This 4" 1950 .44 Special target is like a lot of girlfriends I`ve had...

[lawman445]

It`s pretty and I know deep down I should just enjoy it for what it is, but I can`t help but try to make sense of it...

I picked this 5 screw 1950 target .44 #S122279 up recently from one of those online auctions that doesn`t have very good pictures (or very many). I liked that it looked like it was in decent shape, had Coke bottle grips, the barrel wasn`t 1 1/2-2 1/2" too long like most of the ones I see for sale, and the price was reasonable enough even after I finally got done adding up what all the ginormous extra fees, taxes, and shipping would be.

Once I got it in my hands I noticed there was no serial number on the back of the cylinder or in the barrel shroud like you`d expect to see on a gun of this vintage. The finish looks factory to me and it doesn`t have any refinish markings or date stamps on the frame- the only markings I can find are the serial number on the butt and the matching number on the yoke visible through one of the chambers, the assembly numbers on the yoke and yoke cutout of the frame, and an "R" stamp on the left side of the frame near the butt (where there would usually be a "4" stamped to indicate it`s a .44 special) and an R in the yoke cutout.

I`ve read that an R stamp can mean an in house factory rework on a gun in inventory that hadn`t shipped yet so I`m wondering if this gun might have been reworked into a 4" .44 special to fill an order without the cylinder and barrel getting numbered for some reason. I haven`t been able to find any pictures of the in house rework R stamp anywhere to compare these two stamps to but the R`s on this one have a little hook at the end.

Roy reported a ship date of March 1955 but called it a ".44 1950 Military" in his response to my request. It doesn`t look like it was something put together with a fixed sight frame that was made for a non ribbed barrel so I`m assuming it may have been one of those target models that didn`t get correctly recorded as such. I`ll probably letter it eventually anyway just to see if it was shipped anywhere interesting.

 

[6string]

That .44 Target sure looks nice!
I'd heard a few times many years ago (before the 24-3 reissued in the early 80s) that demand for .44 Specials after the .44 Magnum came out was such that a few got put together with whatever could be scrounged around at the factory.
By that time, I'm guessing the practice of numbering the cylinder and barrel to the frame was stopped. Just speculating, you could conceivably end up with exactly what you've got.

In any case, I'd personally feel OK about taking that "girlfriend" out for a range date or two without worrying about mussing up her makeup.

 

[Doc44]

I have a 1950 44 Target shipped in March 1955. It has the serial number stamped in the usual places for a revolver made at that time. Yours should be stamped in the same way. I also noticed the windage adjustment screw on the rear sight appears to be crowned. It should have a flat head. The coke bottle stocks are very nice, but did not become available until 1956. Even if your revolver started out with fixed sights, I don't know why S&W would have had to change the cylinder as both models are the same caliber. A mystery to be sure.

Still, a nice revolver that should be lots of fun at the range.

Bill

 

[murphydog]

Looks like a nice gun. For curiosity's sake a letter and a search of the SWHF archives to see if there are service records for this one may prove interesting.

 

[Truckman]

Looks like a nice gun. For curiosity's sake a letter and a search of the SWHF archives to see if there are service records for this one may prove interesting.

I agree...That one deserves a close look......Ben

 

[Nightowl]

I would expect more fitters and inspections stamps on the frame.

 

[THE PILGRIM]

Don't really understand your Gun,
But the Grips alone would make me want to buy it!

 

[2152hq]

If the frame was originally a fixed sight revolver,,the top front edge of the bbl ring would have a severly turned over edge (rounded) where it fit up to the non-rib fix sight bbl .

Simply placing a ribbed bbl onto the fixed sight frame leaves that rounded over contour as a wide obvious gap betw the frame and the bbl rib.

Custom 'smiths fill that gap by different methods. Building up the frame to produce the sharp edge, higher frame contour needed for the smooth transition onto the bbl rib.

I doubt the factory would be in to such modification work.

Aftermarket custom work to produce a Target frame model from a fixed sight revolver is my guess if it truely left the factory as a standard fixed sight revolver.

 

[lawman445]

I would expect more fitters and inspections stamps on the frame.

I forgot to mention the right side of the frame has a couple H`s stamped on it and another stamp that sortof looks like a number 1.

 

[hkcavalier]

Interesting. Without Roy's input, I would have guessed it left S&W as an early H-P and was converted to a .44 Special down the road, perhaps in the 70s or 80s. I didn't think S&W used that very Remington-looking "R" stamp for their work. But, I'm still in my 'learning phase' when it comes to oddball S&Ws...

 

[SS336]

I guess from a collectors point of view a lot of questions will arise and would have to be answered.
From my accumulator, shooters point of view my only thought is "yes please"!
Beautiful revolver and the coke's push it to a higher level for sure. If your new girlfriend is just to ugly to take out in public I would date her in a minute.

 

[mtgianni]

If that revolver is like a lot of your girlfriends, you are indeed a lucky man.

 

[lawman445]

I have a 1950 44 Target shipped in March 1955. It has the serial number stamped in the usual places for a revolver made at that time. Yours should be stamped in the same way. I also noticed the windage adjustment screw on the rear sight appears to be crowned. It should have a flat head. The coke bottle stocks are very nice, but did not become available until 1956. Even if your revolver started out with fixed sights, I don't know why S&W would have had to change the cylinder as both models are the same caliber. A mystery to be sure.

