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Magnum Opus Project (MAGOPUS) Update – 07OCT26
I have completed, for the most part, adding a solid block of 500 serial numbers to the database I am constructing.
The goal of building this database is to have a single source that will have all the available data on Smith & Wesson (S&W) Registered Magnums (RM) in one place in a format that will be easily searchable and allow for analyzing the data to find trends and interesting sequences.
I have to preface this by saying that this is a small sampling of just 500 RM’s. The total database upon completion should be around 5,500 entries. Right now, the database is probably at 2,600 or so. The issue with using those 2,600 as a sample is that they are spread out over a very large time frame and have multiple gaps in them. Ideally, the block of guns being examined should be a complete and continuous, as is here in the RM1001-RM1500 block.
All the data presented here for the RM1001-RM1500 block represents how the gun was configured WHEN IT ORIGINALLY LEFT THE FACTORY. Many of these guns have had significant alterations (barrel length, sights, finish) that were done either on a factory work order with the gun being returned to the factory or having work done outside the factory after delivery. I cannot stress enough that this data, unless noted otherwise, represents the guns configuration when it originally left the factory.
Below is a list of the 500 RM’s in this survey and their corresponding serial number.
SERIAL NUMBERS
- RM1001/47861 – shipped 6/6/36
- RM1500/49585 – shipped 10/22/36
- RM1394/47835 – lowest s/n in this group
- RM1480/49666 – highest s/n in this group
Note that there is one gun, RM1218, where no serial number is listed and is not factored into the above.
The records are not as neat and tidy as some might think. What I present is the result of deciphering and distilling bookkeeping practices, foibles and mistakes that have been stewing for almost ninety years. Usually, I can figure it out but sometimes I have to fall back on what George Carlin called “Heavy Mystery Time”.
For example, below is the entry for RM1218; note that it is squarely sandwiched between s/n 48523 and 48524.
After chewing through documents for an hour I’m -still- not exactly sure whats going on here.
It -appears- that s/n 48524 went to a Mexican dealer, Quintana, on 7/9/36 and then the gun was somehow shipped to Warshall later on 7/15/36.
My experience has been when these double-entries (or “odd” entries as I call them) are entered, the smaller sized entry is written ABOVE the original entry.
Another thing to notice here is that s/n 48529 is Open On Book but is labelled as RM1202, same as s/n 48524.
I’m not going to suck up bandwidth with copies of all the documents I had to wade through, but my belief is that s/n 48524 was meant for, and invoiced to, Quintana but was pulled for some reason and subsequently sent to Warshal after being re-numbered as RM1218. Then s/n 48529 was numbered RM1202 and shipped to Quintana but no entry was made.
Bear in mind that the issue here is NOT how the gun was configured, but rather where it was shipped and when.
It’s entries like these that make this task so daunting at times; you’re trying to second-guess the intentions of a clerk from 90 years ago who was probably trying to get out the door at the end of the day and figured, a la Chinatown, “Forget it Jake, it’s (Mexico).”
Anyway, the remaining 499 are pretty clear. Notice that while there are some instances of sequential RM numbers/serial numbers, no real effort was made to do anything sequentially, as is typically known about S&W’s numbering practices.
Barrel Lengths
The barrel length data was taken from the Order Forms and Invoices and these were generally complete. There were a number of guns for whom such documentation could not be found, but their barrel length could be determined through other means (correspondence, Shipping Invoices, etc.) and thus, they bear no special mention here.
Of the 500 RM’s in this survey, only one was devoid of barrel data: RM1445.
The remaining 499 gun barrel lengths can be broken down as follows:
| Barrel Length | |
| 3.500″ | 28 |
| 3.750″ | 1 |
| 4.000″ | 30 |
| 4.500″ | 17 |
| 5.000″ | 58 |
| 5.500″ | 9 |
| 6.000″ | 90 |
| 6.500″ | 167 |
| 7.000″ | 8 |
| 7.500″ | 8 |
| 8.000″ | 3 |
| 8.250″ | 2 |
| 8.375″ | 1 |
| 8.500″ | 1 |
| 8.750″ | 76 |
| UNK | 1 |
| Total | 500 |
Note that this list and it’s accompanying chart make no mention of barrel lengths that were not present in the survey, such as 4.250”, 6.375”, etc.
It is interesting to see that despite DBW’s great love for the 8.750” tube, the 6.500” barrel was easily the most popular, accounting for one-third of all guns.
Rear Sights
Rear sights selected formed a relatively small group compared to the chaos of front sight selection.
Rear sights could be fitted into 21 different fields, one of which was UNKNOWN. This was the field used when the rear sight was either not listed in the documents or the documents were missing.
