Here's one I picked up a year or two ago. It's in rather poor condition but probably saw some use. The grips are ruined and some fool's had their name cut into the side plate - don't you hate that?!

Overall a nice old shooter. I suppose.

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Dave Ballantyne

Here's one I picked up a year or two ago. It's in rather poor condition but probably saw some use. The grips are ruined and some fool's had their name cut into the side plate - don't you hate that?!

Overall a nice old shooter. I suppose.

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Dave Ballantyne

Too bad the condition is so poor.

How does one break chunks out of BOTH stocks like that?

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No life story has happy end.

Those grips probably got chipped from hauling it around the Alaska Wilderness on those hunting trips with Frederick Vreeland.
Nice revolver Dave. Bring that one to the Michigan Show this June if you can.

Hey it's a Registered Magnum and has a neat guys name on the side. What's not to like?

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Dick

I've got a die grinder we could use to remove the name if it bothers you too much.....

Nice gun.

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Dick Burg

Where is the SWCA show going to be held? Can you join at the show? I cant get the application to print out for me, something to do with my comp. Thanks Dale.

The show is in Michigan this year. It's member only i think. You have to print the application then you have to have a member in sign it.

that is a great reg mag, i can't wait to have one of my own. nice pics!!!!!!!

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George Jamison

Actually, it might be worth looking more in to the history, since as I recall, Doug Wesson was a driving force behind the 357. That engraving or whatever might be a record of some important connection.

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NHI, 10-8.

That gun is more interesting than one that has laid in a safe and only been touched to wipe it down.

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Eccentric old coot

C'mon, Dave.
Tell 'em who Sandy was.
Great gun.

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Think ya got enough oil in the crane window there Butch?
Seriously, nice Karma! Please add my name.

Interesting RM,just curious what is the reg #? My old eyes can't make it out,the reason I ask is because the sreial # is 19 higher than mine,I have reg# 1122. Thanks for sharing it with us all.

Reg 1183 ??

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Regards,
Lee Jarrett

Reg#1169 went to a hardware store in Souix Falls. That Wesson guy must have used it a lot before he gave it away!

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Dennis

Col Sandy McNab was one of D.B.Wesson's friends and a great American hunter. He was credited with having taken trophy examples of every reconized prey on the north American continent.

He accompanied D.B. on the famous Alaskan hunting trip during which they tested the first .357 prototypes. At the end of the trip he was so impressed with the guns that he asked D.B. for one of them.

D.B. told him that he couldn't have one of those as S&W needed them, but he would sent him one when production got rolling. Months later Sandy McNab wrote to D.B.Wesson and asked where his gun was - the result being Reg#1183 above. It was dispatched in Spring 1936. Somewhere in the factory papers are the letters relating to this gun and I hope to own copies of them one day (if we all support the S&WHF!)

There are two things that make the gun really interesting to me;
1. the gun is factory engraved to McNab from Doug Wesson. I have owned or handled several guns from D.B.Wesson or Douglas Wesson, but no others from "DOUG"! I believe these guys were friends.
2. The grips. Somewhere I have a picture of McNab halfway up a hill in full backwoods gear with a tall walking stick - the kind that has a fork in the very top, I'm sure you've all seen them. I believe many hunters use them to steady a rifle for a long shot. I think McNab cut grooves in the magna grips to allow them to sit in the fork of his stick so that he could steady his aim.

This one's definitely a well-used old gun. Given the ownership I would have been very suspicious had it been otherwise.

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Dave Ballantyne

The sideplate screws ain't buggered,, It's a keeper!

Dave ,pull your tongue out of your cheek and tell us about this very cool UNrefinished Reg Mag.

Regards ,,Allen F.

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NRA cert.instructor&R.S.O.

Very neat old gun with some interesting history. I was wondering about the nature of those notches in the grips. They seem a little too symmetrical to me to be purely accidental.

Thanks for the great post!

Jerry

pitdog, I sent you an email with the SWCA application. Hope that helps.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Merlin, that is a great looking magnum I love it. Thanks for posting it. I am also sorry for hijacking your thread. It did put me in contact with Moosedog and he has graciously contacted me and is going to sponsor my membership to SWCA. Thanks to H Richard also for the help.

What a great specimen. If it could talk, it would spin stories of opportunity, danger, camaraderie and accomplishment. Superb...

Thanks,

Dyson

Dave:

I thought that the Alaska Hunting Trip guns were all 8.75"? If so, and since McNab was a hunter, any guesses as to why he would want one with a couple of inches cut off of the barrel?

BTW - your thoughts on the grip grooves makes a lot of sense to me, especially since it was most likely shot one-handed.

What a fun piece of history - I always enjoy it when you bust one of your RM's out of the safe and share with the rest of us.

Thanks,

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Richard
Engraved S&W fan

Pitdog - if it benefits the SWCA or SWHF you can hijack any and all of my threads! Seriously, no problem.

RK - Thank you for the comments. I post them so that others can enjoy them as much as me.

I wondered the same thing about the barrel length. I considered that maybe he wanted it for smaller game, closer shots or just personal protection when out the the wilderness. If we ever manage to digitize the S&W correspondence files - that's the project the SWHF is undertaking - I hope to be able to answer that question. Along with about N zillion others that have puzzled me over the years.

I've always been a history nut - Roman ruins, Napoleonic battles, Civil War et. etc. It's the history that makes these old guns interesting to me, not their value or condition. For me access to the paper records, especially from the days when virtually all business was done by letter, is the stuff I dream about. Think of seeing the letters that went back and forth between factory and buyers, the original order forms, the invoices, the complaints even. I know, what a sad *******. One day perhaps...

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Dave Ballantyne

Dave,

I hope this dream of your (and a few others as well) comes true. Your argument about learning and sharing the history of the guns we own should be posted on all parts of the Forum for others to read and appreciate. Helluva sales pitch for the SWHF I'd say!

Jerry

Col McNab was my great uncle, passed away in Hawaii in the late 1950s. I still have some of his equipment including an Abercrombie & Fitch hunting bag that I still use. Most of his other firearms were stolen from my grandfathers house (his brother-in-law) in Los Angeles where they were stored. I spent a lot of time with him as a child on camping and hunting trips into Mexico. There is a lot of history behind Uncle Sandy's life. Colorful man that was able to boss my father around (his "nephew"). If you ever want to sell the gun. Let me know.

[email protected]

Thank you for the comments.

Your great uncle seems to have been a tremendous character, a close friend and very similar individual to our beloved Douglas B Wesson. They were a different breed of men and don't receive the recognition they deserve, in my opinion.

If I decide to let the gun go at any time I'll be happy to give you first option. Email me at [email protected] and let me have your name and email address. I'll keep them on file for future reference.

Regards.

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Dave Ballantyne