How much did Dirty Harry help?

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Jesserack

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I gotta ask everybody's opinion about how much Dirty Harry helped Smith & Wesson's sales, and even general revolver sales just from looking so cool in the movies. It was shortly after watching "Magnum Force" that I started taking a serious look at a revolver for my first personal firearm. I had done research on plenty of automatics, but never really took a good look at the wheelguns. After going over the pros and cons, I eventually ended up with a .357 revolver. I know that I made that decision from perfectly rational reasons and I could not be happier with my purchase, but I can't help thinking about how much the movie icon motivated me to look in that direction. Anybody else think those movies might have made a difference in your choices?

jesserack

p.s. I didn't get a .44mag, but I did end up with a S&W.
 
Well Dirty Harry helped make Model 29's impossible to find for several years after the movie came out. Those you did see were selling at double or more MSRP. (S&W wasn't getting any of it either, the dealers were)

But at the time, all S&W's were in very short supply due to several reasons. First, the Wesson family sold the company to Bangor Punta Alegre Sugar Corp in 1965. At which point, they promptly raided the factory and shipped a bunch of the machinery to Brazil for use by the fledgling Taurus company Bangor Punta also owned.

And a lot of their production at the time was going to Vietnam, and other places that go bump in the night.

They were not able to supply demand even before the movie, so I doubt it helped sales much at all at the time..

rc
 
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Well Dirty Harry helped make Model 29's impossible to find for several years after the movie came out.
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The way I remember was that after every Dirty Harry movie there was a run on S&W 29's and about 3 to 6 months later you could find lots of them in the classifieds for 1/2 to 2/3rds the price after the new owners shot them and found out how much bark and recoil bite they have.
 
S&W Model 29s became impossible to find. I had an FFL at the time and could not order Model 29s for customers because what supply there was went to the big dealerships. I did get to shoot one that was FBI tuned and belonged to the then chief of police in Springville,Al. It was the smoothest action and trigger I had ever shot before or since.
 
in the classifieds for 1/2 to 2/3rds the price
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I sure don't remember that! They were very scarce guns, and even a used one would sell for way more then MSRP.

I do remember a lot of Ruger .44 Blackhawks at fire sale prices in the early 60's that came with most of the first box of ammo still intact though.

I also remember that 1960's .44 mag ammo being loaded way hotter then todays ammo too. Norma .44 Mag ammo would put the hurts on your hand in a 4" Model 29 after a few rounds!

rc
 
Funny You should ask...

Since I was a little Wug, I've wanted a 44 Magnum S&W (Hell any S&W honestly I've got 3)..See I was born in 1980, so right about that time the first few Dirty Harry movies had ingrained themselves into Modern Movie Classics, needless to say I watched them a bunch as a kid. I've always liked Clint always will..but to me the star of those movies was that beautiful hand cannon. To me that was a perfect lust object..Short segue here my parents separated years ago so without discussing this with each other my mother as a gift gave me an old stainless .38 special model 60-1. My dad a few years later gave me a nickel pre 27 .357 long barrel. These are two of my most prized possessions (I mean I got an S&W from each parent that touched my heart there folks)...Yesterday 2-12-10 I found and bought a stainless 44 mag with the 8 3/8 barrel model 629-1, so basically I finally got a dream gun that Dirty Harry Callahan turned me on to back in 1984....
Well that was alot of words so here is some pics..Top to bottom the .38, .357 and the .44.

3revolvers.jpg

I do love Smiths for many reasons other than those movies, I'm not a Hollywood sycophant. The first gun I ever fired as a boy was a Smith 44 mag. I was 10. The thing put me on my ass, and I did the only thing a boy could do..I stood up braced myself and unloaded that big mofo. From that moment on I was hooked on big bore.
 
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As RC stated -- for a year or so , 29s were VERY VERY hard to get and at the time , I NEVER seen a used one for sale at any of the local gun shops.

At the old Outdoor Sportsman in Waukegan IL , in one week -- I bought a custom Gold Cup , a 6" Python , a 4" nickle Model 57 , a H&K 91 , and a used High Standard riot gun.
The main salesguy { can't recall his name } fell in love with me and told me that there was a shipment of 29s coming in the next day ---- two were already sold and if I wanted , I could buy the 3rd ---- I SAID " SOLD" !!!! And then asked what the 3rd 29 was as far as finish/brl. length etc. --- he didn't know but I said I'd take it whatever.
Next day , I go over and it is a blued 8 3/8" !!!! I just loved the wood boxes the top of the line S&Ws came in at the time ----- BTW , the 29 cost me the most--$550 ----- the other guns I bought that week were all around $500 includeing the H&K 91.

Out of the 6 firearms I bought that week , the only one I still have is the 29 !!!! And it is NEVER going to be for sale. Still looks good for a 30+ year old "user".

SW29--44Mag.jpg


And YES , I do think the Dirty Harry movies helped S&Ws sales BIG TIME !!!
 
Might have been this one that made me choose the S&W 686+ 6" as my first handgun. Had to special order it from a shop and in a couple weeks they called me up.

