J-Bar
Member
Skip Hanson was a year ahead of me in elementary school. An only child, he lived a block from our new house when we moved in 1953. I was in third grade. His basement was full of old books and magazines preserved by his mom and dad. Skip's father was more into outdoor sports, hunting, shooting, fishing, than my father was. I loved going through his dad's collection of old Stoeger's "Shooter's Bibles" from the 1930's, 40's and 50's. Page after page of firearms. (Later, after puberty hit in junior high school, other magazines would also become interesting, but the lure of the old "Shooter's Bible" would not diminish.) Smith and Wesson produced great advertising copy for their revolvers in the mid-20th century. Who could resist owning a gun called a "Combat Masterpiece?" I bought that one in the 1990s.
The copy for the 38/44 Heavy Duty, an N-Frame .38 Special built for a souped-up .38 Special cartridge, spec'd to push a 158 grain bullet at over 1100 feet per second, was aimed not only for law enforcement officers, but also for those sportsmen who needed an extraordinarily powerful handgun:
Most of you know the history. Ignorant folks put 38/44 Heavy Duty cartridges into regular .38 Special revolvers and the results were unpleasant. So Smith and Wesson stretched the .38 High Power brass a bit and called it the .357 Magnum in an effort to keep customers from blowing up guns and injuring themselves.
Since drooling over the advertising copy in Mr. Hanson's old Shooter's Bibles, I have wanted a .38/.44 Heavy Duty. Today at the RK Gunshow in Springfield, Missouri, I got my chance. The line to get in was 50 yards long at 9:30 AM when I got there, and 100 yards long at 10:30AM when I left. Free parking, $12 entrance fee for both days ($10 if you had a post card proving you were a returning customer). My favorite Smith and Wesson pusher finally brought one to the show. He saved it for me until I showed up. Good thing he did because it was a helluva show; both exhibition halls at the fair grounds were full of exhibitors and customers.
The serial number dates it to 1955, a 5-screw, 5" Heavy Duty Model of 1950 “Pre Model 20” with original diamond magna grips. If you look closely there are some beauty marks on the side plate near the trigger guard, but otherwise she looks pretty good. Bore, chambers, recoil shield are perfect. I paid too much, but I wanted it. He's happy, I'm happy, and yes it is going to go to the range next week. If the targets look good I will post a follow up. If they don't, well...
I think Skip and his dad would be pleased.
The copy for the 38/44 Heavy Duty, an N-Frame .38 Special built for a souped-up .38 Special cartridge, spec'd to push a 158 grain bullet at over 1100 feet per second, was aimed not only for law enforcement officers, but also for those sportsmen who needed an extraordinarily powerful handgun:
Most of you know the history. Ignorant folks put 38/44 Heavy Duty cartridges into regular .38 Special revolvers and the results were unpleasant. So Smith and Wesson stretched the .38 High Power brass a bit and called it the .357 Magnum in an effort to keep customers from blowing up guns and injuring themselves.
Since drooling over the advertising copy in Mr. Hanson's old Shooter's Bibles, I have wanted a .38/.44 Heavy Duty. Today at the RK Gunshow in Springfield, Missouri, I got my chance. The line to get in was 50 yards long at 9:30 AM when I got there, and 100 yards long at 10:30AM when I left. Free parking, $12 entrance fee for both days ($10 if you had a post card proving you were a returning customer). My favorite Smith and Wesson pusher finally brought one to the show. He saved it for me until I showed up. Good thing he did because it was a helluva show; both exhibition halls at the fair grounds were full of exhibitors and customers.
The serial number dates it to 1955, a 5-screw, 5" Heavy Duty Model of 1950 “Pre Model 20” with original diamond magna grips. If you look closely there are some beauty marks on the side plate near the trigger guard, but otherwise she looks pretty good. Bore, chambers, recoil shield are perfect. I paid too much, but I wanted it. He's happy, I'm happy, and yes it is going to go to the range next week. If the targets look good I will post a follow up. If they don't, well...
I think Skip and his dad would be pleased.
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