Could this model 18 be the work of Travis Strahan?

[Nonno]

I was fortunate to acquire this customized 1958 S&W Model 18. A previous owner said that the work was done by Travis Strahan, but there is no documentation, and no sign or mark it. Is there any way to confirm whether or not it is his work? It has a heavy bull barrel, about 1-1/16" diameter, and the inside of the trigger guard is cut for a flat surface for the trigger over-travel screw. A Weaver rail is mounted on top. It doesn't have the coil mainspring that Strahan often did. It's set up for double action only, and while the trigger pull is past my gauge (i.e. over 8 lbs) it is incredibly smooth.
(if any other photos will help, I'll be glad to add them).

 

[clang444]

By the gun, not the story (unless there is valid documentation).

Wanna by Pancho Villa's gun?

 

[Nonno]

By the gun, not the story (unless there is valid documentation).

Wanna by Pancho Villa's gun?

Absolutely. I got it for a very nice price for a decent model 18, (below what they usually go for these days) with the added enjoyment of the target barrel and trigger thrown in. If it happens to be a Strahan, that is just lots of icing on what is already a really nice cake.

 

[sodacan]

IMO, a buyer has to have real desire for a gun modified to that extent. The gun is no longer a model 18, just an amalgamation of parts. A bullseye shooter may want it, but to me it's worth less (not worthless) than say my 1953 K-22 CM.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

I want Ted Williams' Gun.
No! Not a Sears Shotgun!
I want this Revolver he carried in the Marines.

 

[50 target]

Travis Strahan

If that was meant for a PPC style gun I believe he favored an Aristocrat rib. If for some other discipline requiring scope. Re dot or such I would have thought he would have used an upgrade from Weaver.
He did some custom work for me back in the 70's. Impeccable work. Not sure there is enough in your narrative to say definitively that he did the work.
Bob

 

[Sevens]

I have two Strahan PPC guns and I'm a genuine fan of the man and his exquisite work. There is one part that absolutely looks like Strahan's work and that is the overtravel stop mounted to the rear of that shaped trigger and the flattened part of the frame where that stud lands to prevent overtravel.

Then there are two parts that do not jive with what I see on Strahan guns -- as mentioned above, this does not have the coil mainspring conversion and it does not have a shaped hammer with the spur removed. Now both of those could be because a rimfire is well known for ignition issues when you lighten the hammer energy, so that's possibly an explanation for what we see.

Then there are two key Strahan bits that are not shown in the pictures... a ball detente lockup on the yoke and very aggressive stippling done on the back strap of the frame. You could tell us if those are present.

Strahan often but not always signed the gun on the right side all the way at the muzzle. Yours does not show this, but only one of the two I own have it.

As for the Aristocrat rib... it's possible that Travis Strahan used them, however Strahan created and marketed the Mascot rib and used them heavily, I believe they were quite popular before the debut of the Aristocrat rib.

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

IMO, a buyer has to have real desire for a gun modified to that extent. The gun is no longer a model 18, just an amalgamation of parts. A bullseye shooter may want it, but to me it's worth less (not worthless) than say my 1953 K-22 CM.

Same here.

 

[Nonno]

Then there are two key Strahan bits that are not shown in the pictures... a ball detente lockup on the yoke and very aggressive stippling done on the back strap of the frame. You could tell us if those are present.

Please check these two photos. Is that the correct backstrap stippling? Also, there is a detent ball on the yoke and a corresponding dimple that it locks into, which is not present on my 17-2.
(edit to add: found some pix online, looks like that could be factory stippling?)

 

[ZGrand]

Is that barrel solid steel? That must be one heavy handgun!

 

[Nonno]

Is that barrel solid steel? That must be one heavy handgun!

3 lb 7.5 oz
But the balance is quite comfortable.
For comparison, my 17-2 weighs 2 lb 11 oz.

 

[Nonno]

Here's the top rail. I guess if someone wanted to run a scope, they'd want a rail and not Strahan's Mascot sight or other iron sights. Did PCC competition allow for scopes?
Do the screw holes seem to align with those used for a Mascot? If so, perhaps someone also could have removed that and added the Weaver rail in its place.

 

[Protocall_Design]

That is not stippling on the backstrap. That is normal factory grooves. Someone could have changed the rib for a scope base at a later time.
Originally, PPC was all iron sights. They may have a scope or red dot division now, I don't know.

 

[Sevens]

Is that barrel solid steel?

Not quite solid steel... there is a hole in the middle of it!

 

[Nonno]

Originally, PPC was all iron sights. They may have a scope or red dot division now, I don't know.

Originally did PPC include rimfire, or was it just for service pistols? (i.e. .38 special)

 

[Protocall_Design]

There wasn't a rimfire that I knew of, but some guys had rimfire PPC guns built to use for cheap practice. This may be one of those.

 

[Nonno]

Then it would make sense, if the features from the gunsmith could be a la cart, to not pay for all of them for a practice gun, and just pick the ones which are really needed.

 

[MygunisaS&Wrevolver]

Why would you add a threaded over-travel stop on the rear of the trigger, when there is a factory overtravel stop already installed in the frame? It makes you wonder if some of this redundant work was to just add to the paycheck.

 

[Protocall_Design]

The factory overtravel stops never worked that well, and were very difficult to fine tune. The threaded one in the trigger is easy to get just right by simply turning the screw. That is important on a match gun. You want a practice gun to be as similar to the match gun as possible.

 

[MygunisaS&Wrevolver]

O.K., I get that threaded over-travel screw, making the mod 18 as similar to a mod 10 or 14 which the actual PPC gun is. .22s are definitely cheaper than .38 wad cutters for practice. Thanks for info....