Still, a nice revolver that should be lots of fun at the range.

Bill

I missed the sight screw not being flat but I figured the Cokes weren`t original to the gun but then getting an extra set to add to my stash never hurts! I was also thinking the extra wide .500" target hammers and triggers weren`t available that early or on this model were they? I`ve seen plenty of them swapped into guns that didn`t have them originally because people think it makes them worth more or looks cooler I guess. And I was thinking the same thing about how it doesn`t make sense that at least the cylinder isn`t numbered if it shipped in 1955 as a .44 Special.

This one sent me down a rabbit hole though trying to figure out what is correct for a 5 screw 1950 model .44 Special so I dug out some more I have accumulated over the years and took all the grips off. Unfortunately I only have a letter for one of these- shipped as a 4 inch target to HH Harris in Chicago in December of 1954. It`s the polished blue one with the proud front sight pins on the bottom right. It has the SN in all the right places and the "4" stamp on the frame for .44 Special but it is the only one of the bunch that also has the "R" stamp in the same 2 places my new one does.

The only other one of the bunch that doesn`t have the SN on the barrel or the "4" stamp is the one with a lanyard ring which I think probably started life as a 5 screw Highway Patrolman before someone put an original un-numbered 4" .44 Special barrel on it.

The other 4" blue one on the top left with the wide target hammer and trigger and red ramp/white outline sights is factory reblued (R-S stamped) has a barrel numbered to the gun but I`m guessing it was a factory barrel and sight change from one of the two factory rework dates on the frame, either 3-73 or 7-76 and that barrel doesn`t have the older lazy style ampersand all the others have.

 

[Doc44]

The target hammer (available by 1951) could be original and target triggers were available by March of 1955. I have another 1950 44 Target that is all original and was shipped in November 1955. It has a TH, TT, red ramp, white outline, and rosewood Magna stocks. Click on the photo for a closer look.

Bill

 

[lawman445]

If the frame was originally a fixed sight revolver,,the top front edge of the bbl ring would have a severly turned over edge (rounded) where it fit up to the non-rib fix sight bbl .

Simply placing a ribbed bbl onto the fixed sight frame leaves that rounded over contour as a wide obvious gap betw the frame and the bbl rib.

Custom 'smiths fill that gap by different methods. Building up the frame to produce the sharp edge, higher frame contour needed for the smooth transition onto the bbl rib.

I doubt the factory would be in to such modification work.

Aftermarket custom work to produce a Target frame model from a fixed sight revolver is my guess if it truely left the factory as a standard fixed sight revolver.

I thought about that too. Here is my new 4" target (?) model next to my lettered 4" 1950 Military .44 Special in the first couple pictures. If someone changed this one from a military to a target and made it look this good building up the frame to match a ribbed barrel and to groove the backstrap and then reblue it make it look factory, I wish I knew who did the work!

The last picture is from a 5" prewar .38-44 HD and a post war transitional 5" .44 special that had post war target sights added to them but the top of a 1950 military frame would look about the same if someone just added an adjustable sight to it.

 

[lawman445]

Still, a nice revolver that should be lots of fun at the range.

Bill

I have a couple 1950 .44 spl shooters already so I will probably just wipe this new one down and put it in my "just for looking at" pile and keep wondering how it came to be.

My first shooter 1950 is the 4" with a lanyard I bought at a show 6-7 years ago with an un-numbered barrel and a numbered but also recessed cylinder with no grooves on the top of the frame between the rear sight and barrel rib which makes me assume it was a Highway Patrolman that someone did a fine job of converting into a .44 Special. It`s a reblue but a nice one and has the flat sided hammer like a 1950 Military and a smooth trigger which I like and it has a great action. I wish I knew who did the work on it too. One gun show regular who is also into a lot of the older collectable stuff I am thought I was crazy for shelling out $1,000 for it but like I told him at the time, original or not nice condition 4" .44 Specials aren`t exactly falling off of trees...

The 5" shooter came to me as a 6 1/2" with numbered service grips. It has enough edge wear on the original polished blue finish that I don`t feel bad about shooting or holstering it. It`s still nice enough that I would have felt bad about having the barrel cut down if it hadn`t had most of the blue already worn off from the last inch or so of barrel and some nasty rust pits that ended up there at the end on the bare metal. I saw this as a sign it was meant to be because I wanted a 5 inch 1950 I could shoot and this gun NEEDED to be turned into one.

 

[Doc44]

Your photos indicate to me your 1950 44 Target started out as a target revolver. I would letter it just to see what comes back.

Bill

 

[Drm50]

Being 5screw does that front sight/ barrel go with that period of manf? Wouldn't it have been a pinned on job?

 

[Muley Gil]

Being 5screw does that front sight/ barrel go with that period of manf? Wouldn't it have been a pinned on job?

The OP stated that he had the barrel cut from 6 1/2" to 5" on the second revolver-pics #4 and #5 in post #16.

 

[K Frame Keith]

I don't care what it is. It is very nicely done and is easily worth the sum of its parts!