MythBuster: Dirty Harry Did NOT Carry .44 Magnum!

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The ongoing controversy.

Burning issues of our time . . . .

Clint Eastwood vs. Richard Boone vs. John Wayne vs. . . .

Special Loads vs. light special loads vs. .44 special loads vs. 5-1n-1 BLANK loads . . . .

.41 vs. .44 vs. .45 target vs. .45 Colt . . . See thread last April - -
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=1657838#post1657838

And everyone using either lines from a movie or internet rumor to substantiate their own viewpoint. Guys, I am DISGUSTED!

You're all missing the big point. No one's mentioned the true movie controversy:
Vern: You think Mighty Mouse could beat up Superman?
Teddy: What are you, cracked?
Vern: No, I saw him on TV the other day, he was holding five elephants in one hand.
Teddy: Boy, you don't know nothing. Mighty Mouse is a cartoon. Superman's a real guy. There's no way a cartoon could beat up a real guy.
Vern: I guess you're right. It'd be a good fight though.
Click to expand...
Dialogue from Stand By Me, dir. by Rob Reiner, 1986, per IMDb.com

(Mandatory movie firearms content: Remember the shocking result of poor gunhandling in the movie? But there was at least one good line used to discourage attackers . . . .)
:D

Best,
Johnny
 
Regarding Easy Rider.

Yep a redneck in a pickup truck and wielding a shotgun blew Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda away. Those damm rednecks and their guns. Actually you aren't 100% certain that they're both dead, but Fonda's bike is blown clean apart. Which is significant because all of their drug money is in the gas tank of his bike. The movie is interesting as a time capsule, but my overall impression of the time period is :barf: :barf:
 
Yea, don't want to go off-topic, but I only rented the movie a few months ago, and I did notice there was a bit of hostility. Not just in the plot, but generally in the movie.
 
I know what you're thinking. "Did he fire six shots or only five?" Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement I kind of lost track myself. But being as this is a .44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world, and would blow your head clean off, you've got to ask yourself a question: Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
Click to expand...

There, end of argument.

I love the organ/harmon music in that movie. Must buy the DVD. Must buy the DVD. Must buy the DVD.
 
Checkman Got It Right

The gun used by Clint Eastwood in the movie was put together out of spare parts. The only thing about it that is not Mod 29 specification is the serial number. The serial number will come back as a model 57 because thats what they had at the time. They took an, in the white frame, from the model 57 line and made it into a Model 29 with all markings appropriate for a 29. I hope this clears things up.
Mike
 
Clears things up? Hell's Bells™, it's looking more and more like Brown-25™ to me.

The serial number will come back as a model 57 because thats what they had at the time.
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WFT? :scrutiny:

S&W doesn't assign serial numbers to a specific model number. Only to a particular frame size. Pay the money for a letter form Mr Jinks and you'll find the serial number will "come back" to whatever model it was made as.
Are you seriously saying that the Dirty Harry movie guns have frames stamped Model 57 instead of 29-2?
A mismarked factory production S&W revolver is a collector's dream. But these guns (if they existed) would, by now, be infamous amongst S&W collectors.

S&W revolvers are NOT produced in sequential order with regard to serial numbers. It's quite common to find a S&W with a certain serial number that was made months or even years before another S&W with a LOWER serial number. For example the first Model 57 produced had a serial number of S236941. But there are other Model 57s with lower serial numbers.

They took an, in the white frame, from the model 57 line and made it into a Model 29 with all markings appropriate for a 29.
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So which is it? A 57 or a 29?
If all markings were "appropriate for a 29" then the frame will be stamped 29-2 and it will "come back" as a Model 29.
There's no such thing as an "in the white" Model 57 frame. Such a creature would have been an "in the white" N-frame. In regard to the Target N-frame only the model 27 frame would have been different while "in the white" because prior to blueing the top strap was checkered.


Don't you think these "facts" that you have stated would show up somewhere else instead of only as Internet misconceptions?
Don't you think some mention might have been made of these anomalies in The History of Smith & Wesson by Roy Jinks or The Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson by Jim Supica & Richard Nahas?


If I could confirm the serial numbers of the real Harry Callahan revolvers I'd pay the fees for the bloody factory letters myself.
 
Let Me Restate

The gun is a Model 29 its serial number is whithin the range of serial numbers assigned to Model 57s. If you add or subtract 1 it will come back as a Model 57 because Smith & Wesson was making 57s at the time. The only relationship that Harry's gun has to a Model 57 is that the in the in the white frame came out of a batch that was used to make model 57s. All rumors that it was a Model 57 can be traced back to the frame coming from the model 57 assembly line.
Mike
 
It is my understanding that S&W did not assign serial numbers to specific models. I have seen two S&Ws of different models with consecutive numbers. I have also seen maybe 25 S&Ws with the wrong model number stamped on the frame. This happens when frames are not assigned to a specific model and the worker accidentally uses the wrong model stamp.

Note in The Stadard Catalog of S&W the author lists the serial number range for the "Registered Magnum" as 45768-62489 with 5,500 made. That's almost 17,000 numbers and only a third were assigned to the RMs. The book clearly states that these guns were numbered "within the .44 Hand Ejector Series." So all the N frame made at that time used serial numbers from that range. No numbers were assigned to any one model except in very rare cases.

