My first 2020 purchase
- Thread starter Club Gun Fan
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Please give us uninitiated folk a description of just what beautiful thing we are seeing!
Were these 0 guns made up from left over parts for sort of "give away" to help organizations to raise money perhaps prizes for shooting matches that sort of thing?
Don, I just wonder why no one has named that gun? Should have made it a contest. My guess is 38 Single Action, 3rd Model!!!
BTW, have you ever been able to find ship dates on any of your club guns and, if so, how does one go about doing it?
BTW, have you ever been able to find ship dates on any of your club guns and, if so, how does one go about doing it?
OP
Peak53
It is a 38 Single Action Third Model. As has been discussed on this forum, they are seldom seen even though there were over 28,000 made. I have 4 of this model. One letters as a special order with an extra .22 Single shot barrel. It is in the normal serial number. This one and the one in this picture have a 0 for a serial number. The third one is a Club Gun.
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OP
Randy.
Some Zero Numbered and Club Guns were in fact made up from condemned parts. No records have ever been found for Zero Numbered guns. That's why I don't consider them "CLUB GUNS". From what is known, about 50 were made up for the Wesson family as gifts. We do have records on CLUB GUNS.
Although, for some reason, some don't letter. The practice started in 1899 and ended in the early 1970's.
OP
Don, I just wonder why no one has named that gun? Should have made it a contest. My guess is 38 Single Action, 3rd Model!!!
BTW, have you ever been able to find ship dates on any of your club guns and, if so, how does one go about doing it?
Gary
You WIN!!! What you won, I have no idea.
To answer your question, it depends what the serial number is.
Don
OP
Murph. No need to X-ray. We know they are all legitimate. Like I said before, there are at least 50 0 numbered guns. I have a First Model 32 Safety Hammerless with 00000 for a serial number. All of my 0 numbered guns and most of my Club Guns have parts from other guns that the Service Department used when assembling them. This K22 serial number K0482 was made up as a gift for a friend of Smith & Wesson. The work order reads in part "K-22 Mast. To be put up from new parts for friend of company per H. O. Austin via Sanborn. Bright Blue finish with a pair of special stocks made up by Al Gagne. To be given as a Christmas present". That work order is from Dec 1953
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opoefc
US Veteran
Don, You say " No records have ever been found for Zero numbered guns." What are you basing this on ? ( I just looked in my S&W files and found a folder that says " Zero guns" and has a list of guns with zero numbers, etc.) This is a separate list from the Club gun list. I think I may have gotten this list from Ray Cheely many years ago and I believe he said it came from Hellstrom's files. There's also a 2015 email from a very knowledgable S&W collector sending me the transcript of a conversation with Roy Jinks about 5 yrs ago, which in part, said " I'm locking down the zero info" and that Don Mundell had been working on a Zero book project. Seven yrs. ago there was a link in this Forum to "Zero Info." but the info. was removed by 2015. I have a download of that Zero file somewhere and my Zero gun list probably came from that download. I'm assuming you have the same list that Cheely had. Ed.
OP
Ed
There are no records of the fifty or so Zero numbered gun. We have records for the guns with the serial numbers that start with 0. Examples like 05, 088. 0146 and so on. The other list your referring to that I transcribed was the list Charlie Call had in the Service Department.
There are no records of the fifty or so Zero numbered gun. We have records for the guns with the serial numbers that start with 0. Examples like 05, 088. 0146 and so on. The other list your referring to that I transcribed was the list Charlie Call had in the Service Department.
Boulder350
Member
Cool guns Don. Sounds like you have over 10% of the production and way more than that of the surviving examples.
Does anyone else have zero numbered guns? Did they make any any model 3 zero numbered guns?
Does anyone else have zero numbered guns? Did they make any any model 3 zero numbered guns?
OP
Yes, there are a few members here on the forum that have a few. I have a friend that has a dozen or more Zero guns. I know of a Schofield and I was offered this one pictured here two years ago, but the dealer wanted what I thought was way too much, so I passed.
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cadmike
Member
I've been a member of this forum for quite some time, but apparently I have not been paying attention.
Sooo....what's a club gun?
Sooo....what's a club gun?
OP
Club guns started in 1899 and continued into the 1970's when the practice was stopped..
Some were made as prizes for Gun Clubs, for friends of the company and as gifts. They were put up by the Service Department at Smith & Wesson. Most were made from used parts that had been taken off of returned guns. These parts were labeled "Condemned", but were not considered scrap.
They were made up from all models.
Don
opoefc
US Veteran
Don, Are you still working on the Zero book project ? Ed.
OP
Ed.
No everything was turned back over to Roy.
No everything was turned back over to Roy.
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