Writer looking for facts

In the 1950's a Lady would carry a 32, in 1954 that would be either an S&W I frame or similar Colt for a revolver. However I think in '54 there would also be a good chance a Walther PPK would show up in a Cadillac.

For skeet guns of that era don't forget the Browning Superposed or Remington 11-48.
 
To clarify, the question IS "what gun would a man have given a woman as a Christmas gift in 1952?". To answer this question one must consider the attitutes and available informational resources of the time. The gun would not have likely been purchased from a gun store either, but rather a hardware or drug store unless from a major city or area of serious recreational shooting.

If the question were "what gun would you have given a woman as a gift in 1952?", then I would also have provided her a then-new Centennial 38 with a nickle finish. I would have handloaded some 38 Special semi wadcutters at about 950 fps for her to carry in it as well, then trained her to use it.

The gifter would have been statistically unlikely to have been an expert in modern firearms. There were no S&W forums, no gun magazines, no gunsite, no Thunderranch....just the clerk at the guncounter at the hardware store, or perhaps what the gifter heard from his hunting buddies or had been trained in during the war. The clerk would want to sell you something that the lady LIKED and would not be inclined to return. Something pretty (nickle plated) that did not "kick too much". Hence, a 32 S&W Long revolver, 32 ACP auto, or even a 380 would have been the most likely answers.
 
I happen to own the gun that was given to the girlfriend of David "Carbine" Williams. The short version is that he was a moonshiner that got into a shootout with the local law dogs. One of the deputies was shot and killed and David Williams was convicted and sent to prison. While there he worked on several different gun designs. (GOOGLE search his name for details) He is credited as being the lead designer of the M1 carbine and hence the nickname.

As for the gun, it is a modified Smith & Wesson Ladysmith with a shortened barrel and a bobbed hammer. All of the gun smithing was performed by Williams and I even have the small piece of the original barrel that was removed complete with the original front sight.

Jimmy Stewart starred in a movie in 1952 about the life of David Marshall Williams.


So, based on the above, my vote goes with a S&W Ladysmith.:D
 
Muley Gil said:
I'm surprised that no one has suggested a 2" Military & Police aka a pre M10. A glovebox gun doesn't have to be small and a pre M10 is a lot easier to shoot than a Chief's Special. I've known a number of ladies that have purse carried K frame revolvers.
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My wife and I moved to Anchorage, AK in 1967. As I went directly out to the Aleutian Islands on a major construction job, her being alone in Anchorage started carrying the only handgun we owned at the time. She carried a Colt Python, 4" in her purse for two years. We switched her to a Smith Model 15, 2 1/2" which had been round-butted by a previous owner.

Now, I can't believe the number of times we flew from Anchorage to Las Vegas and back with her gun in her purse. ......... Big Cholla
 
Alright, there is no question about all this. The gun was a Smith .32 HE in .32 long. The car, buried in the sand outside of Yuma, had to be on the California side of the Colorado River in the sand dunes. Meaning the revolver in question was given to the lady by a corrupt detective in the LAPD. That department was deep into shady dealings in 1952. It was no doubt an issue gun or one taken from the evidence room, as the dick did not want to spend his own dough on this dame. I also see the newly elected Vice President Richard M Nixon also involved in this event. Although I don't think any direct contact with her had ever come to light. We all know there can be many twists and turns in a tragic story like this. But what we do know for sure....the weapon found was a Smith and Wesson 32 HE.
 
On the other hand, Bonnie Parker was known to favor 45's. There was not much difference between what was available in 1930 and 1950.
 
Oh and I forgot about the empty. I don't mean spent case, but empty charge hole. That tells us who put the car there in the first place.
 
NO, NO, NO.

A "ladies gun" of the era, particularly one given by a man as a gift, would be a nickel plated, pearl handled .25 auto. Everyone knows that a woman can't handle anything more powerful, anything bigger isn't going to fit in her purse, and she's just going to use it to "scare off" the bad guys anyway.

