*EXTREMELY RARE AND IMPORTANT ZERO SERIES SMITH & WESSON .357 MAGNUM DA REVOLVER THAT BELONGED TO ELMER KEITH.

SN 0362. Cal. .357 Magnum. Extremely rare early Magnum revolver with blue finish and 6-1/2″ ribbed bbl that has Partridge front sight and Smith & Wesson adjustable rear sight. Top rib & top strap are checkered as is the rear sight base in the top strap. Hammer is orig with patent date on rear edge but has had the spur modified to a Colt Bisley style with fine checkering. Trigger is also modified with a longer & more curved design with serrated face. Sides of both hammer & trigger are jeweled. What is most unusual is the replaced hammer spring which is an enclosed coil spring inside a tube with the piston acting on a cam to actuate the hammer. This makes for an extremely smooth, quick action. Trigger let-off is about 2-3 lbs. Frame is 5-screw type and is mounted with incredibly beautiful, Magna-sized, burl Circassian walnut grips. Accompanied by a blue velvet-lined Smith & Wesson mahogany presentation case with Smith & Wesson aluminum handle screwdriver and cotton mop. Cleaning rod & brush are missing. This revolver will letter from Smith & Wesson as being listed “In the Zero book as being built on January 21, 1941 by Mr. Williams for Victor Wesson.” Mr. Roy Jinks adds that “This is questionable as there are four letters in the file between Elmer Keith & Douglas Wesson concerning a 8-3/4″ experimental Magnum but no numbers are listed. The Magnum revolver was shipped in July, 1935 to Elmer Keith, North Forks, ID. There is no question he had one of the zero serial numbered Magnum revolvers”. In Mr. Keith’s book Six Guns, on p. 42, Mr. Keith is discussing experimenting with loads more powerful for the .38 Special and he mentions that “Smith & Wesson brought out the .357 Magnum with 8-3/8″ barrel”. He continues later “Doug sent me gun No. 0362 for testing and I gave it the works on jack rabbits and other pests, and wrote up the results in the American Rifleman, killing 125 jacks with it in three days at ranges from a few steps to one jack standing on his hindlegs at a measured 180 yards. Shooting was offhand but using both hands”. In the earlier writing on that page, Mr. Keith mentions working with “Doug” on the various loadings of the .38 Special which resulted in the development & adoption of the .357 Magnum by Smith & Wesson. Mr. Keith, throughout all of the testing prior to the receipt of this revolver, used a Smith & Wesson .38/44 heavy duty revolver. Later on the same page, Mr. Keith discusses that the 8-3/8″ revolver was not as accurate beyond 125 yards as the older Smith & Wesson Outdoorsman with 6-1/2″ bbl. Later on the page, he states that he returned “Our Magnum to the S&W factory and had the barrel cut to 6-1/2 inches. It balances much better and has since killed a lot of game, including some big game and two cougar, as well as innumerable bob cats, coyotes and eagles”. Incredibly few zero series revolvers were ever made and few of those are known today. It is this cataloger’s understanding that the zero series firearms from Smith & Wesson were intended as test or presentation pieces which certainly qualifies in this instance. This is an incredible opportunity to own one of the revolvers used by Mr. Keith to continue in the development of the .357 Magnum cartridge. Accompanying this revolver are two typewritten letters from Elmer Keith to “Maj. D.B. Wesson”, one dated July 28th, and the other Aug. 3rd, presumably 1935 and two letters in response to Mr. Keith from D.B. Wesson dated Aug. 5 and Aug. 14, 1935. Mr. Keith’s letters report great satisfaction with this revolver, its accuracy and killing power but complains throughout both letters about the bbl length. In Mr. Wesson’s Aug. 5th letter he tells Mr. Keith that once the testing is over Smith & Wesson will be happy to replace the bbl with whatever length he wished down to 3-1/2″. PROVENANCE: The Elmer Keith Estate Collection. CONDITION: Very fine, all matching including bbl, cyl & frame, grips as noted above. Overall retains about 96-97% glossy, orig factory blue with light holster wear at muzzle & sharp edge wear. Grips are extremely fine & retain about all of their orig custom finish. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. Case & tools are fine. 4-48021 JR255 (4,000-7,000) – Lot 1029

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Auction: Firearms - March 2015

