S&W Model 1950 Target 4 inch 44 special

[El Juero]

I found a Model 1950 4 inch 44 special at an auction here in Texas that I was watching. I got to see the gun prior to the auction. It has been reblued, and had a different hammer and trigger. The reblue was nice and the action is outstanding. The bore and rifling are outstanding. The grips are done very well but are not SW grips. Someone spent some money to have this professionally built for them.

I got lucky in the auction and am all in for $1500 on this one. Since the pre-Model 24s are so hard to find, I believe this was a good deal. This came from the estate of a Lt. Col. from the Air Force. I will clearly get a letter for this one.

I am not fond of the grips and want to replace them since they are not original. I have a set of Keith Brown I am considering. The serial number is S137847, which I think puts it around 1954 for shipping date. I got some good feedback from several members before I won this, so thanks to you all. Not sure what I want to do with this.

 

[22hipower]

Looks very nice and I like those grips. I have a 4 inch 1950 Target 44 Special which was cut from a 6.5. The roll marks on yours are much more centered than on mine so yours may be an original 4 inch; hope so. Either way, fun gun. Enjoy.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[catcher79]

The 4-inch 1950 Target .44 special was my grail gun for many, many years. It seemed when I found them, I was broke and when I had funds, I couldn't find one. However, over the years I have managed to get my hands on four of them, one of them shipped my birth month and year. I also added three of the 24-3 models for everyday packing and shooting.

 

[Shotguncoach]

It may just be the camera angle but I see something on your revolver that I'd like to get a closer look at if you don't mind. Would you please post some pictures of the open cylinder and the frame lug (the little nub that sticks out below the cylinder)?

 

[moosedog]

Nice catch. The bluing looks very well done.
Thanks for posting it, now I've been moved to take mine out back this afternoon.

 

[s&wchad]

Nice! It should be a great shooter.

I believe the grips are Herrett's. I have a set of Trooper's with the same brass grip pin inserts.

 

[Truckman]

Not sure what I want to do with this.

My suggestion is to let it live with my three 4", four 6 1/2" and my one 3 1/2" orphan for a while to make sure it knows how to behave as a gentleman would expect of a .44 Target 1950...I'll return it to you at some point when I feel it's well disciplined enough...I even have some nice shoes already for it, so you can send it here barefoot...

No need to thank me yet......Ben

 

[El Juero]

Education

So, I have been educated that these are Herrett's grips. Was not aware. However since the estate had a number of other Herrett grips it does seem accurate. I am traveling but did try to edit and enlarge the photo of the cylinder nub I am not sure what it is supposed to be.

 

[Kinman]

Neat, always been a grail gun for me as well...especially a 4", I try to make do with my little 24-3 but its a round butt frame and even with John Culina's magic of turning a round butt frame into a square butt stock its just not the same. Bluing looks nice, target trigger and hammer are a plus at this point with the re-blue, someone knew what they were doing. My g.g.g.grandfather was a Lt. Col. in the Union Army, shot off his horse rallying his troops for a charge up Snodgrass Hill during the battle of Chickamauga.

 

[El Juero]

Not sure now

Shotguncoach pointed out to me that the stud made it look like the cylinders are recessed, which they are. As well, the top strap is checkered like a Model 27. Since I am not an expert I think I may have made a mistake. I am thinking this may have been a pre-Model 27 five screw that someone built into a 44 special. It appears as though it was very professionally done. As well, it has been pointed out that it has some nice Herret's grips and I can tell you it has a superb action.

 

[Shotguncoach]

I really have mixed emotions about this....I don't like being the bearer of bad news and bringing down someone who was obviously excited about what they bought, but then again if you have a chance to talk to the seller you might be able to recover some or all of the premium that was paid. Was it advertised as being original?

I'll bet it will be a really good shooter......and $1500 isn't really that bad. It's close to the price of a 4 inch 24-3 and this may be a better gun.

 

[El Juero]

Update to Model 24

I have had help getting some more information. Michael has informed me this was a 5 screw Model 27 that shipped in 1955 to a dealer in Minnesota. The cylinder is recessed and is marked with the original serial number on the rear face and underneath the extractor. I assume in the conversion from 357 to 44 someone bored out the original cylinder.

There is no serial number in the extractor cut under the barrel. If anyone can opine I have been told it is an original Model 24 barrel based on the stamp. However the top of the barrel is checkered to match the normal checkering on a Model 27.

Overall, the work appears quite good. I am hoping that I can find out who did the work. The original owner was a Lt Col in the Air Force who lived in the Austin, Texas area.

