Schweeeeet !!
Love me some S&W wheel guns.

 

Wow, beautiful revolver! Congrats!

 

those had hardened hammers; it has been refinished. for the life of me i do not know what people are thinking when they have guns with case-colored hammers and triggers thrown in the mix with the rest of the parts. that is a good gun in one of my favorite calibers!

 

OUTSTANDING, Jay! What a snag on super fine Smith! Curious what velocity book max is for the 800-X/240 gr hard cast. The Rosewood Magnas grips will certainly set this Smith off, I'm green with envy, and you definitely stole it for that price!

Sure wish I could see some close up pics but it appears NIB. Congrats!

Jack

 

OUTSTANDING, Jay! What a snag on super fine Smith! Curious what velocity book max is for the 800-X/240 gr hard cast. The Rosewood Magnas grips will certainly set this Smith off, I'm green with envy, and you definitely stole it for that price!

Sure wish I could see some close up pics but it appears NIB. Congrats!

Jack

The Hodgdons book max is 7 grs of 800-X with 240 gr hard cast which shoot well in my Rugers and this Smith. I figure the MV from this Smith is ~825 to ~850 FPS.

 

CLASSIC!

 

Nice old revolver. Like posted above the hammer and trigger being nickel means it was a aftermarket finish.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I think the rosewood grips you ordered are going to look real nice on that old revolver.

Congrats on obtaining that revolver!

Guy

 

S&W never plated their hammers or triggers. However, you paid far less than my two S&W 44 Specials shown here.

 

That’s a he k of a deal on a fantastic old revolver!

 

I'm going to say it's refinished. The S&W logo and a few of the letters are buffed into a bit. Still a beautiful revolver that can be shot a bunch and last another 95 years.

 

Yes Sir! There's just "something" about a big ole S&W .44 Special! Refinished or not - that's a mighty fine-looking revolver! Enjoy that one for sure!

WYT-P
Skyhunter

 

Cripes, you can't even buy an excellent condition Charter Bulldog for $450 today. Helluva' score and sounds like a great shooter, to boot. Nice!

 

That would be a third model 44 hand ejector or Model of 1926. The Outdorrsman name was used for the 38/44 with the adjustable sights. As mentioned, Smith didn't plate the hammers, they were cased and left that way. If you pull off the left grip, there would be marks if its a factory refinish, or was sent back for work. Still it's a nice useable gun. When Smith starts taking requests for letters again, it would be interesting to see it's history. Being a '27 gun, it might have been a Wolf and Klar gun, which would add to it's mystique.
Pre-war refinishing is often surprisingly good. I have a '39 vintage .22 Outdoorsman with a nickle finish that was done by one of the bigger New York City outfits that's like yours, essentially perfect. Hand polishing, and experienced men on the buffing wheel do not smear letters and round edges. Nice find!!

 

Beauty! Had some over the years that I would like to have back. The nickel looks great. Dont leave any Hoppe's on it.

BTW, S&W did hard chrome plate some hammers and triggers. These were a satin finish.

 

I hear ya on the Hoppes---it can really damage a nickel finish. I only use Ballistol for cleaning on this N frame Smith and also on a nickeled 1980 Mod 25-5 45 Colt.

 

As Doubletap stated there are some that can really do a nice job on a nickel refinish. Fords in Florida is one. I have a Highway Patrol 28-2 that is not factory but you can't tell by the finish.

 

Great Find Jay! Beautiful gun in a fantastic caliber! I'd be tempted to not smoke that one up with carbon, but not enough to stop me from shooting it. Congratulations!!! Looking forward to pics with the new grips too.

 

Thanks Kerry! I have shot the pistol once and using Ballistol--it cleaned up pretty nice. I also can't wait for the new grips, too. I don't really care for the plastic ones on the revolver now---I would have never put them on that Smith. I guess styles change over the years!

 

sleep with that one dude!

 

Someone has one that looks just like this one with a 6" barrel it looks like listed for sale over at the Smith & Wesson Forum.

 

Nice lookin .44.

 

That's my second favorite S&W with the Triple Lock being my first. It is a fine looking specimen but I am gonna say that it has been refinished . Looks like a factory quality job except for the plated hammer and trigger. Still a gun anyone should be proud to own and shoot. Congratulations on finding it.

 

Nice find Ret_Eng ! I love 44 special too. I looked and watched for a long time for a pistol I could dedicate to 44 special but just never came across one I could pull the trigger on...until...walked in LGS one day with few bucks in my pocket, just to look, buy a little replacement ammo. Lo and behold, I spied a S&W sstl 4" Combat Magnum in the case and said Let's see that please. My mind started cranking and whoops....home it went ! I've got a Mod 29 with Leupold PowerPoint Pro on it, 6" bbl, that I take hunting with me, but couldn't dedicate that to just 44 Spl could I ? Never saw a sgl action or other I really wanted but this one spoke to me ! Shoots great. Like taking it and my 1895 to range and having a contest....pistol at 25, rifle at 50, see which I can shoot tightest group with that day. Hope you really enjoy your new 44 !

 

Even refinished, you got an awesome deal on an awesome revolver! I have several S&W.44 Specials from this era.
As “Double Tap” indicated in his excellent response (#17), it is indeed one of approximately 3500 3rd Model .44 Specials marketed exclusively by Wolf and Klar in Fort Worth Texas. This variation was basically a reintroduced Triple Lock without the third locking feature. You could call it a 2nd Model with the ejector rod shroud added.
As an aside, 50 were bought by the Providence RI Police for their motorcycle officers in 1931.
It was uncataloged until circa 1940 when W&K’s contract ended.
$450 was an excellent deal!
Shoot it and enjoy!!!!

 

Here are the pics of my "new" 44 SPL Smith with the replacement rosewood grips:

I shot this pistol again this morning, trying out some 44 SPL +P loads in the 1,100 FPS MV range. The revolver shot to POA at 7 yards, so its time to try it out at 15 yards next. This Smith now feels a lot more comfortable in my hands with the wood grips--easier and faster to point on target and the grips feel much more natural to me.

 

There was a nice M-1926 W&K .44 spec. on Gun Broker a few weeks ago that was very nice. It also had the wooden case with it.

 

Jay, those rosewood (my favorite) grips really set off the nickle finish, what a beauty! The classic grip profile happen to be my favorite as well. The Rosewood "Eagle" grips I put on my GP100 could not fit my large hands better, love them.

Excellent upgrade, Jay.

Jack