and he said " I built that gun" Roy Jinks

[jmace57]

13 MONTHS! Are You sure You heard him correctly?

Actually 18 WEEKS is the latest I saw posted by Roy.

 

[05CarbonDRZ]

Actually 18 WEEKS is the latest I saw posted by Roy.

That sounds about right,But not 13 Months.

 

[SuperMan]

That is a great history...

Did you pull the grips to see what the markings are??

The pics are not too big or too clear, but are the hammer and trigger nickel...if they are I am betting it was nickeled after leaving the factory...what about the ejector star...blue or nickel...

Bob

 

[alaskavett]

That is cool! So, now the real question is..... How many of us will admit to pulling all our Smith's from the safe and looking for those initials this weekend? Yes, I bet it will be a few of us. Looking to hear of other finds like this. Kyle

 

[M3Stuart]

So, years ago, Roy is sitting there at his desk. Boss walks in; whut 'r ya doin' there young man? No letters to reply to? Will thin GIT TA WERK! Go bild sum dern guns ya lazy #$%!

Or something like that.

 

[rjb1]

What follows is not as good as having an S&W with Roy Jinks' initials in it, but it's likely as close as I'll come to a revolver involving him:

Years ago there was a big gun-related event held here at the Opryland Hotel in Nashville. I went to it and Roy J was there representing S&W.
In the course of conversation with him at the S&W booth, I mentioned an old S&W that I had seen at a pawn shop the day before. Model of 1902 round butt, 90%+ condition, long barrel, original grips, and a price that was fairly low for the time period.
Perhaps he was just being polite, but he said something to the effect that, "If I were you I think I'd go get that one."
So I took off work Monday and bought it.

I always think of that one as the only S&W I have that was "personally recommended" by Roy Jinks.

(I know it's stretching things, but it's a nice revolver and I'm glad I have it. The related RJ story is just a little "extra"...)

 

[chaparrito]

I'm curious. How old is Roy Jinks and is he mentoring a protege? His contribution to SW seems almost irreplaceable. I've looked for a detailed bio on him but haven't found one. Was he a smith/builder first, later becoming historian or how did his career develop?

 

[opoefc]

chaparrito, Buy yourself a copy of "History of Smith & Wesson" by Roy. G. Jinks. Get one with the original dust cover and there is a nice bio in the inside flaps of the dust cover. Back in the 1970s, Roy showed me a stainless steel Model 17 that he said he had specially built for his son. That was before S&W came out with stainless revolvers. I don't recall now if it had the "R.J." stamp, or not. Roy had a background in metallurgy before he went to work for S&W. Ed.

 

[SuperMan]

opo...you may be a little off on your dates...the Model 60 was the first stainless steel gun made and that was 1965...

Bob

 

[phonejack]

I remember a long time ago in High Power and Long Range competition the match winner was often described by the gunsmith who made the rifle, not by the shooters name. Therefore, when someone asks what cha shoot in' '. ?
You can say "my Roy Jinks" gun

 

[Muley Gil]

opo...you may be a little off on your dates...the Model 60 was the first stainless steel gun made and that was 1965...

Bob

Ed didn't say when Roy built that stainless M17 for his son. It could have been pre 1965, for all we know.

I'm sure S&W built prototypes before introducing the M60 as the first production stainless revolver.