Capt. Van Zandt's Registered Magnum #1158

[quinn]

The well used RM and it's infamous ower were the subject of my 2025 SWCA Symposium display in Corcord, NC, in June. This revolver may deserve two distinctions: possibly the only one D B Wesson ever agreed to sell on post dated check, and secondly, possibly the only one to participated in the sinking of a Jap spy sub in WWII.

Prior to purchasing #1158, Rufus Clark Van Zandt had served with Gen. Pershing's Expedition to rid the southwest of Pancho Villa. When this group was disbanded, Van Zandt (along with Frank Baughman) was sent to France. At the end of the war Van Zandt served with the Texas Rangers (tail end of the "gunslinger" era, then with the Treasury Department's "Prohibition" agents. When he was fired(?) from Treasury, he turned booklegger and opened a "speakeasy" in Pecos, Texas.

At the end of prohibition Van Zandt embarked on a lengthy career as a big game hunting and off shore fishing guide. It was during this time he wrote Maj. D B Wesson offering photos of big game taken if he could buy the RM on a post dated check. Van Zandt did receive national recognition in this area, particularly from mountain lion hunting and roping.

As the Japanese and German perisls began to unfold, Navy Intelligence (OSS) asked Van Zandt to "hunt" in Baja California, Mexico, watching for any Jap or German ships lurking south of San Diego. Van Zandt had a group of Yaqui Indians that served as his trackers and guides. When a Jap sub was spotted in a bay refueling, Van Zandt and his indians reportedly attacked, killing a number of Japanese soldiers and sinking both the tender and the sub.

In the late 1950's Van Zandt returned to law enforcement. He served as a deputy sherif with Fannin county, Texas, until his late 70's.

Registered Magnum 1158 was shortened from the original 7-3/4" length and refinished possibly during his OSS years.



This is a ca 1930s photo of Tyrone, New Mexico. Outside this town is wher Gen Pershing camped during the Pancho Villa expedition and two decades later would serve as Van Zandt's big game hunting base of operations. and where this RM was shipped.

The SWCA Symposiums are a lot of fun and worth considering as your next vaction especially if you havent attended one before.

 

[quinn]

Letter from Capt. Rufus Vanzandt to DB Wesson.

 

[SAFireman]

.....And now we have an answer to the question: What caliber for Jap Subs?

 

[dobegrant]

Love threads like this one with a lot of the history of gun being known and documented, thanks for sharing, really nice looking display.

 

[quinn]

A little more Van Zandt history.



The 1930 US census show Van Zandt operating a "speak easy" in Pecos, Texas, shown above.


When I first read articles about Van Zandt roping mountain lines, I assumed this was a "tall tale". However, later I rand across an article listing him as showing films of his mountain lion roping at a USO show for troops in 1943.

Van Zandt appears to have had long ties to the native American (or Mexican) population, sometimes holding himself out as an Indian trader. His raid on the Jap submarine in 1940, was conducted with Yaqui Indian trackers and guides he used for hunting.
In the mid to late 1950s, he started a group to develope a hunting and fishing resort at Port Isabel, along the Texas gulf coast.



This article is typical of a number he used to promote the huntin guide business for which he convinced DB Wesson to sell him Rm 1158 on a post dated check.