Heavily modified 44 First Model HE
Appears to be modified post war
I'm no expert but it seems to be a copy of a Kings Target sighting system. There is no Kings marking anywhere on sights. The logo is heavily polished. Stocks do not number. It started life as an original 4" fixed sight revolver. From recent Waco auction a month ago.
I just thought it was cool

Very cool modified Smith, love it with the service stocks even though it would be less pleasant to shoot. Notice the slight break to the corners of the rear sight blade, neat touch.

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kbgrips.com

I agree it is cool. A horrible thing to do to a rare pistol, but back in the day it wasn't a collectible. I have one similarly modified but the mods are now missing. I was going to try to restore it but the welding is beyond my skill level and this one has inspired me to try to duplicate the rib. Thanks for posting.

A very neat revolver and a well done mod in its day. I also have a similar modified Triple Lock in my collection with Micro sights. I think Micro Sights had some link with King but my memory fails me. Maybe someone here can correct me. I will post a few photos as comparison as soon as the battery charges up in my Canon. Great gun, how does she shoot?

That's something that might have tripped my "buy it now" finger, too. Good catch! I would suspect tha t those are early Micro sights as well.

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Randy
Provenance nerd

Former employees of Kings started Micro which if memory serves resulted in some legal issues for Micro.

It is VERY cool, I would be more than happy to give it a good home if you are dissatisfied with it

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On the Oak Savannah

I handled it at the preview. Very cool .44. I’m not one for safe queens as much as I am unique “using” revolvers so this definitely caught my eye. Good score.

Had this same exact way of thinking too!

Very nicely done!
The work done to it compliments the original style and is quite functional.
Here's an analogy that might provide another perspective on modifications:
There is only one known Stradivarius violin that is still in its original, unmodified form. All the ones that are typically heard on recordings, seen in concerts, displayed in museums, etc, have been altered to suit differing tastes and needs of musicians.
Also, the best sounding Stradivarius violins are the ones that are played regularly. If they are simply stored away in a vault, they actually deteriorate tone-wise.

None of this, though, is to advocate for the practice of seeking out rare, original artifacts for the purpose of altering them.
Rather, I'm just suggesting that, sometimes, modifications have a value in their own right. Judging that value is a highly subjective, and potentially argumentative, task.

In any case, nice revolver!

Seems similar to guns Red9 has come across,

Modified or Butchered?

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SWCA: 3154
SWHF: 552

Congratulations! I think that is a pretty slick little TL. There is a lot to love about that great shooter. It is one I almost took a long shot at, but I had used a good chunk of my gun money on the John Gallagher Ruger. So, I refrained. Like yourself and others here, I would be a proud owner of that modified 44! Shoot it in good health!

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Matthew Conrad

I'm glad you got that one.....and I have to admit that I'm at least partially responsible for the final price.

I hope more from that auction end up here. Mine are sitting at my FFL waiting for me to get there.

I like that one!!! Congrats!

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

I agree with your appraisal it's not a King Super Target rib---that based on my expertise gained by having owned exactly one King Super Target Triple Lock. So much for my statistical credibility!

That said, it's a nice looking modification, and more importantly it improves the gun----that in marked contrast to some of the butcher shop jobs we see here from time to time.

As to the King/Micro connection, I've forgotten almost more than I ever paid any attention to, but some King employees left King to go into business for themselves---which is the business they learned at King. Mistake #1 was they copied a King product pretty much first crack out of the box---the Cockeyed Hammer(??) which annoyed Mr. King enough to call his lawyers----directing them to sue the pants off of these scoundrels---and that they did-----started anyway. My dim recollection is King lost the lawsuit, but I don't recall the why of it---if I ever even knew in the first place.

All that contributed to that old saying "Sometimes you eat the bear, and sometimes the bear eats you!" There's a happy thought!!

Ralph Tremaine

AND---just for the hell of it, I just asked Google if they knew anymore about it than I do----and sure enough, they do. Google King Gunsight Co. vs Micro Sights.

Mike, the pictures of your revolver make me think it might be the work of Joe Lamping, a Cincinnati gunsmith. It looks similar in execution to a modified Triple Lock that I bought at a Tulsa Wanenmacher gun show back in 2014. I posted about it here: Triple Lock target conversion (not King) - Tulsa, April 2014 See post #23. Sadly the image host I used died so none of my pictures show up. More sadly, I had a hard drive crash in 2014 and the pictures I took from that time are gone.

I do still have the gun, so if I can find time I might haul it out and take some new pics.

Definitely the same gunsmith as the two I had (post #11). The hammer and front sight are the keys to identifying his work. Several others (All that I've seen are N-frames, except one Colt) have shown up in posts and auctions. As far as I know, no one has ID'd the source, at least on this forum.

Bob

I'm back from my first post above. It took all hands and the cook to get my camera to function for these two shots, low battery and filled up memory card, not my day. This TL number 11665 modification was done many years ago. Someone took a rusty, pitted, old gun and made a neat carry piece. The nickel was done over the rust pits. Both front and rear sights are marked Micro. The action is the classic Triple Lock with a smooth trigger pull in DA with very little cylinder play. The barrel was cut for this project gun and remains bright with good lands and grooves. The hammer has US patent office stamped on its back. Its a good shooter and truck gun.

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Here are some pictures of the Triple Lock that I mentioned. It was originally a .455 British service revolver and converted to .45 Colt by deepening the chambers, and shaving the back of the cylinder face for correct headspacing. Consequently there is no serial number on the cylinder.





The shaping of the the hammer is one of the things that leads me to believe it may be the work of the same gunsmith.


Also the profile of the windage screw on the rear sight. Early click-adjustable S&W sights used a flat windage screw head, like this one. It was later changed to a domed shape.


(I also updated my original post about this gun to add pictures as best I could. Triple Lock target conversion (not King) - Tulsa, April 2014 )

I think I put a couple bids on that 4 incher too. Ended up with these two, which turned out to be better than expected.

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