 

[Shark Bait]

Nice gun, no matter what. Congratulations.

 

[glenwolde]

Clearly a man with fine taste in revolvers. I think it's perfectly imperfect. Love the grips. Actually I love everything about it. You can say it's not original, but then again one could say it is. One of a kind. Built for a man that cared.

 

[22hipower]

It's a very nice gun and one I'd be happy to have. However, $1500 seems a little high for a conversion. Depending on how it was advertised you may have some recourse with the auction. If it was specifically called a 1950 four inch 44 Special Target the auction clearly made an error. If it was simply called a S&W 44 Special you probably have no recourse. It's a great gun though so even at $1500 I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

 

[RKmesa]

I for one really like NICELY Customized revolvers - guns touched by master craftsmen in a way that makes them one of one (hence the reason I like hand engraved guns so much). That 44 appears to meet my definition of Nicely Customized. The checkering on the 44 Special barrel rib shows an attention to detail that I am guessing permeates all of the modifications.

I also really like the 357 Magnum Revolvers (RMs, NRMs, Pre-27s and 27s) with all the cool features (i.e. checkered top strap, recessed cylinders, etc...). What you have is a 357 Magnum, calibered in 44 Special, and that is very cool. As noted, one of the things that would increase the value to any future owner is some of the history of (i) the gun (who did the modifications and when were they done), and (ii) its previous owner.

Just curious - are there any factory date stamps under the grips on the frame that may indicate a return to the factory for some of the work?

Were I to collect 44 Specials, that would be one that I would love to have in my collection.

Congrats and thanks for sharing,

 

[Truckman]

As noted, one of the things that would increase the value to any future owner is some of the history of (i) the gun (who did the modifications and when were they done), and (ii) its previous owner.

Richard, that is exactly why I continue to search for any and all provenance on all my guns......Ben

 

[El Juero]

How it was advertised

I agree with 22 Hipower about the auction. Currently the auctioneer is negotiating with me as the revolver was advertised as a pre Model 24 1950 Target Model. I did not pick up on the tiny differences online that deviate from the description and bid in a phone auction. Emotions are always stronger than rational thought. I think the auctioneer will make some difference up to me and it seems ethics still exist in some places.

As to what I have and its worth, I have been extremely pleased with the quality of work that was done. If Smith had built this in 1955 as a 44 Special Model 27 this would be it. The action job and timing are absolutely perfect. As noted, the checkering that matches the 27 frame is very well executed. The Herrett grips were very nice. (I put the Keith Brown grips on because I have more of them than revolvers to put them on and so it seems a nice catalyst for buying another N frame.)

I agree to a certain internal love of the quality of the older N frame Model 27s. They were top of the line and the cylinder almost seems to rotate itself once started. If I were to acquire a 1955 pre-Model 27 and have the work completed today by a quality gunsmith it would no doubt cost me a good amount of cash. My only vexing thought now is to be on the lookout for an original 4 inch pre-Model 24. I guess that is always a good problem to have.

 

[Gun Relics]

Well I hope the auction place helps out and we hear the results. I hope this is taken as a positive suggestion, but I personally would return the gun. This was an unfortunate misrepresentation of the pistol. Many of us would have done the same thing, lettered it, then discovered it was not what we thought we were buying. This is exactly what we all dread and probably has happened to all of us in some way at some time.

It would not be easy to sell a custom without knowing who the gunsmith was who did the work and knowing exactly what was done. It's a shooter and if you wanted that, you could buy that or a new gun. You would also have a pretty good small claims case if they did not agree. Just remember that you are in the right on this to get your money back, or a nice chunk of it at least.

A few months ago, I bought a 1940 Luger rig "all matching including magazine" on auction. There were not very clear pictures of the magazine bottom. When I received the pistol, it was obvious the magazine was force matched, the numbers matched but the month code did not match the pistol. It was faked. It was from a prominent seller, one of the larger auction houses. I couldn;t believe the magazine got by them. They explained the auction copy was written before they had the magazine in hand, but they certainly shipped it wrong.

I had paid $2400 and wanted to keep the package. I asked them to knock off $400. They did... reluctantly. They could have asked for a return and re-auction, which I didn't want to do. I figured the mismatched magazine would have brought the auction down to around $2000 because that's all I would have bid.

Hope to hear the outcome - best of luck.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

A while back now we had a local flurry of 44 Special ‘custom’ revolvers.
They were mostly converted 4 inch Model 28s. Probably LE trade-ins.
And they were mostly ugly!
And the sellers wanted mucho dinero!
No, wait, they would take 2-3 of our ‘used’ high condition guns.
Pass!