Many of the first.357 Magnum models were registered in the name of the original owner and came with a certificate listing the serial number and any custom features.
Jeremiah Johnson Trading is one of the most experienced dealers of fine antique arms, with over 30 years of collecting. We also specialize in a vast array of.
The Super Redhawk is a line of double-action magnum revolvers made by Sturm, Ruger beginning in 1987, when Ruger started making weapons using larger, more powerful. A revolver is a repeating handgun that has a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. Revolvers might be regarded as a.
Classic Guns: The Smith & Wesson . Magnum. What makes the Smith & Wesson . Magnum so collectable? Introduced in 1. 93. N- Frame, Smith & Wesson’s .
Magnum was a classic revolver. Highly collectable, the .
Magnum models are those produced before S& W introduced its numbering system in 1. Registered . 3. 57 Magnum revolvers are the most valuable, with values ranging from $7,5.
With an intriguing history and a variety of models, the . Magnum will likely continue to be a desirable collector’s item. When the . 3. 8 Special cartridge was introduced in 1. Long Colt and . 3.
Smith & Wesson. The . 3. 8 Special was a well- balanced, all- around cartridge and quickly became popular with law enforcement and the military, as well as with civilian shooters. Before long it became the standard to which all other revolver cartridges were compared.
For much of the 2. Special. But there were exceptions. By the early 1. 93.
U. S. Unfortunately, among these changes was a surge in bank robberies, with the bad guys making their getaways in fast cars. Lawmen saw a need for a more powerful cartridge than the . Special, something that could penetrate the steel doors and bodies of an automobile. This was not to replace the . Special but to give an option to lawmen in various agencies.
One option was the . Super in Colt’s 1. For several reasons, however, many in law enforcement had not yet accepted this great cartridge/gun combination.
This was a time when the semi- auto was still not fully trusted, and the same could be said about expanding bullets in automatics (though the FMJ . Super penetrated auto bodies very well). But in the 1. 93.
For several years, gun writers Elmer Keith, Philip Sharpe and others had been experimenting with powerful . Special handloads. Their results encouraged the engineers at Winchester’s ammunition division to take on the project, and by 1. Magnum was born. By adding about a tenth of an inch to the case length of the . Special, velocity almost doubled to 1,5. The first handgun cartridge worthy of the name Magnum was a reality. It was an immediate success.
Now, for the gun to shoot it. The concept of a heavy- duty . Special was not new. In 1. 93. 0, Smith & Wesson had introduced the . Special loads. As the name suggests, the . N- frame, which dated back to the .
Hand Ejector Triple Lock of 1. It was no surprise, then, when the .
Magnum was built on the N- frame. The cartridge and the Smith & Wesson revolver were both introduced in 1. Essentially a custom- made, hand- fitted gun, it could be ordered with virtually any barrel length from 3½ to 8¾ inches. Standard features included adjustable rear and post front sights, blue or nickel finish and a checkered rib atop the barrel.
Six different rear sights were available, and an interchangeable front sight blade was included for use with . Special ammunition. Related Gun. Digest Articles.
Many of the first . Magnum models were registered in the name of the original owner and came with a certificate listing the serial number and any custom features. According to Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson, 4th Edition (Gun Digest Books, 2. Jim Supica and Richard Nahas, it is believed that about 5,2. Registered . 3. 57 Magnums were made between 1.
Non- Registered models were made between 1. S& W . 3. 57 Magnum Gun Values. The Registered . 3.
Magnum models are the most collectible of all Smith & Wesson revolvers today, and there is nothing to indicate that this is likely to change in the near future. Non- Registered . Magnums are also very much sought after by collectors, in part because fewer of them were made. Estimated values for Registered models in Very Good to Excellent condition with registration certificate and original box range from $7,5. Non- Registered guns from $4,5. New- In- Box models can demand $1.
Of course, special models and celebrity- owned examples can go for much more. Elmer Keith’s personal prototype, for example, brought $2. James D. Julia Auction in 2. Most students of Smith & Wesson know that serial number 1 was presented to J. Edgar Hoover, the first Director of the F. B. I. This was in April of 1. Currently, the location of this gun is a mystery, but in collector’s circles it is believed to still exist.
What’s its value? One can only guess.
Among the rare features that can significantly increase the value of a . Magnum model is a nickel finish. It is believed that no more than 1. Some value estimates say these guns are worth double what blued models would bring. Special grips can also make a big difference. Less than 5. 0 . 3. Magnum revolvers are believed to have been shipped with factory ivory, pearl or stag grips.
