Chopper1388
Member
I stumbled upon this gun while out looking for black powder supplies for a Cimarron Walker that a buddy had given me. I've been looking for a Wolf & Klar model ever since I had been corrupted by a fellow forum member when he let me shoot his back in 2016. All the ones I found online were more than I wanted to spend, and all the ones I found in person were in poor condition AND more than I wanted to spend. I don't know if I'd call it a grail gun of mine but it was high on my short list. I saw the big, shiny Smith about 20 paces away and made a beeline to it. Good thing I was one of the only people in the store or I might have knocked someone over. I immediately thought it had a refinish because all the nickel ones I've seen have been refinished, but I asked to look at it anyways. As I inspected it, I noticed neither the hammer nor the trigger were plated (a big plus), and even the ejector star was blued as it should be.
I asked the guys working what was the story on it, and they said it did have some provenance. Supposedly owned by a Waco, TX motorcycle officer that died while on duty in 1940. They said it was written on the back of the stock panel and they had found a story about the incident on the internet. They were kind enough to take the stocks off and show me. Written in pencil it says: "Formally owned by Holly Ray Anderson Waco Police motorcycle officer Killed Oct. 8, 1940 Traffic accident on duty" I know the rule is to buy the gun and not the story, but the price was good even with the story. For $1250 the big, shiny 44 came home with me. My "free" Walker ended up costing me more than I had planned, but I was able to get all the necessary items to shoot the Walker and had a "new" Smith to try out that weekend.
When I got home, I took the Wolf & Klar apart and found all the serial numbers matched, 34618, except for the stocks. They number 34168, maybe just a mis-stamp as they fit the gun very well. There is no "N" stamped in the ejector shroud, but it is stamped "N" on the right side of the grip frame. I did not see any date stamps on the left side of the grip frame nor any diamonds or stars on the gun. Hopefully the finish is original; I've already sent off for a letter.
I asked the guys working what was the story on it, and they said it did have some provenance. Supposedly owned by a Waco, TX motorcycle officer that died while on duty in 1940. They said it was written on the back of the stock panel and they had found a story about the incident on the internet. They were kind enough to take the stocks off and show me. Written in pencil it says: "Formally owned by Holly Ray Anderson Waco Police motorcycle officer Killed Oct. 8, 1940 Traffic accident on duty" I know the rule is to buy the gun and not the story, but the price was good even with the story. For $1250 the big, shiny 44 came home with me. My "free" Walker ended up costing me more than I had planned, but I was able to get all the necessary items to shoot the Walker and had a "new" Smith to try out that weekend.
When I got home, I took the Wolf & Klar apart and found all the serial numbers matched, 34618, except for the stocks. They number 34168, maybe just a mis-stamp as they fit the gun very well. There is no "N" stamped in the ejector shroud, but it is stamped "N" on the right side of the grip frame. I did not see any date stamps on the left side of the grip frame nor any diamonds or stars on the gun. Hopefully the finish is original; I've already sent off for a letter.
