1950 Target letter of authenticity....with a big bonus!

[Shotguncoach]

I'm working my way through lettering my stable of 1950 Target .44 revolvers and finally got to the one with the wonky front sight.

It's been discussed before in these threads:

More old iron inbound

New old iron part 2 - 4" 1950 (really pic heavy)


I was not expecting this...I guess I'll leave the wonky front sight just as it is.

 

[D Brown]

Jackpot! Wow, what a fortunate occurrence!

 

[Gun Relics]

I'm working my way through lettering my stable of 1950 Target .44 revolvers and finally got to the one with the wonky front sight.

It's been discussed before in these threads:

More old iron inbound

New old iron part 2 - 4" 1950 (really pic heavy)


I was not expecting this...I guess I'll leave the wonky front sight just as it is.

Yep, you got your nickel's worth out of that one.

 

[Casual Smith Nut]

Wow!!! I was just reading Gun Notes volume 1 last night and of course Elmer Keith mentions his 4 inch 1950 44 targets numerous times. Well done sir! What a find!

 

[murphydog]

Elmer who?

Congratulations! Did you have any idea of their history six years ago?

 

[Casual Smith Nut]

Another thing: you’re going to shoot it, right? Or maybe you already have? The original owner certainly did.

 

[OutAtTheEdge]

Unbelievable. Cogratulations!

 

[StrawHat]

Nice find! I guess that is why we should letter the “common” ones.

Kevin

 

[Valmet]

If always feels like Xmas to me when factory letters arrive and I can’t even imagine how amazing it was getting that bit of news!

 

[Truckman]

If always feels like Xmas to me when factory letters arrive and I can’t even imagine how amazing it was getting that bit of news!

Oh yeah!...I'm expecting a few more myself, although probably none that exciting...And yet it makes that walk to the mailbox less of a chore......Ben

 

[Truckman]

Don's mention of cutting the barrel for an extra charge of $7.50 lit a bulb in my dim head, so I went looking through my letters...One of my Models of 1950 .44 Target is what I refer to as my "mystery gun"...Numbered just slightly ahead of yours at S97784 and shipping a month earlier on 4/21/1953, mine was also cut from 6 1/2" to 5" for the same charge of $7.50...The client in my case likely didn't have the clout of Elmer Keith, and was charged an additional $3.00 for the Baughman Quick Draw sight and ramp...In my letter Don further suggests that the same barrel was later cut again to 3 1/2" in March of 1955 (date coded on grip frame) when it was returned for service although the documentation for this operation is absent from factory records...I find it interesting that yours letters with two barrel lengths, while mine letters with three only a month apart...I also got what I believe is the original box for mine marked as a 5" gun...

I've stretched my feeble brain to its limits trying to figure out who was the end user for mine after it shipped to JT Lloyd Company in Little Rock, Ark...All to no avail so far...Your end user is obvious, but I'll keep trying with mine......Ben

 

[mchom]

Great score Shotguncoach!

What an amazing surprise. Congratulations!

 

[two-bit cowboy]

Your 4" 1950 Target is most certainly a one-of-a-kind find.

Very cool, indeed.

Congratulations.

 

[Shotguncoach]

@Murphydog - Nope, nobody had any clue of the history before the letter arrived.

@Casual Smith Nut - I actually shoot it quite a bit. (Thinking about it, I'm pretty sure Elmer would want it that way) I've owned it for 6 years and just now got around to lettering it. My other 1950's are "the pretty ones" and this one has been "just a shooter" all that time. It shoots extremely well with the Missouri Bullet Company 240 grain Keith style lead semi-wadcutter bullets.....go figure. It make me wonder how much this gun was involved in the design of that bullet.

I shoot my 1950's with 6.6 grains of Unique and save the hot loads for my 624's. I guess I don't have to worry about this one holding up to Skeeter loads if The Master himself already proof tested it.

Here it is (on the left) during a recent range trip with two of its' brothers.

 

[Casual Smith Nut]

Great to hear! I agree. Keith used his guns and would want anyone after him to continue to shoot and enjoy it. Cool to have the epitome of “the real man’s working gun.”

I had the 5 inch 1950 target 44 spl but couldn’t bring myself to keep it to shoot it. I ended up finding the later edition 4 inch 24-3 for a reasonable price to keep and shoot.

 

[MHF]

I searched for jt loyd, little brook, AR and got hits for trucking co. Also this
Drawing, Thompson Architectural - J.T. Lloyd, Little Rock – Works – eMuseum

 

[rct269]

SEE!! There IS A GOD!!

I got one a while back---said it was shipped (gratis) to Philip B. Sharpe!!

Now while there's a God, sometimes He's busy with other matters. This was one of those times. I figured there'd be a TON of documentation to be had from the Historical Foundation---I mean here they are giving away a gun (22/40). There was exactly ONE piece of paper---the invoice---charging off the cost of the gift to their advertising account--$14.50---which included the cost to ship it to Maine----might have been $14.55(?).

It wasn't too long after that, that the good doctor Cross told us it cost $17 to make a Registered Magnum, and I was A HAPPY CAMPER!! I'd compared RM's with other target grade N frames along the way----outside, inside, upside and downside, and found there wasn't a dime's worth of difference---never mind all the hype! (I even had one guy tell me the checkering on the rib and top strap of an RM was done by hand! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that one!)

Ralph Tremaine

 

[Model19man]

Wow. It does not get any better than that!

 

[Truckman]

I searched for jt loyd, little brook, AR and got hits for trucking co. Also this
Drawing, Thompson Architectural - J.T. Lloyd, Little Rock – Works – eMuseum

Thanks for that...I have a lot of history of JT Lloyd's family...It was JT Jr. who ran the company when my gun was shipped to the address where JT III eventually ran his trucking company...The family is no longer in the gun business, and the vacant building is now for sale just down the street from Bill Clinton's presidential library...

I only wish my search could have turned up the end user of my gun as successfully as Len's letter did...Even a FOIA request on the gun (a dangerous move on my part) came up empty......Ben

 

[boykinlp]

Shotguncoach, you definitely hit the jackpot there! Kind of a “needle in a haystack” kind of situation! I remember a post a few years ago asking if anyone had ever received a letter with someone famous owning the gun. There were very few “yes” answers. Congratulations on your great luck!!
Larry