The gun in Dirty Harry was a regular production M29-2. Everyone involved with the movie says so and I don't understand why it's still being debated. Any mention, ANY, of a Model 57 in Dirty Harry is a myth.
 
Even more Brown-25*

All rumors that it was a Model 57 can be traced back to the frame coming from the model 57 assembly line.
Click to expand...
See, even you admit it's a rumor. Disregarding that, it's painfully obvious you are ignorant as to how Smith & Wesson production was done in that era.

Forget that "add one - subtract one" horsehocky. S&W drew from the same frame lot for Models 25/27/28/29/57. S&W made NO attempt to sort them by model or to use them in numerical order.

Imagine if you will, we all know you have a vivid imagination, a huge box of frames, with several people just reaching in a grabbing one whenever they needed one.

It's extremely rare to find two S&W revolvers of the same model with consecutive serial numbers. Ask Roy Jinks, the S&W historian, if you don't believe me (or anyone else on this forum).





*Brown-25™ ©1974 The Groove Tube
80m.jpg
 
I remember seeing Dirty Harry for the first time in the base theater at Camp LeJeune back in '76. It was totally cool to me until he stakes out the bad-guy on the roof with a .458 Winchester! What a DORK! Obviously, the people writing the movie went to the Biggest and Baddest when they spec'd out things, not what would actually work the best.

And, that was the moment I placed Dirty Harry in the 'Entertainment' catagory and out of the 'To be taken seriously' one.
 
The 458 fit the personality of Dirty Harry though. Today Dirty Harry would use a Barret 50.
 
Well Shucks, Boys, Let's Toss This In The Mix Of Irrelevent Information.

I own a M29-2 6" S&W sixgun in 41MAGNUM. It came right outta the box that way. S&W Wanted it back to make a " real M29 out of it " but I turned 'em down as it shoot too well as is to go messing with it.
 
Ok, I did the FREEZE FRAME on the DVD. The gun is in fact an HK USP. Yeah, it suprised me too. All this time he was using the prototype HK wheelgun. Now we all know we were wrong.

Jeebus guys, it's just a movie.
 
Off topic, but why was Dirty Harry's star #2211? Anybody know?
 
Will Terry, please read my previous post. I have seen about 25 S&Ws (all N frames) with the wrong model number stamped on them. It's not that rare. You don't have a Model 29 in .41 Mag, you have a Model 57 mismarked as a Model 29.
 
So that's what really happened!

It was so simple, now it all makes sense.

S&W got the orders mixed up and installed the parts bass-ackwards on Will's and Harry's guns.

It's so easy to see how they got the two gentlemen confused. ;)
 
It was totally cool to me until he stakes out the bad-guy on the roof with a .458 Winchester! What a DORK!
Click to expand...

LOL, that drove me nuts to see him do that! Cause he wanted 'an edge'... sigh :)

Did you see the enormous recoil on that thing? Of couse it didn't work... not even for our hero. :p

I remember thinking at the time that he'd have been better off with an M1 Carbine or even a Nylon 66. Oh, well... great movies and a lot of fun for gun guys. :)

StrikeEagle
 
"I own a M29-2 6" S&W sixgun in 41MAGNUM. It came right outta the box that way. S&W Wanted it back to make a " real M29 out of it " but I turned 'em down as it shoot too well as is to go messing with it."

I've seen one of these in a local store. I was waiting for somebody to mention it.
Whatever they used in the movie, Smith and Wesson is planning some sort of museum and is claiming they will have the original Dirty Harry N Frame as one of the exhibits. Whether or not they are telling the truth is another question.

But anyway, here's the link:
http://ir.smith-wesson.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=90977&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=721269&highlight=
 
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rdnzl-Lives needed here

I love it when folks post their comments about these threads. These threads are fun guys. So what if we want to waste time arguing about what model Clint used in Dirty Harry? For that matter if you feel that way why are you even posting on this thread? Actaully why are you even reading it? That's like me complaining about this country's cult of celebrity while I'm watching all those idiotic shows about celebrities on E!. Which I do occassionally. Lighten up. Life is too short to be so darn serious. :neener:
 
Or:

It -Didn't-Cost-Me-One-Single-Penny.andInowhavemyhoverround, or;
" My name is Wilfred Brimley and I have DIABETES, or;
"You have to get the Doooogh, DRIIIIVE to the VET and then SIT and WAIT!, or;
"Living with Genital Herpes can Be Uh Hassle."

Not many celebrities there but they make me want to dip a snuff.
 
This again?

I wonder how many times there is going to be a post debating this very question? Harry Callahan says it's a .44 mag that's good enough for me. ;)
 
Final word on Dirty Harry's M29 and "light special" rounds - screenwriter John Milius

"Magnum Force" screenwriter John Milius displays one of the original M29s used in the filming of Dirty Harry in extra feature of new collector's edition DVD.

Milius also supplies the final word (although not exactly a mea culpa given the script is supposedly his) on his commentary track that accompanies the indoor range scene when Harry states his preference for "light specials" when asked what kind of load he uses.
 
3 years later..........

3 years later.....this thread makes a triumphant return.

But I always thought San Francisco Police Inspectors all carried GLOCKs.:rolleyes:
 
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