums were chambered for the ".357" Magnum cartridge.

Bill

I would definitely go back. That's an interesting tale. Guns turn up all the time that defy everyones expectations, and even if it has been converted or it isn't an RM at all, it might be a great gun anyway. And in general I like gun shops where they don't know squat about guns. It's a good place to find surprises.

Apart from Elmer Keith's request, which was turned down, as Bill mentioned, I have never heard of an RM in any caliber other than .22 LR (only one made) and ".357" Magnum (all of the others). I would certainly like to see what the shop owner is talking about. Pictures would be nice as they are "worth a thousand words." One poster said an RM is a Model 27. That is not correct. While it might be said that the RM is the original and certainly the forerunner of the Model 27, they are not the same. It is not just nomenclature here, but actual differences in the Pre-WWII ".357" Magnum and the Post-WWII Model 27 as far as appearance, parts, safety features, etc.

I would say it is more likely that it is a converted Model 27 and the owner of the "LGS" just does not know the difference.

Please post pictures.

Y U NO POST PICTURES?

Attached Images

Y U NO POST PICTURE.jpg (35.0 KB, 21 views)

Well if the LGS guy can show the letter from the owner and it does say it is a RM then I'd have to believe it has been converted.
But maybe the LGS guy has his story mixed up. Wouldn't be the first time.

The original "registered magnum" is the original .357 Magnum produced by S&W in the 1935-1939 time frame and it is the predecessor of the postwar ".357 Magnum" which became the Model 27 when the guns began to get number designations. These guns have "REG XXXX" (with the "X's" being the registration number) stamped in the frame.

S&W has made various commemorative post-war "registered magnums" - one of which is a 27-3 that was made in 1985 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the 357 Magnum. I also believe that they may have issued a limited run of .44 Magnums that also bore the title of "registered magnum" - perhaps a Lew Horton run (I am not sure of this, but I seem to recall reading it somewhere).

HOWEVER - the .44 special is not a "magnum" round. So it would be highly unlikely from a definitional perspective that there is a 44 Special that was designated as a "registered magnum". But with S&W, nothing is impossible. For example, in the 1930's S&W made one documented special order "registered magnum" (stamped with a REG number and everything) in .22LR (that would be one beefy 22).

Therefore, unlike some of the other posters above, I would go look at the gun, along with the other in-the-box guns and see what the dealer has access to. REMEMBER - no one will make you fork over the cash for something that you do not want (the power of the consumer)! The other possible explanation is that someone converted a Registered Magnum to 44 Special - now that would be an unusual one-of-a-kind gun and I might buy it if the work was well done, just to have something a bit on the weird side. If you have some photos, a serial number, roll marks, etc... we can give you a much better opinion on the gun in question.

Good luck and keep us posted on what you find out.

[edited to note that a bunch of what I said was covered by other posters above - I'm a slow typist and I got interrupted while I was typing...]

__________________
Richard
Engraved S&W fan

The most likely explanation is that the LGS person does not know his nomenclature. It is far more likely that, than that he is trying to blow smoke up your kilt.

__________________
NHI, 10-8.

A registered magnum in .22 long rifle? Where is it at and why was it made?

The RM in .22LR was one of a pair, the other being .357 Mag. caliber, ordered by a wealthy executive of the American Potash Co., in Trona, CA. It was special ordered and cost 3+ times the cost of the .357 Mag. I have spoken with a descendent of the original owner, who recalls shooting the revolver as a child. It currently resides in a location I'm not telling, until I get my grubbly little hands on it. I'll post pictures when I do. Ed.

Two Registered Magnums were ordered by American Potash & Chemical Corporation, Trona, CA on September 30, 1936. One in ".357" Magnum Caliber (registration number 1590) and one in .22 Long Rifle Caliber (registration number 1591). Each has an 8 3/8-inch barrel, Magna stocks, and a King Ramp Reflector Red Post front sight. S&W accepted the order, but priced the .22 Long Rifle revolver at $150.00 (regular retail cost was $60.00).

The pair of revolvers was ordered as a "gift for which a subscription has been made...and the price is immaterial..."

The pair was shipped on November 21, 1936.

Bill

Gutterman,

The 1st thing I would ask to see is the letter (if it really exists, why isn't with the gun) to determine the guns original caliber and configuration.

I would look for the following on the gun itself as some mentioned above:

Caliber rollmarked on the barrel,
A rib on the barrel,
Fine checkering on rib and top strap,
An 'REG' and registered # in the yoke as shown in this thread: http://smith-wessonforum.com/s-w-han...num-806-a.html,
the serial # to see if it's in the registered mag serial # range given above,
and lastly, a star following the serial # on the gun butt and a factory re-work date stamped on the grip frame under the left grip

That should give you everything you need to determine what the gun actually is or was.

The most likely scenario if it has all the registered mag characteristics listed above, is a converted 357 to 44 Spl. If the barrel reads 44 Spl, a grooved barrel rib instead of checkered would indicate a post war 44 replacement barrel.

__________________
Jim
S&WCA #819

Ed

What do you think Reg 1591 (the .22) would sell for, if it came to market? Do you
think that the current owner would sell it for something close to that ? if so, why
haven't they sold it ? If not, do they want a lot more ?

Regards, Mike Priwer

The way I heard it, you were there coaching that child while he fired that .22 LR RM.

__________________
John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

Arguably, the most talked about Registered Magnums are Reg. #1 which was given to J. Edgar Hoover and Reg. #1591 in .22 caliber. If a .44 Special original Registered Magnum were to turn up, it would certainly hold an equally high position. I can't believe that, with all of the research that has been done on the RM's, that one exists.

The reason that those two guns are so highly desired is because of the recipient in #1 and the uniqueness of caliber in #1591. In the over all big picture of the Reg. Mags., once you get past the original marketing value of #1, I would postulate that those reasons are pretty superficial ones. When it comes to the history of the guns, in the use for which they were designed, it is easy to love the more plebeian ones...even those "dreadful" KCPD guns.

Bob

I'd take one of those dreadful guns.....

__________________
Even older, even crankier....

Have any pictures been taken of the Reg. Mag that was made
in .22 LR ? Has this gun even been seen in public setting?
Just curious. If it ever came up for sale i imagine the price would
be astronomical. Six figures maybe.

Chuck

__________________
They hold no Quarter

I don't really care what you local dum dum says. If its a good 44 I would make a run at it. Older 44 Specials are harder to come by as time goes and I would not pass up a chance to buy one or should I say another one.

__________________
NRA LIFE MEMBER

Where were you 7 or 8 years ago when I was selling several of them? I tried to trade 2 of them to "Blake" for his 1940 K22.

__________________
Dick Burg

Heck, I didn't even know the forum existed 'till 4 years ago when I was doing some research on my dads Heavy Duty! If only I'd known, Dick. If only....

__________________
Even older, even crankier....

Wouldn't it be neat if it turned out to be a model of 1926 44 target?

Once a local gunshop had a nickel pre 27 from the 50s, tagged as a model 19, and the owner said it was one of the ones that came with a special certificate when new, and it was very rare.

__________________
}-----Jim----->
~SWCA #2732~

My '32 Heavy Duty was tagged as an M&P with what would probably be an appropriate price for one. I told the shop of the error but they didn't care.

__________________
Even older, even crankier....

If the owner has 4 total, all lettered, and 2 still in boxes, my vote is for recent production commemoratives. But I'd love to be proven wrong.