Pre-War .357 - need new front sight.

[GGryphon]

I inherited a .357 revolver from my grandfather several years ago. At the beginning of the summer I took it to the range with my son, and upon returning home and cleaning it noticed the front sight was missing.

While trying to find a replacement I have been told this was a rare registered magnum. I am now curious and am both trying to find a replacement sight and get more information about the revolver.

Please see the attached photos.

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[Muley Gil]

Welcome to the Forum.

Can you describe the shape of the front sight? There were a bunch of sights available when these revolvers were being built.

 

[DWalt]

I can't help you about getting a replacement sight (others will), but it does appear you have what is called a "Non-Registered Magnum" which very likely shipped around July-August 1940. It will not have the typical registered magnum stamping (Reg. xxxx) in the yoke area. Actually, far fewer NRMs were shipped than RMs (making it even more rare than an RM), and collector interest in NRMs is high. Unfortunately the grips are not original, probably Franzites from the 1950s-60s, which affects its value negatively.

PS - You definitely should get a letter for it.

 

[SAFireman]

It looks like it had a King base (given the size dirty area outside of the base).

Did it have a red dot, gold bead, or a ramp?

 

[RKmesa]

My guess is that your front sight on your pre-war (non- registered) ".357 Magnum", looked something like this...



The base is what is called a King reflector base and the sight blade could be one of several variations, red dot, gold insert, plain black...

 

[GGryphon]

I guess part of the problem is I didn't really "look" at what was there. Looking at online photos would a king ramp make any sense?
I do not believe there was a red dot or gold insert, not that I am sure what those are.
This photo looks the most similar to what it had.
What sort of grips would have been on this model when it shipped?

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[GGryphon]

I can't help you about getting a replacement sight (others will), but it does appear you have what is called a "Non-Registered Magnum" which very likely shipped around July-August 1940. It will not have the typical registered magnum stamping (Reg. xxxx) in the yoke area. Actually, far fewer NRMs were shipped than RMs (making it even more rare than an RM), and collector interest in NRMs is high. Unfortunately the grips are not original, probably Franzites from the 1950s-60s, which affects its value negatively.

PS - You definitely should get a letter for it.

When you say get a letter for it, being very new, what do you mean?
You also mention valuable, should I get it appraised and recorded for my home owners insurance? There were several guns in the collection and I have been told they range in value from $1000-$2500


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[Toyman]

This is photo of grip style and front sight that your revolver likely left the factory with.

 

[DWalt]

When you say get a letter for it, being very new, what do you mean?
You also mention valuable, should I get it appraised and recorded for my home owners insurance? There were several guns in the collection and I have been told they range in value from $1000-$2500


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I'd say $2500 for the NRM alone is quite conservative. Some here will provide a better valuation estimate than I. For the letter: http://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0SO...form.pdf/RK=0/RS=tUivVDFsywJzmcV2fhjagkcVnVw-

 

[410bore]

If you need a king reflector base I have one.


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[mojave30cal]

Man, if I had your problem, I would be re-tracing my steps
while at the range and on the way home to find that front sight.
Oh, and welcome to the Forum!

 

[GGryphon]

Man, if I had your problem, I would be re-tracing my steps
while at the range and on the way home to find that front sight.
Oh, and welcome to the Forum!

It was an outdoor range 100 miles from home. If I didn't have work the next day and I had known how rare it was, I would probably have.


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[gripsguy]

Spend the bucks to get a factory letter. It will tell you what the original sight was. Then you will know what you need. Until you have that info, you are spinning your wheels, unless you don't care about originality.

Jim

 

[koz5614]

You could always Mag Na Port it & drill the top strap for a red dot...

Kidding of course. Very cool to see another NRM surface.

 

[les.b]

Welcome to the forum. You have access to some really well informed folks here. Once you fix your current problem, hang around!!

Best Regards, Les