Not Sure About This .357 Magnum?

[Tom K]

Should this vintage .357 (pre-27) have a checkered rear sight? The rear sight on this .357 appears to not be checkered. I have read that the pre-war .357 did not have a checkered rear sight. If so, this particular specimen likely has a pre-war rear sight that hid in the parts bin for a few years. Just wondering about the rear sight - and my eyesight.

Considering the condition of the rest of the gun I find it unlikely that the rear sight is not checkered. It's just that from the angle that we are viewing it, we can only see the grooves that run along the length of the sight. The topstrap of the frame and barrel also only look grooved from this angle, to me. I'd guess it's righteous.

 

[policerevolvercollector]

Enough talking .... buy it NOW!!! ( or I'm going to hack the GPS on your phone and find out where it is!!)

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Got that right!
This gun is super desirable, near new condition , box and all.
A gun re-seller - speculator - gunshow guy will buy this one at this price.
Been going into gun stores, pawnshops, etc for over 50 years.
Don't recall ever seeing one of these in this condition.

 

[bruce5781]

Op, are there any markings on the bottom of the box? That would have been the serial number.

I wonder if that could be the correct box? Can't imagine the factory sending out a gun in a too big box. But we all know to never say never with this company

Pretty common practice at S&W. Here's mine with box numbered to gun. Plenty of room for that wooden block. Also have a 4" Combat Masterpiece with numbered 6" box, they just pasted a tag over the end calling it 4".

Regards,
Bruce

 

[codenamedave]

Surveilance video caught AZBonecrusher on his way to the shop, meeting JSR III:

Op, are there any markings on the bottom of the box? That would have been the serial number.

I wonder if that could be the correct box? Can't imagine the factory sending out a gun in a too big box. But we all know to never say never with this company

Hence the wood block. Kinda like finding the factory chalk marks on your muscle car.

 

[AZBonecrusher]

More Photos!

Well, the .357 Magnum Revolver (see photos)is now secured in my name and will hopefully be in my collection next month.

I really want to thank everyone for their comments, expertise and advice.

Lord willing, this will be my first Smith and Wesson Revolver and hopefully not my last.

God Bless America!

 

[Hoosier45]

Congrats! Finally the waiting is over...haha. I haven't seen that much build up for a gun purchase in awhile lol.

 

[bruce5781]

Congratulations ! You started off with a bang.

Regards,
Bruce

 

[Engine49guy]

Nice find
(hook is set with sound of reel playing out in background zzzzzzzzzzzzzzeee)

Interestingly all of the S 155 serial range guns seem to be .38/44 Heavy Duty's (Pre-M20's) with a sprinkling of .44 Magnums.

My closest two serials are .44 Magnums just above and just below your serial and both shipped in 1957.

 

[mojave30cal]

Congrats! Enjoy it. Collecting Smith & Wesson revolvers is
a sickness. It's all down hill from here.

 

[lonegunman762x51]

Remind yourself to never tell these guys the name of the shop that has your gun. That gun would have left with me at first sight, pre-27's are my favorite. I have my Dad's and a few others in my collection.

Several years ago, my favorite shop had a 6.5" gun and while I was filling out paperwork he went in the back and got a 3.5" gun to show me, two pre-27's in one purchase. Score.

 

[Frank46]

Beautiful revolver. now the waiting begins. By the way, that short video of the cat being run over by another cat is priceless. Love the expression on his or her face. What happened???. Frank

 

[JSR III]

Congrats! Finally the waiting is over...haha. I haven't seen that much build up for a gun purchase in awhile lol.

You guys love gun porn so much, that was just foreplay.....

Congratulations on your first S&W. Based on the prices of the 9MM Shields in the case below, I would say you did very well. Another example that many in the world believe that the black plastic guns are more precious than the older revolvers.

When will they ever learn.......

 

[Dillyp]

Congratulations on Procuring your first S&W revolver. It is a dandy.

Also, congratulations on winning this years "We all hate you" award, for procuring such a fine firearm before I could

 

[M29since14]

Lucky you! Congratulations!

The downside is... you are going to have a heck of a time improving on that purchase as your collection/accumulation progresses.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

That's exactly what I was thinking!
When you start at the top, there's not much up available.
And the up that is available is going to cost more than $1,000.
A lot more.
On the other hand-
Plenty of down to go round!

 

[Shark Bait]

That's one heck of a way to start out in the world of Smith & Wesson! Well done.

I scored this one locally a while back for $626.

 

[codenamedave]

^ Dang that was a steal!

Beautiful revolver. now the waiting begins. By the way, that short video of the cat being run over by another cat is priceless. Love the expression on his or her face. What happened???. Frank

It's a gif I found somewhere running around the webs. If you look at the right edge where the running cat starts, you'll see it was lying down when it saw the other one and charged. I think it was just being a cat!

 

[schutz5]

Good things come around to good people. Congratulations !

 

[AZBonecrusher]

Finally Home!

Here are some photos. Thanks again everyone for the great show of support.