Factory engraved models are very rare; less than a dozen were made. Keep in mind that before buying or selling any of the models mentioned here it is very important to obtain a letter of authentication detailing the features of the gun in question and when and to whom it was shipped. For more information, contact Smith- Wesson.
Forum. com, where you can download a form to use for the letter. Cost for this service currently is $7. The serial number range for the pre- war . Magnum revolvers started at 4. U. S. entered World War II. This range of numbers also includes those for other N- frame models. After the war, production resumed in 1.
S” prefix added to the serial number at S7. These early transitional post- war models of the .
Magnum are quite collectible, especially those with longer barrel lengths. Smith & Wesson made a few changes to the . Magnum in 1. 95. 0, including the new short- throw hammer design. In 1. 95. 7, the company went to a numbering system for each handgun, and the . Magnum became the Model 2. The name had changed, but it was still a beautiful example of the gunmaker’s art. When I was a young lad, I remember a photograph of a Smith & Wesson .
Magnum with a 3½- inch barrel in my early ’5. Shooter’s Bible. I would frequently pick up the book and turn to the S& W section to look at the photo again and again. That was a gun! Editor’s Note: This “Collector’s Corner” column is an excerpt from the June 2. Gun Digest the Magazine. Raise Your Firearms IQOne look inside the 7.
Gun Digest and you’ll understand why it’s called “The World’s Greatest Gun Book.” Gun Digest 2. No matter if your passion is long- range rifles, fancy shotguns, gritty Old West single- action revolvers, sleek semi- auto pistols or cutting- edge tactical rifles, Gun Digest brings them all to life and raises your firearms IQ. Get Your Copy Now.
Bowen Classic Arms + Workshop. From time to time, we complete a gun that is a bit out of the ordinary—rarely a cataloged item, perhaps an experimental piece that didn’t warrant further investigation, maybe a restoration project or just something that excited us enough to share it. Most of these guns belong to clients, but occasionally we’ll be doing one for the shop. Those offered for sale will be identified as available and listed at the For Sale section of the site. Regrettably, these guns are few and far between these days but we’re striving to get some interesting projects completed and presented here. April 2. 01. 6, FANCY SMITH & WESSON . COLT HEAVY- DUTY MODEL — Thanks to the especially handsome engraving from Brian Powley and the beautiful ivory grips from Paul Persinger, this overhauled Smith & Wesson is a cut above the usual.
Completely rebuilt mechanically, it is also converted to . Colt. A taller front sight blade is pinned in for proper sight regulation. In keeping with the retro styling, the cylinder has the traditional black powder chamfer. The gun is completely hand finished and detailed; Turnbull Manufacturing applied their carbona blue and re- colorcased the hammer and trigger. Certainly, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. March 2. 01. 6, RUGER REDHAWK WITH 4- IN.
SP- STYLE BARREL — This is a relatively stock . Colt Redhawk with tune and sight work but with the addition of a custom 4- in. SP- style barrel we have not heretofore installed on a Redhawk.
This barrel profile is lifted from Ruger’s own SP1. Redhawk. January 2. Linebaugh Ruger Bisley with Custom S& W- style barrel — We have installed any of a number of Smith & Wesson barrels on Ruger single- action revolvers over the years in calibers from .
Long Rifle to . 5. Linebaugh. Most were simply modified K or N- frame parts and used in the existing calibers. However, some, especially the . Single- Six barrels and any . Linebaugh barrels were re- bored from smaller calibers.
While we have a new source for re- boring handgun barrels now, the largest available re- bore is to . With the passing of friend and colleague Jim Dubell we lost our only source for re- bored S& W and Redhawk barrels in . Luckily, not all is lost.
We will continue to offer S& W barrel conversions on Ruger single- action revolvers using factory barrels where we can. However, in the case of the . Smith & Wesson N- frame target barrels are not tapered much so, in the interests of simplicity and the extra margin of holding power the thicker walls of an un- tapered barrel afford the ejector housing screw, all of our custom S& W- style barrels will be in that form. In all other respects, these barrels will very closely resemble factory parts, down to the intergral front sight base and grooved rib. While we can also offer pinned- in blades, the DX- style sight blade arrangement is standard in the interests of flexibility.
We’ll be able to produce these in standard length from around 3 1/2 inches to 7 1/2 inches. Costs will vary from gun to gun since the top straps with a heavy bevel at the muzzle end will have to be welded up and re- contoured to insure there is no gap behind the barrel rib. Even with careful matching of filler rod material and drawing back of the receiver to bring weld hardness back to that of the receiver, there is always a possibility of shadows in the bluing.
