Registered Magnum reg#1169

[gunfish]

Saturday morning I went to a small show that as been in decline for the past two years. I wasn't looking for anything to buy since I am paying for a M1 rifle I will use for Garand matches. If I saw a colt detective cheap I thought I might buy it. I walked thru the show in 10 minutes and saw nothing so went outside for a smoke.

I went back in just in time to watch a GI Remington 1911A1 sell for 400$. Damn! I wandered around some more thinking that one never knows what might happen at a show. I was standing at table looking at S&Ws when a guy hands a handgun with rubber grip to the vendor and asks what he thinks of it. The vendor examines it and hands it back with the opinion that he doesn't know what it might be worth. The guy then remarks that it is a registered magnum and has been in contact with Roy Jinks.

Since no offer to buy was made I ask to look at it. Sure enough it is a RM with rubbber stocks. It's in good shape except for plier damage to the ejector rod knurling. The guy tells me what he wants for it and I make an offer. Turns out he is selling for a sick buddy and must call the guy at home for permission to sell and can I wait? Fine, I can wait. The guy is a vendor so I go to his table while he goes outside to get a signal. I had missed the gun on his table during the first lap of the show because it had those rubber stocks and no tag saying what it was. Note to self, be more alert, one never knows what might be at a show.

The guy comes back and says my offer is good enough, it's mine. He then says the seller has the original stocks but can't find them. I ask the guy to tell his friend that I will buy the stocks if they can be located and are numbered to this gun. I will call after a week or so to see if they are found.

I had these stocks so I put them on for the pic.

The barrel has no groove in the rib and is an odd length.

I don't know what style of sight this is.

The notch is U shaped.

I will need a letter to confirm the barrel length. I think the finish is original, the polish of the metal seems orginal factory. I wouldn't mind taking it to a more experienced person for an opinion. If someone within 100 miles of Marion, Indiana could be recomended to me by you smarter guys I would take it to them for an opinion.

The action is very light in the hammer and trigger return springs, I have not tried to shoot it. The story is that the seller's father bought it for him in 1944 and was sold due to health problems. I have the name of the former owners in case I can track the gun from 1937 to 1944.

I hope this info is useful to the real collectors of registered magnums. What'cha think?

 

[gunfish]

Saturday morning I went to a small show that as been in decline for the past two years. I wasn't looking for anything to buy since I am paying for a M1 rifle I will use for Garand matches. If I saw a colt detective cheap I thought I might buy it. I walked thru the show in 10 minutes and saw nothing so went outside for a smoke.

I went back in just in time to watch a GI Remington 1911A1 sell for 400$. Damn! I wandered around some more thinking that one never knows what might happen at a show. I was standing at table looking at S&Ws when a guy hands a handgun with rubber grip to the vendor and asks what he thinks of it. The vendor examines it and hands it back with the opinion that he doesn't know what it might be worth. The guy then remarks that it is a registered magnum and has been in contact with Roy Jinks.

Since no offer to buy was made I ask to look at it. Sure enough it is a RM with rubbber stocks. It's in good shape except for plier damage to the ejector rod knurling. The guy tells me what he wants for it and I make an offer. Turns out he is selling for a sick buddy and must call the guy at home for permission to sell and can I wait? Fine, I can wait. The guy is a vendor so I go to his table while he goes outside to get a signal. I had missed the gun on his table during the first lap of the show because it had those rubber stocks and no tag saying what it was. Note to self, be more alert, one never knows what might be at a show.

The guy comes back and says my offer is good enough, it's mine. He then says the seller has the original stocks but can't find them. I ask the guy to tell his friend that I will buy the stocks if they can be located and are numbered to this gun. I will call after a week or so to see if they are found.

I had these stocks so I put them on for the pic.

The barrel has no groove in the rib and is an odd length.

I don't know what style of sight this is.

The notch is U shaped.

I will need a letter to confirm the barrel length. I think the finish is original, the polish of the metal seems orginal factory. I wouldn't mind taking it to a more experienced person for an opinion. If someone within 100 miles of Marion, Indiana could be recomended to me by you smarter guys I would take it to them for an opinion.

The action is very light in the hammer and trigger return springs, I have not tried to shoot it. The story is that the seller's father bought it for him in 1944 and was sold due to health problems. I have the name of the former owners in case I can track the gun from 1937 to 1944.

I hope this info is useful to the real collectors of registered magnums. What'cha think?

 

[Onomea]

Hey, that is just great!!

I am away from the Jinks article, but if memory serves 4 1/2" is one of the rarest bbl lengths!

Quite a score!

 

[sth44]

gunfish, that's a great find.

According to Roy Jinks there were only 4 of the 4 1/2" barrel RM's.

Hope it letters.

Steve

 

[Doc Barranti]

That is a great find! Congratulations!

 

[Smith &W]

That was a great find. I was at the show today & heard several people talking about it. You never know what you can find. Thanks for showing it.

 

[mikepriwer]

No - 4 1/2" RM's are not rare - I have two of them myself.

If Roy's letter said anything about 4 guns, I'd say he meant that
the gun was in a 4-gun shipment.

I have the production numbers, and will check them tomorrow. I'm
just guessing, but I would say that there are at least 50, and
maybe twice that.

The gun in the picture is a nice-looking gun.

