UPDATE with PHOTOS A 45 Win. Mag WILDEY in trade for my S&W Lew Horton 629 3 inch???

[TenTea]

I don't care who your neighbors are, you sir, are officially the coolest guy on your block!

Nice Wildey!

 

[Michael J. Spangler]

That's an awesome gun.
I recently picked up a nice wildey made shoulder rig. Didn't know what it was at first, hoped it would fit a 617 but it's a little tiny bit off. Either way it made me do some reading on the wildey. It's an awesome piece.
I was going to modify it but I hate to cut up something so rare.

 

[Tom K]

He did send it back to Wildey. They not only repaired it, they put a scope mount on it for him. The invoice it came back with said it was a prototype scope mount. There was no charge for the repair or the scope mount. Dad passed away in 1996. Most of his guns were sold off at that time so I don't know where it is now. The 45 Winchester Magnum was a great cartridge. It is a shame it sidn't catch on. Besides the Wildey, it was also chambered in the LAR Grizzly and the Thompson Contender. It never really could compete with the 44 Remington Magnum or the 454 Casull. It would have been a great handgun to carry in Jurrasic Park.

Also chambered in the AMT Automag IV (or in this case IAI when Arcadia Machine Tool was briefly renamed Irwindale Arms Incorporated.)

 

[RogerA]

Messaged You.

That's an awesome gun.
I recently picked up a nice wildey made shoulder rig. Didn't know what it was at first, hoped it would fit a 617 but it's a little tiny bit off. Either way it made me do some reading on the wildey. It's an awesome piece.
I was going to modify it but I hate to cut up something so rare.

Sent you an email. Thanks!

 

[AR_Black]

That's a nice looking clean gun. Glad you did NOT trade your S&W for it.

The WILDEY website is still on-line. Don't know for how much longer, someone has to pay the web hosting and domain name. Download the information for future use: Wildey Guns

Here is a .475 Wildey I had in the shop a few years ago, unfired and mint: Wildey .475 Pistol @ IllinoisGunShop.com

.475 Wildey Magnum Factory ammo in original boxes has been as high as $5 a shot. I had seen magazines sold for $250.

And another .45 WIN MAG also a few years ago: Wildey .45 Win Mag Pistol @ IllinoisGunShop.com

 

[RogerA]

I sent you an email, with a link to a Colt/Wildey Special for sale. Same case and barrels as yours, but different frame?? It also has a Colt letter.
Roger

I own several Wildeys. I have had my oldest for more than two decades now

The one in Death Wish III was not a 45 Winchester Magnum, it was a 475 Wildey Magnum. Happens to be a great auto loading cartridge. However in the early years jacketed projectiles were hard to find. Now we have a few additional handgun cartridges in the same diameter so the selection is much better.

Wildeys do sell for in excess of $1500 all the time. You have to decide if you like Big, I mean Rally BIG auto loaders or you prefer 44 Magnums. I am not a 44 Magnum fan, so I would make the trade in the blink of an eye. BTW, if you have small to medium hands forget about it, stick with the S&W.

I met Wildey Moore for the first time at SHOT when COLT was getting ready to introduce the Wildey as their own product. I think it was 1999. I do not recall what stopped COLT from going forward. Only 16 of the BIG Colts were produced.

If you hand load, remember that the Wildey is a gas operated action, so no lead projectiles.

This is the first time I have heard of a failure like TexMex's dad. Hopefully it went back for repair as soon as the problem was learned.

 

[ladder13]

UPS guy delivers the package........Wildeys Here!

Through the years I've tinkered with the idea of first, owning one of the Harry Sanford 44 Automags. I'd pick one up if I could find one for a reasonable price, but haven't seen them in years.
Second, the Wildey would be a viable alternative. Ammo is very expensive, reloading is a must.

Tough decision, good luck.

 

[Model52guy]

$1500 is an excellent price. The few I've seen in gun shows in the last couple of years are all over $2000. Mine is a 45 Wildey mag. That is a 475 wildey mag necked down to 45. I did manage to get a full set of dies, including the forming dies for reloading. The recoil is massive and not really much fun to shoot, although it brought the range to a standstill when I did shoot it. 23 gr of bluedot behind a 250 grain 45.
Parts are very hard to find. I'm looking for a rear frame (bolt cage attached to the barrel). assembly for mine. Mine has a crack at the rear notch. Not sure if they are all the same but I'm sure the 475 would fit. Anybody have a wildey barrel assembly laying around, I would love to hear from you.
George

 

[ostlund]

A buddy wants to trade his 45 Win. Mag. Wildey auto for my Lew Horton 629 3 inch. What do you guys think? It's a neat looking pistol. Charles Bronson used one in a Death Wish movie. Ammo is expensive. Anybody here own one? He says it worth $1500 plus. Any info or advice appreciated. Thanks!

DID NOT make the trade, just came to an agreement and bought it. What do you guys thin????

I think cool! This is a case where it doesn't matter how much the ammo costs. Kinda like having a stock compression 60 something GTO which needs a blend of super unleaded and race gas to run without causing damage. Enjoy. I think Mr. Callahan had one too in one of the Dirty Harry movies.

 

[pcgunner]

I've been wanting a Wildey seems like forever - I recently spoke to them after viewing their website that says "Wildey's Back".

They contact me and told me production was starting again in the spring - I'm on the list for a 475!

I don't care if it's a novelty or not I WANT ONE!

 

[surfgun]

Now for some leather? How about a thigh or a cross the chest rig?

 

[shottist]

Not to burst anyones bubble but the Wildey I owned was the biggest piece of junk I have ever owned. Mine would not function reliably with ANY ammo factory or reloads. It would literally fire, eject the empty straight up, and the empty would fall back into the action and rechamber back wards! I learned to take a cleaning rod to the range with me so I could poke out those pieces of brass jammed back wards in the chamber. This happened frequently enough that it could not be considered a fluke.
I AM NOT MAKING THIS UP!!!! They are impressive in their looks and if that makes you happy go ahead but as a functioning fire arm mine was a total disaster.