Everyone who is suggesting the double-action only Centennial is forgetting how weak women are. That's why the Centennial is so safe - with the grip safety and DAO trigger, only a man has the strength to operate one. Heck, you could leave one fully loaded lying around the house, secure in the knowledge that women and children would be unable to fire it.

Also women are only going to want something shiny and pretty. It would be an insult to give a woman a blued gun. My vote is for a nickel plated, engraved Baby Browning with real mother-of-pearl stocks. That's the closest thing in the firearms world to jewelry, and would go well with a woman who drive a Cadillac.

Or so would be the thinking of the time.

kds7de.jpg
 
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It's clear to me--a nickel Terrier--which is a 38 cal. snub on the Improved I frame.

The nickel is pretty, and it has a noun for a name--always good in a story.
 
Tom K said:
NO, NO, NO.

A "ladies gun" of the era, particularly one given by a man as a gift, would be a nickel plated, pearl handled .25 auto. Everyone knows that a woman can't handle anything more powerful, anything bigger isn't going to fit in her purse, and she's just going to use it to "scare off" the bad guys anyway.

Everyone who is suggesting the double-action only Centennial is forgetting how weak women are. That's why the Centennial is so safe - with the grip safety and DAO trigger, only a man has the strength to operate one. Heck, you could leave one fully loaded lying around the house, secure in the knowledge that women and children would be unable to fire it.

Also women are only going to want something shiny and pretty. It would be an insult to give a woman a blued gun. My vote is for a nickel plated, engraved Baby Browning with real mother-of-pearl stocks. That's the closest thing in the firearms world to jewelry, and would go well with a woman who drive a Cadillac.

Or so would be the thinking of the time.

kds7de.jpg
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Nice choice, but I don't think Browning imported these until 1954. I noted that here in a previous post. And the post about the Centennial being hard for women to fire is largely valid.

But thanks for this nice photo of the Baby Browning in Ren. grade!
 
The gun should be a 32 I frame. The skeet gun ruling the fields at that time was the Winchester model 12 pump. A lot of them had Cutts Compensators attached.
 
I can only tell you what my grandmother carried in her purse in the 1940's and 50's. A Colt 1903 pocket pistol in .32 ACP.
I still have the pistol. :D
 
COLTMDL1908.jpg

Embarrassment or not, a Colt's Hammerless 32 ACP would be a dandy ladies gun.
 
A "ladies gun" of the era, particularly one given by a man as a gift, would be a nickel plated, pearl handled .25 auto. Everyone knows that a woman can't handle anything more powerful, anything bigger isn't going to fit in her purse, and she's just going to use it to "scare off" the bad guys anyway.


Also women are only going to want something shiny and pretty. It would be an insult to give a woman a blued gun. My vote is for a nickel plated, engraved Baby Browning with real mother-of-pearl stocks. That's the closest thing in the firearms world to jewelry, and would go well with a woman who drive a Cadillac.

Or so would be the thinking of the time.

I went online and did some research on this gun. If I change the story, this gun could have a history of being used in the French Resistance movement, perhaps by her mother who fell in love with one of the liberation US soldiers. It was referred to in some articles as a much loved weapon due to its ability to be easily hidden due to its size. Apparently the Baby Browning could even be hidden in a cigarette pack. I could not dig out the exact size and weight, if any one could supply that I would be appreciative.

Thanx Greg
 
Just keep in mind that the 25 ACP is the most netoriously underpowered rounds ever invented. Many have been shot with one and not even noticed. Inaccurate to boot.
When I was a cop I met a "gentleman" who had recently been shot in the head with a 25. One could see where it had entered then made a burrough along his skull before it stopped, some six inches later, lodged under the skin. He was walking around and teling us that nothing had happenned and he did not require our services. He was, of course, a known drug dealer.
 
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No one mentioned the .32 or .380 "SAVAGE" Pistol?


Nice used ones would have been very probable for the early 1950s.


My first thought though, was an immediate post-War S & W 'Terrier' Snub-Nose, in .38 S & W...Nickle, Walnut Stocks.
 
While certainly possible, I do not think it is so believeable for a man to give a woman a used gun to go with her new Cadillac.
 
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