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[Onomea]

Mike, if your memory is correct, and there are 50 or even 100 of the 4 1/2s, that would be less than about 1 or 2%, right? (If we are counting RMs and non-RMs in total, anyway.)

I think your two 4 1/2s are pretty darn "rare" for the likes of me anyway!

I think we just differ on what we consider "rare," don't you?

Edited to add: Good memory, Mike. The Jinks article says he has a records for 90 at 4 1/2, and estimates an additional 18 for 108. So, 2% it is.

 

[JayCeeNC]

Outstanding find, what a great gun!
Just goes to show you never know what you'll find at a gun show.

 

[jphendren]

Stumbling upon any RM for sale is a rare thing indeed. I've been into them for about 3 years and have yet to just luck into one.

Bye the way; putting rubber stocks on an RM should justify a long prison sentence

Jared

 

[sth44]

Originally posted by mikepriwer:
No - 4 1/2" RM's are not rare - I have two of them myself.

If Roy's letter said anything about 4 guns, I'd say he meant that
the gun was in a 4-gun shipment.

I have the production numbers, and will check them tomorrow. I'm
just guessing, but I would say that there are at least 50, and
maybe twice that.

The gun in the picture is a nice-looking gun.

Later, Mike Priwer

Mike, you are right. i was reading the wrong line.

There were 90, 4 1/2"

Steve

 

[rburg]

First, to the OP, we hate you!

But yes, its really not all that uncommon to stumble upon an RM from time to time. Other pretty rare and desireable S&W, too. The trick or key is knowing what you're looking for and also having the pocket cash to grab it up.

There are guys that know every variant of Colt or Winchester and consider themselves to be "gun experts". But some pretty nice S&Ws slip right past them because they just don't care. Thats why I prefer small gunshows where I have a chance of recognizing a real bargain when I see it.

This weekends M58 and 396 were examples of that. One of my gunshowing buddies asked me why I was at the big fleamarket/gunshow. He felt I was more interested (correctly) in better guns. But the he reconsidered and figured out that I might be the only buyer for some guns. Anytime I can go someplace and find two great guns at very good prices it makes sense to me.

Small gunshows are better places to find and buy than the huge ones. All you need to do is arm yourself with years of study and knowledge, plus as much money as your first new car cost...

 

[Camster]

Great find with a good story.Once in while,very rarely, you get that feeling when you go to a shop or show that there is something with you name on it.Glad you grabbed it.

 

[j38]

Congratulations on bagging a very nice RM! Please let us know what Roy finds out about its origin and thanks for sharing. Regards, Jerry

 

[mikepriwer]

Arlo

Just between us kids, 100 of anything is not rare !

On the other hand, if 98 of them are locked away and will never see the
light of day, then the remaining two may command very high prices. But
I don't think that makes them rare. It just makes them expensive.

I'm not even sure that any registered magnums are rare. I own several,
one being a 3 3/4" , but even at that, I'm reluctant to say that any of
them are rare. Scarece, yes - but rare ?

Regards, Mike Priwer

 

[moosedog]

Great find! And the gun appears to be original which is getting harder to find.
Hope you get the numbered grips too. Unless one goes to S&W Collectors events or high end auctions, and has pockets full of money, most of us don't run across these at regular gun shows. It's rare. Or scarce. Or rarely scarce. Or scarcely rare. What ever, it's very nice.

 

[Art Doc]

Rare is in the eye of the beholder. To people like Mike and Doc44 who have numerous examples of one of a kind pieces then a 100 of anything seems like a lot. To us mere mortals finding one of a 100 is a rare treat.

Rare is a matter of perception. I think money is pretty damned rare but Bill Gates would disagree.

 

[mikepriwer]

I think money is pretty damned rare

SP

Real money is very expensive - the price of gold tells us that.
The kind of money that we are moreless forced to use - the fiat
Federal Reserve Notes - are not rare at all. In fact, we, as
a country, spend at leaat 800 million (a year) more of them
than we, as a country, take in. Creating 800 million of
them a year, out of thin air, doesn't seem like it's very rare,
at all .

Of course, if you are not getting your fair share of these
new ones, then that is another story !

Later, Mike Priwer

 

[rburg]

Hmmmm. I'm not sure I really agree with Mike on this one. We've never defined the terms rare and scarce. Both are a matter of the context we use them.

I tend to think that any gun where we only know of one or two is rare, regardless of how many were made originally. Nickel Magnums are rare, and they made at least 144 of them. I have no idea how many have survived.

I tend to think guns that were made in groups of maybe a few thousand but you only occasionally see are more like scarce than rare. Worse than all this, rare or scarce doesn't really have much influence on how desireable they are. There were some guns made in very limited numbers because no one wanted them. A supply and demand thing at the front end.

That doesn't mean anyone wants one. In fact, it kind of tends to indicate that no one did, even back when they were being produced.

 

[mikepriwer]

As to rare vs scarce,I'm only questioning the concept. I know that I don't
have a good universal answer.

I'm reminded of an early round-butt S&W being offered with "rare" Ideal
shoulder stock adapter plates. These are similar to the S&W grip adapters,
in that these plates are mounted between the grips and the frame. Their back
edge is cut so-as to provide an attachment point for an Ideal Shoulder Stock.

In discussing this with a well-respected dealer-friend, he commented

"The only thing rarer than Ideal Shoulder Stock Adapters is an Ideal
Shoulder Stock Adapter collector. "

Regards, Mike Priwer