This gun was a project in my father's desk.
Dad owned a gun store in Dallas, Texas. He died in 1992 and the store closed a couple of years later. I wound up with a few boxes of left overs after the going out of business sale. I let the stuff sit for 25 years. My wife wanted me to get my office cleaned up so finally took a look.
Found the barrel and frame with a few parts installed in one of the boxes. In another box I found a zip-lock bag with most of the other parts. Had to buy a few. Y'all were very helpful. Just from the pictures I took I got a list of the parts I needed and where to get them. A lot of knowledge here.
The trigger guard was bent to the point you could not pull the trigger. The frame was bent so that the barrel pointed up at a bit of an angle. Prevented the cylinder from properly closing. Had also been refinished and not a great job.
My local gunsmith wanted quite a bit to get it going. A forum member from Oklahoma said if I would send it to him he would repair it at no charge. Much appreciated.
After all was completed I asked the group if I should get a letter. The general consensus was no. Said the gun was not in great condition and probably all I would find out was what hardware store it shipped to. Our Historian Don Mundell kindly gave me a hint that the gun had been shipped to an individual. Ordered the letter. The gun did not have a butt swivel and had been plugged with a domed plug. Asked the group if they thought this was done at the factory. Again the general consensus was no.
.44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model, caliber .44 S&W Special with butt serial number 26184 shipped June 3, 1926 and was delivered to Frank Gamblin, Deputy Sheriff Potter County, Texas. Shipped with 5-inch barrel, blue finish, fixed sights and checkered walnut non-medallion square butt grips. On the invoice it says "Do not have rings in butts", so I think the domed plug was probably done at the factory.
All numbers match except the grips. The assembly numbers match. It is a good shooter. 100 years old this month. Not very pretty, but I like it because it belonged to my dad and has LEO history.
Some photos.
Dad owned a gun store in Dallas, Texas. He died in 1992 and the store closed a couple of years later. I wound up with a few boxes of left overs after the going out of business sale. I let the stuff sit for 25 years. My wife wanted me to get my office cleaned up so finally took a look.
Found the barrel and frame with a few parts installed in one of the boxes. In another box I found a zip-lock bag with most of the other parts. Had to buy a few. Y'all were very helpful. Just from the pictures I took I got a list of the parts I needed and where to get them. A lot of knowledge here.
The trigger guard was bent to the point you could not pull the trigger. The frame was bent so that the barrel pointed up at a bit of an angle. Prevented the cylinder from properly closing. Had also been refinished and not a great job.
My local gunsmith wanted quite a bit to get it going. A forum member from Oklahoma said if I would send it to him he would repair it at no charge. Much appreciated.
After all was completed I asked the group if I should get a letter. The general consensus was no. Said the gun was not in great condition and probably all I would find out was what hardware store it shipped to. Our Historian Don Mundell kindly gave me a hint that the gun had been shipped to an individual. Ordered the letter. The gun did not have a butt swivel and had been plugged with a domed plug. Asked the group if they thought this was done at the factory. Again the general consensus was no.
.44 Hand Ejector 2nd Model, caliber .44 S&W Special with butt serial number 26184 shipped June 3, 1926 and was delivered to Frank Gamblin, Deputy Sheriff Potter County, Texas. Shipped with 5-inch barrel, blue finish, fixed sights and checkered walnut non-medallion square butt grips. On the invoice it says "Do not have rings in butts", so I think the domed plug was probably done at the factory.
All numbers match except the grips. The assembly numbers match. It is a good shooter. 100 years old this month. Not very pretty, but I like it because it belonged to my dad and has LEO history.
Some photos.
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...Ben
