Love those 4" .44s!!! VERY nice!!!

The box says it all.

I've got S142691. are we brothers, cousins or not even close? lee

S142963

I wish there was higher praise than just saying I "like" the post. Sometimes our language just doesn't have the right words without sounding cliché. And to think that when I was a young pistolero growing up in the 60's these were still readily available. I'm sure my Grandpa would have preferred I buy one of these rather than that MAB 15.

Keith

Thanks Keith…

This one is special for me. I have a good friend mainly a Colt collector. Trying to get him over to the Smith side for reasons I don't need to go into on this thread - we already as group know the answer. Now that he sees the light we are discussing where he should start and why. I have been at this now three years and I was also young in the 60's. In the three years there are great things I missed too from not understanding and not having an ongoing developing taste. Where to start and what to look for is a very interesting question..

I had Bowen build me a few copies, but it just was not the same as owning a real 1950 Military Model. Some things just need to be real to have value.

Keith

Once again someone else posts an item on my grail list. Why can't I ever find these things?
A beautiful revolver Sir. I'm jealous.

Thanks Grayfox,

They are out there.. I am hard in the hunt for nice stuff all the time with cash in hand.. No big secret it is all about networking and timing. It is not easy there is a huge commitment in order to find the good stuff.. I kiss a lot of frogs..

Woah. I must have that.

Beautiful. I've got S149596. It's a 5 inch with the box.
I saw a 5 inch go for close to $4,000 a few days ago.

Outstanding addition to your collection - Congrats!

Post #10 is spot on. It's all about putting in the time and effort on the hunt. I've been kissing a bunch of frogs lately, but I know I'm due.

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Rick
SWCA #2727 , SWHF #435

As soon as I saw the pictures, I thought..."that looks like something bigl1911 would own"...scrolled up and saw your handle. Absolutely stunning. I have one (S158425) that I thought was really nice...until now!

Speechless.

bigl1911,
Let me know when you can accept a PM. Info for you......

It doesn't get much better than a 4 inch .44 Special M&P 1926 3rd. Model or Model of 1950. What a great addition to add to your collection.

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Bill Bates

Like many, I often wonder why I got rid of a lot of the nice now-old stuff I had years back when it was then-new? Acquiring better, more interesting stuff was usually the motive, as well as a need for money.

When I wish that I had kept everything, I remind myself that I'm a very average, run-of-the-mill person. So, had I kept all the now-cool stuff, so would have everyone else.

Consequently, if we had kept everything, most of the guns we now hold dear would not be nearly as desirable and hard to get, and many of us would be stamp and bottle cap collectors instead of gun enthusiasts.

That, or something similar, helps me get through the envy I feel when I see something like the above 1950 ... for a while, at least ... Thanks for sharing your find ...

You've got a honey of a shootin' iron there.
Steve

Maaan, that's pretty!

We all look back at the things we had and the things we should have purchased as if we could predict the future. It is in some way part of our nature. As a elementary school kid I had a little Hot Wheel collection. I should have kept all the "Red Lines" in the boxes and never touched them. I now would have an astounding collection instead of a bunch of mostly beat up little cars. Then again, think about all the fun I would have missed destroying the cars by throwing them around running them on the orange track and damaging the collectables. This 44 was never intended to be left in a box and collected by someone 60 plus years in the future. It had a purpose albeit that purpose was not realized. Now here we are looking and saying amazing. We live our lives not our stuff or we don't live in the moment or have anything to look backward and remember with warmth - at least this is the case with me.

I've mentioned this before and truly believe the best collectable guns as a gun enthusiest in my hands have not been guns like this one. They have been guns like my 14-3 perfect and complete in the box bought for $750 at a Costa Mesa Gun Show. Or my K22 LERK at 900 bought at auction when no one knew what it was except me. My 1950 is great but there is no talent in my acquisition other than knowing it is important and having the cash to make it happen. This is not talent or soul; this is timing and knowing when to pull the trigger. I found a Pre-War K32 first model earlier this year and made an amazing buy (not a steal - a fair purchase for buyer and seller). The gun is or I should say was a missing serial number. No one knew it was out there and I found it from someone roaming the Santa Barbara Gun Show. This is why we collect. We shoot because we love shooting. I collect for the hunt and education.. Thanks for post and thanks for sharing..

I have S92302, but it's not quite as pretty--and no box. It served on a ranch in eastern Montana (I bought it at a small shop in Billings in the mid-'90s), and although the finish is a bit worn (more on the right side than on the left) it's still nice and tight and shoots extremely well with 240-grain cast semi-wadcutters and 7.0 grains of Unique. You've got to love those old .44 Specials.
Good shooting,
Will

That's just........perfect.

That's exactly what I would like to find under my Christmas Tree this year. I can pm you the address or you can just get it from Santa.

Seriously, that's the firearm I most desire to own. It looks brand new. How did you come across it?

Got lucky and found it at auction.. Santi Claus…

Dear Mr. "BigIexcellent reflection, I think similarly
.With Time, at least for me, I find it less and less important objects and more I care my affections. However, I must confess, I find no compelling sometimes acquire a magical effect of "time capsule machine or" when I discover an old weapon preserved almost new, in original box, with perhaps even brochures or manuals. But after having it and touch it, the magic vanishes and appears a sad reality, and that is just an object, and often have to feel guilty for spending money on an object. Do you think, man? Fraternal greetings from Uruguay, 1911",

While others wax poetic, I find myself in a bind. I just paid an absurd amount for a mod 57 no dash that I had originally bought new for $450. It was one of those out of work, feed the children things. Now I've sold my colts and have started to replace the small collection I once had. Only problem is my gunsmith mentioned in passing that if I didn't shoot it, someone else would.

Beautiful firearm. I have the Thunder Ranch clone. It is a shooter.

Always wanted one of those! Thanks for sharing the pics...she's a beauty!

[QUOTE=bigl1911;138783312]

They are out there.. I am hard in the hunt for nice stuff all the time with cash in hand.. No big secret it is all about networking and timing. It is not easy there is a huge commitment in order to find the good stuff.QUOTE]

Totally agree, plus I have learned that you must be patient and not be bashful either. More than once, I have reached out "respectfully" to an owner of a gun that would fill a hole in my collection. And more than once I have been able to make a deal for it. I never would have been so bold before. And as for patience, I looked for several years before I found a '52 shipped Pre21. The one that finally surfaced now sits in my safe. Lee

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NRA Cert. Inst. RSO

Nice find! The guns I see on this forum take me back to when I was a small boy in KY. My family was one of collectors and shooters; more shooters than collectors. One of my Uncles was a collector. I need to make a trip North and see my first cousin and his son; I'll bet they have some of those guns we shot in the late 1940's and early 1950's.

Mine is S142673 which shipped in April, 1955

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Randy
Provenance nerd