45 CAL. MODEL 1950 from 1952

[Allen-frame]

February 28th. in a show so small you could toot on one end and smell it on the other.
About 70 tables , it took me 20 minutes to walk the whole thing.

But there it was.
An old gunsmith dragged a few pieces to the show and placed them in a
dirty old glass case.

A post war model 1950 Military.
Big target grips. Mechanically excellent.
I made the deal and took it home. Detail stripped it and cleaned it
within an inch of its life.
It looks MUCH better now.

One note; the chamber throats are .455 using my pin gage.
This will shoot best with jacketed 230 grain ball ammo.

The grips in the pictures are off my 1950 Target.
I need to find a pair of age appropriate Magnas.

Shipped April 1952. 63 years old and no more worse for the wear.

Friends, it pays to go to small shows and look in EVERY case.





































Good luck at all YOUR small shows.

Allen Frame

 

[paul s]

Sweet! Never know what waits in any show, thats whats keeps us a comin!

 

[quinn]

Those pre 22's are like teeth in roosters. Great find! IIRC there were only about 1200 of them made. Someone more knowledgeable can probably correct me. Enjoy.

 

[05CarbonDRZ]

I think there where about 3,976 of them made as per the SCSW.The 1,200 is the Pre Model 21 Model of 1950 Army in .44spl.

 

[ayetee]

Found a Model 1950 Target 45

I got something similar through out-of-state Armslist last week. I usually won't take risks like that but it was for a 1950 Target 45 acp (pre-26), with a 5" barrel (no, it was not factory 5") so I took a chance and I like what I got, a lot. The original Patridge front sight has been changed to a red ramp so it has no collector value but it makes a great shooter.

It came with original grips with matching number and the lockup is tight. I'll take it to the range in the next couple of days. I'm thinking about changing the grip to a round butt profile to fit my hand better if it shoot well.

 

[tennexplorer]

I have one that was shipped in March 1952. It has big throats also, but several of the commercial casters make the "cowboy" bullets in .454. Mine likes those very well.

 

[H Richard]

I tried the .454 cast bullets in my 25-2 with .455 throats, and shot only fair, but got leading just past the barrel throat. I've been using the Powder Coated 255 gr. TC bullets from Bayou bullets recently and they shoot equal to or better than jacketed. The TC nose slides in the chambers easily with the moonclips.

 

[ddixie884]

My chopped '5in' and reblued 1950 with the really tall front sight will pass .452 but not .454 thru the chambers. I am really happy with it. Thanks Mr Fugate, bought it on gun broker. I don't think I got a bargain, but the price was set on the open market. I've had it 3 or 4years and bet I could make a profit, but then what would I shoot. It's a hoot and I wish congrats to the OP on an unusual find, also a congrats to Ayetee on a great shooter...........

 

[ayetee]

Went out and shot the new M-1950 along side my M-1955. It shoots the 230 gr. hardball the best as expected and at 5-1/2 ounces lighter, handles much better than the M-1955 with the longer and heavier barrel. Like ddxie, I didn't get a bargain. But then, you can't get much nowadays for what I paid.

 

[Retired W4]

It's good to read a positive range report from a 1950. I do not own a 1955 but my light barrel pre model shoots great as far as I can tell, with factory ammo.

 

[Joe Kent]

Truly a great find! You did good and I agree, you never know when you will find a treasure.

 

[Texas Star]

I had a M-1950 Target in the usual 6.5-inch bbl. and shot it with factory Auto Rim ammo. Results were dismal and I didn't want to fool with half-moon clips, so sold it. That was in the 1970's and I didn't foresee the investment potential.

Apparently, S&W was pretty careless with chamber throats. Ruger has had some big boo-boo's along those lines, too, in .44-40 and in .45 Colt.

How do your guns shoot with factory hardball and JHP? Do you feel they're safe with Plus P ammo? I wouldn't shoot it in a M-1917, but the M-1950, maybe.

I've sort of decided that the .44 Magnum is a better deal if I have to lug a big N-frame, and they seem to have taken greater pains to get bore and throat dimensions more as they should be in the .41 and .44 Magnums. But it's hard to find moderate loads from factories, and I don't want to run them full-out unless it's warranted.

 

[iskra]

Quite a handsome gun Allen. Looks like a great find!

Love the Smith "N" series! A not best quality coupe of file pix of my 1950 45 HD, SN 861xx, presumably of early 1952 production. It wears target hammer & trigger. Not a fan of grips as these on an HE model, but they at least seem somewhat more compatible with the '2T' configuration.
Considering these 1950 45 HE genre allegedly aren't as rare as the 1950 44 HE series, I've seen considerably more of the latter. I hadn't noted any of these 45 iterations 'in the flesh' for years prior nor any since my purchase. Mine not as nice as yours, but happily acquired at a working gun price.

Congrats again on an enviable find!

 

[Muley Gil]

Quite a handsome gun Allen. Looks like a great find!

Love the Smith "N" series! A not best quality coupe of file pix of my 1950 45 HD, SN 861xx, presumably of early 1952 production. It wears target hammer & trigger. Not a fan of grips as these on an HE model, but they at least seem somewhat more compatible with the '2T' configuration.
Considering these 1950 45 HE genre allegedly aren't as rare as the 1950 44 HE series, I've seen considerably more of the latter. I hadn't noted any of these 45 iterations 'in the flesh' for years prior nor any since my purchase. Mine not as nice as yours, but happily acquired at a working gun price.

Congrats again on an enviable find!

I'd give $150 fer that one too!