Pre-war Magnum

[MAB93]

Frank, thanks for the info on the last sale of this handgun. I had suspected but it is good to get the confirmation and to be able to start to build a bit of history on the gun.

Ed (opoefc), it's funny how the world works. I actually met Colin in 2006. I was in Brisbane for a Big Game Rifle Competition and it turned out that there was also a long range Creedmoor styled black powder shoot at the same time. There were international competitors at the events (including Dave Gullo of Buffalo Arms) Colin had intended to enter the Creedmoor event but was not feeling well enough to shoot. The organiser of both events was a mutual friend and introduced us so I ended up shooting the Creedmoor with Colin's Alex Henry side hammer, a .45/110 I think. The funny thing is that at the time I only had a passing interest in handguns and, while I knew he was a collector, we spent most of the time talking English guns and Black powder. My memories are of a perfect gentleman and a couple of presentation dinners spent in pleasant conversation. I was saddened to hear of his passing the next year and when his collection came up for sale I was stunned to see the extent of it (particularly being in Australia) but in no position to chase any part of it.

RKmesa, As a young kid growing up in Australia I still got to read a lot of US shooting mags, particularly the Shooting Times and Skeeter Skelton. So of course I always though that a 5" Model 27 was THE handgun to have. I did end up with a 5" Pre-27 but having handled this 4" NRM now my thinking might be shifting a little.

 

[opoefc]

MAB93, Good that you got to know Colin Dobson. A fine gentleman and outstanding shooter. I believe he was an official of your Creedmore organization for some time and had represented Australia in past Olympic shooting competition. A very good friend with a great sense of humor and his collection of big bore British rifles was as extensive as his Smith & Wesson collection. My nick name for him was "Herr Doktor Doktor" as he held two doctorates in the sciences, was an accomplished pianist and was a survivor of the London Blitz in 1940-41 as a child. He is truly missed by all his friends here in the States. Ed.

 

[MAB93]

Thanks Ed. It's important to share memories of departed friends and family.

 

[MAB93]

Pre-war Magnum - part II

Hi guys. Just joined the forum, made my introductions and thought and thought I'd lead off with this as my first substantive post.

I've only taken up a handgun license in the last couple of years and am busy trying to tick off all my childhood dreams while I have the chance. Most recently I spotted an interesting lot at a local antique arms auction, did a bit of homework and decided it was worth a bid or two. Ended up with the revolver you see pictured below.

It is a 4" N frame .357, serial number 608xx. If I've read my "Standard Catalog" correctly that means you'd call it a Pre-war non-registered magnum, probably built around 1940. It shows a lot of fine handling marks that suggest a lot of reasonably careful use. It was originally wearing a trigger shoe and a set of really nice early combat grips with almost no handling marks or finish wear. The right hand panel has serial number 382xx. Considering the mismatched number on the grips and their much better finish than the revolver I thought I'd put them somewhere safe and replaced them with the stags. Leaving the grips aside serial numbers match in all other places I know to look (lug recess under the barrel, cylinder face, under the ejector star, bottom of grip frame).

This is definitely a revolver I will want to letter, just need to figure out how to do that. I'm open to comments or advice on the possible history of the gun. Am I right to think the 4" barrel length would have been a special order at this time? I'm also wondering, based on my reading, whether this might have been part of an order for the Kansas City police.

In any case, its amazing what will turn up in a local arms auction in Australia. You can bet that I'm happy I stopped for a look.

Received the letter today. The substance of the letter is that my revolver was "...shipped from our factory on January 30 1940 and delivered to Department of Police, Attn: L.B. Reed Chief of Police, Kansas City, MO. The records indicate that this revolver was shipped with a 4 inch barrel Baughman quick draw front sight, blue finish, and checkered walnut Magna grips. This was a shipment for 200 units, all in the same configuration."

So despite the fact that I bought my revolver with service grips (I incorrectly called them combat grips in my initial post, thanks for the correction Frank), it actually shipped with Magnas. Considering the shuffle that could have happened in the armoury of the police dept. probably no real chance of reuniting the grips but I'm open to suggestions.

Anyway, though I'd add a couple of images. Hadn't realised that King ramps were used routinely until I had a close look at the last image. Hope you find this interesting.