Pre-War 357 Magnum Appreciation Thread

[sks-75]

I just received a S&W 357 Magnum from my step father and as near as I can tell it is a non registered pre war 357. I have been searching the web for any information that I can find and was hoping someone here could direct me to a good source for information (books or websites). This is my first Smith so I know nothing about them, this particular revolver has a 8 3/8 inch barrel and the serial number is 62XXX. I am courious about the age and quantity of them made with 8 3/8 inch barrels.

Thank You,
Shawn

 

[Muley Gil]

Welcome to the Forum, Shawn. A pre-war .357 for a first post is impressive.

You'll get lots of info here.

Please post pictures.

 

[sks-75]

Thanks for the welcome Muley Gil. I will try my best to post a picture as I have never posted a picture to a forum before.

 

[JayCeeNC]

sks, that is a fine lookin' gun.
Registered Magnums have the registration number in the cylinder crane/yoke area, and it's visible when you open the cylinder.
Does your have one?

 

[RKmesa]

Welcome to the Forum

I just received a S&W 357 Magnum from my step father and as near as I can tell it is a non registered pre war 357. I have been searching the web for any information that I can find and was hoping someone here could direct me to a good source for information (books or websites). This is my first Smith so I know nothing about them, this particular revolver has a 8 3/8 inch barrel and the serial number is 62XXX. I am curious about the age and quantity of them made with 8 3/8 inch barrels.

Thank You,
Shawn

A great resource is the Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson, Third Edition. Here is a link to Amazon: Amazon.com: Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson (Standard Catalog of Smith and Wesson): Jim Supica, Richard Nahas: Books

With a 62XXX SN it would have most likely shipped in mid to late 1940. It appears to be a pre-war non RM 357 (same gun as a Registered Magnum, but with no registration available). One of the differences between the RM and the non-RM is that the sight rib on the non RM (and some later RM's) is undercut right above the barrel. Your stocks are not factory, but look great (are they plastic or wood - please post a couple of close up photos). The sides of the hammer on the pre-war 357's had concentric grooves cut into the sides. I cannot tell if yours has that or not. I do not know how many 8.375" barrels were on the non RM's. I know that a lot of the non-RMs were sent to police departments and had much shorter barrels.

Great Gun. Thanks for posting!

 

[sks-75]

JayCeeNC,
Mine does not have the registrartion number.

RKmesa,
Thanks for the info, My stocks are unfortunatly not wood.

Does anyone know of any reproductions of the original stocks?

Shawn

 

[DWFAN]

JayCeeNC,
Mine does not have the registrartion number.

RKmesa,
Thanks for the info, My stocks are unfortunatly not wood.

Does anyone know of any reproductions of the original stocks?

Shawn

Those grips are period post war "POINTER" by W. Murad, San Carlos, Calif. They came with three or for different styles of thumb rest's. Also in four different colors. Very A'vent guard for the day.
DW

 

[JayCeeNC]

sks-75 the Non-Registered Magnums are actually a bit rarer than the RM's because not as many were made.

 

[j38]

sks-75,

Neat gun! You should definitely letter that old Magnum. Long barrels didn't (generally) go to Police Depts. That means yours most likely went to an individual who could afford a high-end revolver, which was certainly the case for this gun in the 1939-40 period. It could prove interesting.

Thanks for the post,

Jerry

 

[RKmesa]

RKmesa,
Thanks for the info, My stocks are unfortunatly not wood.

Does anyone know of any reproductions of the original stocks?

Shawn

Keith Brown makes some of the most beautiful reproductions - all hand made one at a time - here's a link:
http://www.keithbrowngrips.com/galleryroper.html

Also, here's a link to a Jan/Feb 2003 American Handgunner article on the RM:

S&W's rare registered model: elegant and deadly, this unrivaled statement of the gunmaker's art will always hold court as the first "magnum" - Magic | American Handgunner | Find Articles at BNET

Enjoy,

 

[RKmesa]

Wow!

Bob:

That 4.5" RM is beautiful and the grain in the grips is stunning. Are the grips original or are they KB repro's? I look forward to hearing more about this beautiful revolver.

 

[JayCeeNC]

That's a stunning RM, congrats on your purchase!

 

[j38]

Bob,

That's a real beauty! As RKmesa mentioned, the stocks are special. I like the odd 4 1/2" barrel length. I don't recall seeing one of those before.

Thanks for the post, and I'll look forward to more pictures when you get that old RM home.

Jerry

 

[ElmerKeith]

@Marvin Gardens:

Do you have any idea who the pre-owners werer? Is there a story behind the gun?

It looks almost like it left the factory yesterday. Has the gun been refinished?

 

[glypnir]

Well, this thread's too pretty. I'm going to have to put up the picture of the old lady with her rubber boots on.

This one was shipped to Grainger Texas, back before they even had Baughman sights, so it's got a Patridge.

My wife says she may still use it for personal protection from time to time. It's worked before.

 

[RKmesa]

Rubber Boots???

Well, this thread's too pretty. I'm going to have to put up the picture of the old lady with her rubber boots on.

I would love to see her with her Sunday-go-to-Meeting shoes on. I'll bet that in her day - she was a real looker...

Thanks for posting her, even if you caught her in her pajamas, walking out in the rain with her boots on to get the paper. And, glad to hear that she is still holding down a real job, with real lead heading down her tube on occasion...

 

[JSW]

What a great bunch of old .357’s in this thread! A lot of great old guns! I like them all but especially that 4 ½ inch that looks like new, can’t be but a handful ever made in that barrel length!

 

[RKmesa]

A couple more photos - Updating the Thread

6" October 1936:

May 1937 RM - Original barrel length was 6.5" - cut to 5" - Currently sports KB Ropers:

 

[Hammerdown]

Hello
This one was found at the annual S&WCA Meeting it Troy this year. It shipped to The Bowen Hardware Company of Augusta, Georgia on December 3, 1935 with a Box of .357 Magnum ammo and was sighted in at 25 Yards Point of aim. I had the original set of Walter Roper Grips lying around awaiting the right Gun and the Service grips were a Birthday Present to me by a fellow S&WCA Member that I got Back in August..

 

[Michael Stern]

Registered Magnum Quality Control

Here is one that went to Cleveland architect Robert Smith on 1/18/38. Roy tracked down not only the original order form (including the specification for the humpback hammer), invoice and store receipt, but also correspondence between Mr. Smith and S&W regarding the fact that the gun, as he received it, had a faulty sear. Smith sent it back and, after a month, S&W returned it to him ... and it still wasn't fixed. (The letters are a revolver version of Carfax!) Finally they made it right and he went on to win this shooting medal from the East Cleveland Revolver Club, the back of which is inscribed, "R.W. Smith – 1938 - .357 Mag." Roy also sent along a chatty letter from D.B. Wesson to Smith talking about how "Sasha did get two tigres [sic] on his last trip with his Magnum…"