My newest Club Guns is a Triple Lock

[Club Gun Fan]

This has been a good week for me, but not my wallet. I managed to pick up three Club Guns. Two are .22 Single Shots and this .44 HE First Model. I got this Triple Lock and one of the Single Shots in a recently completed auction.
This is my second Triple Lock Club Gun I own. This is serial number 0444.

 

[rct269]

You almost always get just one chance at a good gun------and your wallet will recover.

Good on you!!

Ralph Tremaine

 

[handejector]

Good for you.
What does the inscription say? I can't read it.
Tell us about those grips!

 

[AJ]

Good for you.
What does the inscription say? I can't read it.
Tell us about those grips!

Looks to me like :

Joseph E. Rhodes
Jan. 12, 1921

 

[altbrewer]

So you are the one who outbid me. ;-)

 

[mrcvs]

I saw this one, but didn’t bid on it. So, count me out in case it got bid up rapidly.

It’s a nice revolver and one I would be proud to own! Congratulations!

I generally only look at RIA offerings these days. First, there are some very special Smith & Wesson revolvers coming up for sale soon, and I’m holding out for them. And, in years of trying to place a successful bid at RIA, I have realized I am never successful and all I do is drive up the bid for someone else to have to pay more.

But, it’s a really nice revolver. As is the Single Shot Perfected Club Gun you bought off the forum the other day. Excellent purchase!

So, where did you get the third Club Gun you just acquired, also being a Single Shot Perfected Third Model?

 

[StrawHat]

What is a “Club Gun”?

Kevin

 

[AJ]

What is a “Club Gun”?

Kevin

Kevin,

I had the same thoughts.

AJ

 

[Club Gun Fan]

I also got the .22 Single Shot First Model Club Gun in RIA. It is serial number 012.
Lee, AJ is correct it reads
Joseph E. Rhodes
Jan. 12, 1921 Now here is the problem. This Club Gun won't letter. There are four other Club Guns with the same number. The only one listed in my Club Gun file is a .22/32 Kit Gun that shipped in 1947. There is a .38 M&P Model of 1905 Fourth Change. A .32/20 along with a 38 HE. None of these are listed anywhere I can find. They are from my database I keep on Club Guns.

 

[mrcvs]

Even if it won’t letter, I think it’s obvious that it’s a Club Gun. I think the inscription suggests this gun was a presentation of sorts, further leading to the credibility that it is a Club Gun.

 

[AJ]

What is a “Club Gun”?

Kevin

Kevin,

I had the same thoughts.

AJ

Even if it won’t letter, I think it’s obvious that it’s a Club Gun. I think the inscription suggests this gun was a presentation of sorts, further leading to the credibility that it is a Club Gun.

So as Kevin & I asked, What is a club gun?

 

[handejector]

Club Guns-
They are promo or PR guns given away by the Factory. They were often given away through or to gun clubs, hence the name.
The serial numbers start with a zero. Some are known to have only a zero for the serial number. I think 0 + three digits are as large as the numbers get. Obviously, some numbers were duplicated. Laws and records were somewhat looser back then.

 

[handejector]

Don, I'm still curious about those grips...........

 

[mrcvs]

Don, I'm still curious about those grips...........

If I had to “guess”, I would suspect they are not factory, but applied at the time of presentation in 1921. If they are factory, I would guess they were applied in 1921 or slightly before, and this revolver shipped then as a presentation piece. The last large shipment of Triple Lock revolvers was probably on 01 January 1918, but special orders, such as this one, shipped well into the 1930’s.

 

[mrcvs]

Interestingly enough, there is no S & W logo on this revolver. I was looking to see if it had the earlier type of logo, or the more common later type. Which really doesn’t mean anything, anyways.

Now that I have brought this up, I think this is still a very nice revolver and as it was in the Dr Gerald Klaz collection, it means it’s definitely a fine revolver! Everything offered for sale from this collection seems to be very desirable!

 

[Club Gun Fan]

Lee
I'll get better pictures once I get the revolver in hand.
The last Club Gun shipped sometime in the late 1970's. I have Wally Beinfield's Model 39 Club Gun, it's serial number 000009, shipped April 1, 1975. I've included a zero number "Gift Gun". I was surprised by the letter I got back from Dr. Jinks on my Tool Room Model 41. It was used for a number of years in the Experimental Department until finally being given to an employee as a "Club Gun. My records don't show any Club Guns going to a club until January 10, 1920. 0314, 0315, 0316 and 0318 (which I own) all shipped to the S&W Revolver Club.

 

[mikepriwer]

Lee

There are some 0-serial numbers that contain 6 other digits, Ie, 0386294 (just made this up) would have been a revolver with sn 386294, to which a zero was added, by the factory, as a prefix to the original number. I became aware of this when one of our daughters was living and working in Hong Kong. She met another American lady (whose mother was Spike Jone's daughter) working at the same company, and they became friends. This lady (both were about 23 or so) was/is the grand-daughter of Spike Jones, the wacky bandleader who used to appear on the Ed Sullivan Show. Spike was 'famous' for firing blanks in his K-22's as part of the music. He got the K-22's by driving up to the factory, firing his K-22, and picking up one or more of them. They were 0 guns, with 6 digit serial numbers prefixed by 0, and are listed somewhere in the 0 records. I have a letter for one of them.

Don

The zero records are not just one book, but several documents. I ran into this duplicate issue when lettering one of Congressman Cecil Kings 0-guns. What was in the primary source was a totally different gun. Roy found some other documents that listed these other 0-guns, and in there was the gun I own.

Regards, Mike

 

[Club Gun Fan]

Mike, Your correct I have 4 with six digits. 0500882, 0319504 both .38 M&Ps. and a Model 39 000009 among others.

 

[mikepriwer]

Don

Curious thing about 0447 is that, according to factory records I have, a 0447 was shipped on Jan 5 1948. The 10 zero guns in the range of 0441 to 0450 were all shipped in 1948. This 0447 was a .38 M&P apparently shipped to Chas. Gove per Sales Dept.

It's certainly not clear to me how one of the 0447 guns could have anything to do with a 1921 time period. It's also not clear how the factory was shipping a triple-lock in the 1948 period.

Regards, Mike

 

[Club Gun Fan]

Triple Locks were plentiful in 1921. My WAG is 0444 was made up for Rhodes and never recorded. I know of two SWCA members that also have a 0444. One is a .38 M&P the other is a .32/20. They both fall in the 1946-7 time frame. Who knows, maybe the inscription was applied later. It could be his birthdate? Who know what the Service Department did. Look when one of the last Schofields left Smith & Wesson, 05969 July 2, 1951. In September of '51 a First Model .38 ND 4" Nickle with pearl stocks was put in the office showcase.