Same is true even of laser welding which is our usual choice of process . Accordingly, we recommend the receiver be color cased, to eliminate the potential from bluing problems. Along with octagonal and ovate barrel forms, round, ribbed barrels are a stylish and elegant addition to a custom single- action revolver. APRIL 2. 01. 5, RUGER BISLEY WITH OVATE BARREL — Over the years, we’ve done a number of ovate- form barrels but have only recently decided to bring it back as a regular catalog item. This is one of the most elegant and graceful barrels ever put on a gun. Traditionally, they were found on black- powder era British single- shot sporting rifles and largely fell out of favor with the advent of smokeless- powder repeating arms. Still, they are handsome barrels and right at home on fine single- action revolvers.
We’ve elected to pin in blades rather than subscribe to the DX arrangement since a hole in the crown of this barrel would inexcusably disfigure it. August 2. 01. 4, Ruger Redhawk with SP- style Barrel — The Ruger Redhawk is arguably the best heavy- duty, big- bore revolver ever devised. While not as pretty as the most refined and delicate S& W, it is still a handsome brute. Perhaps its greatest asset is its flexibility. Few other big- bore revolvers are suited to so many different calibers and barrel styles.
We’ve built these with shortened factory barrels and barrels from Dan Wesson and Colt Anacondas. The enduring favorite is our custom L- frame style full- underlug barrel scaled to the larger Redhawk. With the introduction of the SP1. Ruger produced an especially handsome variation on the L- frame theme with its unique barrel form. A sort of an ovate barrel with a full- length but underlug but of more conventional form, similar to the half lugs found on standard Redhawks and GP1. Smith & Wesson models.
It was an obvious style for the Redhawk and brings to both the standard and modified Super Redhawk Alaskan models a distinctive heavy barrel with Ruger’s distinctive style. This particular gun, chambered in the great . Linebaugh, sports a 5 1/2 inch version of the barrel with our integral muzzle brake.
January 2. 01. 3, Ruger Bisley with S& W Barrel — This Ruger 5- shot . Bisley is fitted with a modified Smith & Wesson M1. Target barrel. Finished at 5 1/2 inches, it is as subtle and graceful a barrel installation as imaginable.
Of very high quality, these barrels typically shoot extremely well. The last test group (5- shot) fired off- hand at 2. Forkin- cast 3. 50 gr.
LBT LFN bullet with a . The white- line front sight blade is pinned to the base for easy removal. In addition to the barrel and a steel ejector housing, the cylinder is fluted and chamfered and the receiver, gate and hammer colored by Turnbull Manufacturing. Roy Fishpaw provided a set of his magnificent french walnut grips. Smith & Wesson barreled Ruger single actions are a house favorite at Bowen Classic Arms. We’ve built them in both blue and stainless in every caliber imaginable from . Single- Six) to .
Linebaugh Bisley models and about everything in between. August 2. 01. 2, Old Model Ruger Bisley — Since the newest generation of single- action shooters largely cut their teeth on Ruger Blackhawks and Vaqueros, all the arm- waving and foot- stamping about the New Model Ruger lockwork by purists may not make a lot of sense to the newbies who acclimated perfectly well to available Ruger revolvers. The newest iteration with the indexing pawl arrangement has done a lot to diffuse the legitimate complaint that the chambers and loading trough did not align properly for easy loading and unloading. Even so, the new guns just don't sound or feel the same to True Believers. Further, many of the later Ruger models- -such as the Bisley- -were never offered in Old Model persuasion. Neither were the early XR3 Colt- style grip frames available in steel. Nobody was going to get the best of both worlds without intervention.
Happily, there is always some meddlesome sort who not only sees clearly what needs to be done but can do it. Thanks to both David Clements of Clements Custom Guns and the fine folks at Power Custom, we have an assortment Old Model hammers and triggers that enable the custom trade to produce heretofore unavailable Old Model Rugers. With the advent of their Keith No. Old and New Model Rugers, Power Custom produced both a Bisley hammer and a standard wide trigger with Old Model lockwork and sear surfaces.
While David Clements has produced both true Old Model Bisley and Bisley- spur Army- style hammers and standard and Bisley triggers, perhaps his most intriguing and useful parts are the hybrid Old Model Bisley and standard triggers that feature standard Old Model lock sears but are designed to use with the New Model trigger return spring arrangement common to the various New Model grip frames. What this means, in the giant scheme of things, is we can build Old Model guns fitted with any New Model grip frame. The gun shown here is a good example. It started life as an ordinary . Magnum Old Model Blackhawk of no partuclar distinction.