Please Note: All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

Image	Lot	Price	Description
	1029	$28,750.00	EXTREMELY RARE AND IMPORTANT ZERO SERIES SMITH & WESSON .357 MAGNUM DA REVOLVER THAT BELONGED TO ELMER KEITH. SN 0362. Cal. .357 Magnum. Extremely rare early Magnum revolver with blue finish and 6-1/2″ ribbed bbl that has Partridge front sight and Smith & Wesson adjustable rear sight. Top rib & top strap are checkered as is the rear sight base in the top strap. Hammer is orig with patent date on rear edge but has had the spur modified to a Colt Bisley style with fine checkering. Trigger is also modified with a longer & more curved design with serrated face. Sides of both hammer & trigger are jeweled. What is most unusual is the replaced hammer spring which is an enclosed coil spring inside a tube with the piston acting on a cam to actuate the hammer. This makes for an extremely smooth, quick action. Trigger let-off is about 2-3 lbs. Frame is 5-screw type and is mounted with incredibly beautiful, Magna-sized, burl Circassian walnut grips. Accompanied by a blue velvet-lined Smith & Wesson mahogany presentation case with Smith & Wesson aluminum handle screwdriver and cotton mop. Cleaning rod & brush are missing. This revolver will letter from Smith & Wesson as being listed “In the Zero book as being built on January 21, 1941 by Mr. Williams for Victor Wesson.” Mr. Roy Jinks adds that “This is questionable as there are four letters in the file between Elmer Keith & Douglas Wesson concerning a 8-3/4″ experimental Magnum but no numbers are listed. The Magnum revolver was shipped in July, 1935 to Elmer Keith, North Forks, ID. There is no question he had one of the zero serial numbered Magnum revolvers”. In Mr. Keith’s book Six Guns, on p. 42, Mr. Keith is discussing experimenting with loads more powerful for the .38 Special and he mentions that “Smith & Wesson brought out the .357 Magnum with 8-3/8″ barrel”. He continues later “Doug sent me gun No. 0362 for testing and I gave it the works on jack rabbits and other pests, and wrote up the results in the American Rifleman, killing 125 jacks with it in three days at ranges from a few steps to one jack standing on his hindlegs at a measured 180 yards. Shooting was offhand but using both hands”. In the earlier writing on that page, Mr. Keith mentions working with “Doug” on the various loadings of the .38 Special which resulted in the development & adoption of the .357 Magnum by Smith & Wesson. Mr. Keith, throughout all of the testing prior to the receipt of this revolver, used a Smith & Wesson .38/44 heavy duty revolver. Later on the same page, Mr. Keith discusses that the 8-3/8″ revolver was not as accurate beyond 125 yards as the older Smith & Wesson Outdoorsman with 6-1/2″ bbl. Later on the page, he states that he returned “Our Magnum to the S&W factory and had the barrel cut to 6-1/2 inches. It balances much better and has since killed a lot of game, including some big game and two cougar, as well as innumerable bob cats, coyotes and eagles”. Incredibly few zero series revolvers were ever made and few of those are known today. It is this cataloger’s understanding that the zero series firearms from Smith & Wesson were intended as test or presentation pieces which certainly qualifies in this instance. This is an incredible opportunity to own one of the revolvers used by Mr. Keith to continue in the development of the .357 Magnum cartridge. Accompanying this revolver are two typewritten letters from Elmer Keith to “Maj. D.B. Wesson”, one dated July 28th, and the other Aug. 3rd, presumably 1935 and two letters in response to Mr. Keith from D.B. Wesson dated Aug. 5 and Aug. 14, 1935. Mr. Keith’s letters report great satisfaction with this revolver, its accuracy and killing power but complains throughout both letters about the bbl length. In Mr. Wesson’s Aug. 5th letter he tells Mr. Keith that once the testing is over Smith & Wesson will be happy to replace the bbl with whatever length he wished down to 3-1/2″. PROVENANCE: The Elmer Keith Estate Collection. CONDITION: Very fine, all matching including bbl, cyl & frame, grips as noted above. Overall retains about 96-97% glossy, orig factory blue with light holster wear at muzzle & sharp edge wear. Grips are extremely fine & retain about all of their orig custom finish. Mechanics are crisp, bright shiny bore. Case & tools are fine. 4-48021 JR255 (4,000-7,000) – Lot 1029 Click here to view provenance Auction: Firearms - March 2015 Please Note:* All prices include the hammer price plus the buyer’s premium, which is paid by the buyer as part of the purchase price. The prices noted here after the auction are considered unofficial and do not become official until after the 46th day.

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*EXTREMELY RARE AND IMPORTANT ZERO SERIES SMITH & WESSON .357 MAGNUM DA REVOLVER THAT BELONGED TO ELMER KEITH.