1st Year S&W .44 Triple Lock - Serial #689; Factory Lettered, on Page 4

[Dan M]

Very Nice, love these old T-locks. I have serial #221 and it shipped in 1910... be prepared for a later date as S&W didnt ship by serial number. I checked some of my notes and several in yours serial # range where 1908 ships. Mine is a shooter and I am restoring it a lttle at a time.

 

[opoefc]

Bob & jsmith, I'll check with the collector and see what background is known about the gun #0172. He said he bought it from a another collector ( not a S&W collector) who didn't know what much about it and thought it was a new Model #3 in 38-44 cal. He bought it for peanuts in relation to what it is worth, if it's really a club gun shipped to D.B.Wesson. As we know, Club guns, or "0" guns were usualy presented to some shooters event or Club for shooting prizes, and an entry of "D.B.Wesson" as recipient ,often just meant that DB presented the gun to the Club. Ed #15

 

[handejector]

Bob & jsmith, I'll check with the collector and see what background is known about the gun #0172. He said he bought it from a another collector ( not a S&W collector) who didn't know what much about it and thought it was a new Model #3 in 38-44 cal. He bought it for peanuts in relation to what it is worth, if it's really a club gun shipped to D.B.Wesson. As we know, Club guns, or "0" guns were usualy presented to some shooters event or Club for shooting prizes, and an entry of "D.B.Wesson" as recipient ,often just meant that DB presented the gun to the Club. Ed #15

Ed,
This gun ran on GunBroker in Dec.
There are pics and the letter shown in the ad-
Rare Smith & Wesson S&W Triple-Lock 38-40 Club Gun : Curios and Relics at GunBroker.com

 

[jsmith]

I was right about that "Club Gun" being up for sale. It had a reserve bid which wasn't disclosed. Just a guess but I'm figuring it was at least $3000, maybe more. It would have been too much money for me be to have bid on.

Just a hunch here but I am wondering whether that 'collector' was the one trying to sell it.

jsmith

 

[Bat Guano]

Nice gun. Make that a very nice gun. I paid "too much" for a 4" TL a few years back and had some restoration work done on it to boot. Not too sensible but I had been looking for a 4" for years, and I didn't have the heart to leave it as disreputable looking as it came to me.

About 30 years ago I got lucky and found a nice 5" Target TL at a bargain price, so it sort of evens out over the long, long haul. As someone once said, 'Sense ain't got nothing to do with it."

 

[Timb1]

Add me to the list that says you did not pay too much. A good way to figure out if you paid to much is ask your self would I take $2500.00 for this fine old TL? I think the answer will be no.

Thanks for the pictures,

Tim.

 

[DWFAN]

That's a beauty. This is my poor excuse for a triple lock. .44 spl target, SN 942.
DW

 

[Dave T]

DWFAN, I don't see that as a "poor excuse" at all. The patina just adds character. That's a nice TL in my eyes...but then the one I have is a re-blue. (smiley face goes here)

Dave

 

[Beaver]

What is the definition of "Club Gun". Thank you, Beaver

 

[jsmith]

Club Guns "0" Serial Numbers

Beaver:

This is quotated directly from the SCSW3...

Club guns are those whose serial numbers begins in zero. They were assembled by S&W for presentations or for gifts. Many went to shooting clubs for prizes in shooting matches, hence the club gun name. It has been speculated that some club guns may have been assembled from remaining parts in inventory some time after a particular gun had been discontinued.

It is believed about 50 club guns were made over the years for the Wesson family, with the serial number of each being the single digit "0". Production of around 700 other club guns has been estimated, and each of these would have a multiple digit serial number beginning with "0"...

The Club Gun that was being talked about in some of the earlier replies on this thread was one that was just up for sale a month ago. They are quite rare and very seldom come onto the market. I have been into guns 15+ years and have never seen one in person.

Here's is a picture of that 'Club Gun" with serial #0172.

jsmith

 

[tftech1]

You have a very nice TL with serial 689. I am not sure about the MOP grips being original, but they are configured correctly for the early TLs (concave knuckles with no medallions). My collection includes TL serial x4 (not a club gun) which has matching checkered walnut grips with the same concave knuckles and no medallions - like the well used but not abused Target TL 942 also shown in this thread.

 

[44wheelman]

jsmith, congrats! Condition is everything, & that gun has got it. I know how difficult it is to find 'em that nice in Ohio (at a realistic price).

 

[jsmith]

I just mailed out the order form and check for the factory letter on 2/13/2010. It will be at least a month or more before I get my letter.

jsmith

 

[jsmith]

Two-Page Factory Letter - 3/12/2010

The letter just arrived in the mail exactly one month after I mailed it out.

To protect my privacy and to discourage any offers on buying my guns, I used a small piece of black paper to cover up my name and address on the letter.

Here is Page 1 of that letter:

Here is Page 2 of that letter:

I was right about the grips being after-market. After-market pearls generally have a thinner profile than ones made at the factory. My next project is to find the correct grips for my gun. The bad thing is vintage N-frame checkered walnut grips with the flat tops are not easy to find! And the cost can easily run into a few hundred dollars.

MORE NEWS!!!

This Triple Lock is about to be joined by another one.

I was just at a gunshow this weekend and a dealer there I know just got in three Triple Lock's (a rare find). Just put a down payment on the nicest one and will be picking it up some time this month or next.

jsmith

 

[Onomea]

For the record, SN 590:

 

[james56]

awesume find good luck with it

 

[dant]

yessir, saw JS gun today and it is MUCH nicer than the pictures show, awesome find, and though the grips may be "aftermarket" they sure were 'pretty'....nice score

 

[jsmith]

yessir, saw JS gun today and it is MUCH nicer than the pictures show, awesome find, and though the grips may be "aftermarket" they sure were 'pretty'....nice score

dant:

I knew my gun would meet your seal of approval when I showed it to you at the show. It's to bad my digital camera has low resolution in taking pictures.

As for the grips, I suspected they were after-market when I bought the gun and the factory letter confirmed it. Now I just have to find the correct set of grips for it. And being an N-frame, a bit costly!

jsmith

 

[bettis1]

jsmith,

I wouldn't spend a lot of time or money looking for the correct wood for that gun if it were mine. When you find it, it will be correct as far as the style goes, but it will no more be the original than the beautiful pearls that are already on it. They were what the user chose to "dress up" his piece and that would be fine with me. Just to let you know that you wouldn't be alone in that decision, here are a couple that I have left as I found them. One is an early 2nd Model nickel with ivory and the other is a first year 1st Model blue with ivory. Both the ivorys are contemporary with the guns.

Bob

 

[Pontiaker]

I might have a factory set of the correct grips, send me an email if your interested and I will dig through the grips I have. If I do have the right ones you can have them for a fair price or we can trade something out.
Matt

My email is [email protected]