So I go over there on my lunch break and the owner pulls out this blue box and hands it to me. I open it and the gun is wrapped in some kind of oil paper. Lifted it up and well... it's been a love affair ever since. I've belonged to many shooting clubs and have fired all manner of revolvers and autos, but nothing makes me feel invincible like the 686 Combat Magnum. Perfectly balanced, molded to your hand, the precision gears like a Swiss watch.

It's funny, because I shoot the Rossi R97 4" much better than the S&W and prefer the Rossi in competition, but the Smith gives me more confidence and it's my primary HD behind the shotgun. Doesn't make any sense, but there you have it.
 
..."I gotta ask everybody's opinion about how much Dirty Harry helped Smith & Wesson's sales, and even general revolver sales just from looking so cool in the movies."...

couldn't say how much the movie helped sales. i would bet dollars against doughnuts that it taught many the 6 1/2" bbl was too much for concealed use though!

gunnie
 
shockwave,

the movie came out in the early '70's. the 686 came out in 1980. can't say for sure without seeing the movie again, but i think the competition winner had a python.

gunnie
 
Dirty Harry helped a lot. With Smith's hard to come by and selling for much more than retail Ruger single action .44 sales also went way up.
 
"Dirty Harry" MADE the Model 29 and the .44 Magnum. Before that, the caliber and the gun were generally looked on as too much gun for the average shooter, and strictly for those wanting to hunt with a revolver (much as the S&W .500 is today).

"Dirty Harry" changed the picture and, as others have said, the guns were simply unobtainable for a couple of years, with dealers charging premiums for those that they could get.

Even Rugers were in short supply as everyone (except me - I still don't own or want a .44 Magnum) wanted .44 Magnum revolvers.

Jim
 
my opinion is that the Dirty Harry movies helped a great deal, as would any with any manufacturer that has their product in a high profile movie.

much like companies slap their names on "cars" that have nothing to do with their line and run them at high speed in circles.

The effect of the Dirty Harry movies was probably far beyond that of the model 29. "you don't think we arew gonna let you just walk out of here"

"Smith and Wesson and me"

First class promotion of Smith and Wesson
 
I first heard of Magnum cartridges in general, and the .44 Magnum specifically from Dirty Harry movies as a kid (24 now), and it did have an impact on me wanting to 'play with one' :D.

I happened to stumble upon an indoor range of all things at Surfer's Paradise, Australia back in 2006 and finally got my chance.
Well, it was a 629 Classic which is close enough for me.

It was a lot of fun and I came away with a big grin, but I did handle and shoot a lot better with a 686 in .357 at that same range.
 
the movie came out in the early '70's. the 686 came out in 1980. can't say for sure without seeing the movie again, but i think the competition winner had a python.
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Correct ---- David Soul AKA Hutch did use a Python against Harry in the movie.
 
My boss in the gun shop used to say that Smith 29 demand and sales went up every time one of the movies was on TV.
"...I gots to know..." That's a very young Danny Glover, unless I'm very confused.
cyclopsshooter. Please reduce the size of your pictures.
"...did use a Python..." Yep. A 4" Python. 'Magnum Force' released in 1973.
"...24 now..." A gleam in your da's eye when 'Dirty Harry" was released. Still in diapers when 'The Dead Pool' was released. You poor thing. You've never seen 'em anywhere but on TV. Neither have I come to think of it. Movies got too expensive.
How well did the revolver fit your hand? Smith's don't fit my hand at all.
"...I still don't own or want a .44 Magnum..." Ditto. A .45 Colt is a different story. Preferably a pair of consecutively numbered, SS, 7.5", Vaqueros with real ivory grips. One would do. Have a birthday coming up next month if ya'll were thinking about what and when. Don't worry about the holster. I'll make that myself. snicker.
 
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since we're on Dirty Harry...I don't mean to hi-jack the thread, this is just a little Harry Trivia.


In one of the first three movies (made in '71, '73 and '76) the victim is stabbed nd Harry makes reference to the suspect using a "rambo knife".


Rambo (which was actally called "first blood") didn't come out until 1982. I can't find a single reference anywhere that a survival, K-BAR knife was ever called a "rambo knife" until after the movie came out.
 
it wouldn't be outlandish to think that someone involved in the writing or making of the dirty harry movies had read the first blood novel.
 
I got my model 29 in the early 1980s specifically because I wanted the Dirty Harry gun. A friend had let me use his 44 mag Blackhawk so I knew I could handle the recoil. (The only handgun I had fired before then was a 22lr, so that first 44 mag. round was "interesting".) Loved that gun then and still do. Fortunately for my budget and the revolver I soon discovered reloading and the 44 special cartridge. I probably shoot 10 specials to 1 magnum round these days but that Model 29 is still sweet, smooth and satisfying.

Jeff
 
jakk280rem said:
it wouldn't be outlandish to think that someone involved in the writing or making of the dirty harry movies had read the first blood novel.
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nice call. I never even thought about that.

reading a book? how silly of me. :D
 
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