Undoubtedly there was some overlap in rear sight descriptions. For instance, we note six instances of the rear sight being described as KING, WHITE OUTLINE and then 19 instances of an unspecified SQ.NOTCH, WHITE OUTLINE. It is entirely possible that these latter instances were met with King sights but because the paperwork in those instances did not clearly specify whether these were to be King or not, I categorized them separately.
| Rear Sights | |
| 1/10″ Sq. Notch | 1 |
| King, #111 | 13 |
| King, #112 | 23 |
| King, Peep | 1 |
| King, White Outline | 6 |
| Patridge | 6 |
| Sq. Notch | 300 |
| Sq. Notch, White Outline | 19 |
| Sq. Notch, Wide | 1 |
| UNK | 20 |
| U-Notch | 35 |
| U-Notch, Deep | 55 |
| U-Notch, Deep, Wide | 2 |
| U-Notch, Large | 5 |
| U-Notch, Medium | 2 |
| U-Notch, Small | 2 |
| U-Notch, White Outline | 3 |
| Unspecified, Notch, Deep | 2 |
| Unspecified, White Outline | 1 |
| V-Notch | 3 |
| Total | 500 |
The ubiquitous square notch accounted for well over half of the rear sights selected.
The designation PATRIDGE is typically associated with a front sight. Where we see it in the paperwork as a rear sight, my assumption is that what the buyer is asking for is a rear sight square notch to match a Patridge front sight. Some confirmation for this may be found in many orders that will specify a Patridge front sight and a rear sight “to match”.
Front Sights
If the variety of rear sights seemed excessive and confusing, the front sight selection is even more complex.
Again, we are handicapped by a lack of consistent nomeclature. In many cases, I suspect, different terms were used to describe the same sight. Similarly, I think some of the sight descriptions were written with an assumption that the period reader would understand what was being ordered.
A good example would be the King Ramp Reflector sight. There were something like 15 difrent categories of the Ramp Refelector sight and that’s after trying to distill some of the less complete descriptions.
The total number of front sight variations is so great that I had to break it into two groups: King sights and everything else.
| Front Sights | |
| Baughman QD | 1 |
| Call Brilliant | 6 |
| Call Gold Bead | 178 |
| Call Gold Bead, 1/8″ | 2 |
| Call Ivory Bead | 1 |
| Marble 1/16″ Ivory Bead | 1 |
| Marble Gold Bead | 4 |
| Marble Gold Bead (Sheard type) | 2 |
| Marble Ivory Bead, 1/16″ | 1 |
| McGivern | 66 |
| McGivern, 1/12″ | 1 |
| McGivern, 1/8″ | 1 |
| McGivern, Gold Bead | 5 |
| Not Listed | 6 |
| Paine | 1 |
| Patridge | 66 |
| Patridge, 1/10″ | 45 |
| Patridge, 1/8″ | 5 |
| Sheard Gold Bead | 19 |
| Small Gold Bead | 1 |
| Special Quick Draw | 2 |
| Unknown | 11 |
| Total | 425 |
The excellent showing of the Call Gold Bead is, I think, partially due to it being the default front sight choice (along with Sq. notch for rear sight) for guns being exported to Mexico.
People do not really understand how many Magnums went to Mexico. While I have not completed my research yet, I genuinely belive nearly ten percent, 500 plus guns, went to Mexico. Out of all the Mexican Magnums I’ve looked at so far, only ONE was not equipped with a Call Gold Bead front sight and that was the Tuskoid Magnum.
Where we start to get into some devilishly complex nomenclature is with the offerings from King….
| King Ivory Bead | 1 |
| King Ramp & Keith 1/8″ Front Gold Bar | 1 |
| King, Luminous, Red Bead, 3/32″ | 1 |
| King, Luminous, Red Post, 1/10″ | 2 |
| King, Patridge, Red Post | 1 |
| King, Patridge, Red Post, 1/10″ | 1 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Gold Bead | 1 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Gold Post | 1 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Ivory Bead, 1/16″ | 1 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Luminous, Red Post | 1 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red | 2 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red Bead | 14 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red Bead, 1/10″ | 2 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red Bead, 5/32″ | 2 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red Post | 9 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red Post, .062″ | 1 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red Post, .073″ | 2 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red Post, .08″ | 3 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red Post, 1/10″ | 6 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red Post, 1/8″ | 6 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red Post, 3/32″ | 1 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red Square Post | 1 |
| King, Ramp Reflector, Red, 5/64″ | 1 |
| King, Red Bead | 4 |
| King, Red Bead, 1/10″ | 1 |
| King, Red Bead, 1/16″ | 1 |
| King, Red Bead, 5/64″ | 1 |
| King, Red Post | 2 |
| King, Red Post (Patridge) | 2 |
| King, Red Post, 1/10″ | 1 |
| King, Red Square Post | 1 |
| King, Super Police Gold Bead | 1 |
| Total | 75 |
The greatest problem in deciphering the King front sight requests was that a fellow may have wanted a King Ramp Reflector Red Square Post front sight but listed it on the order as KING RED RR POST, omitting the square part or some other element because he believed that was something that went without saying.
I cleaned it up as much as I could but…..
Stocks & Finish
Generally, by 1936, the Magna stocks were available as well as the regular stocks. The Wesson Grip Adapter (WGA) could be ordered attached or unattached. Literature from the factory as well as correspondence from DBW indicated that the WGA could NOT be used with Magna stocks, and this was generally true. However, a very small batch of RM’s were made up for a US Army shooting team and they were fitted with Magna stocks AND WGA’s. This was accomplished by ‘slabbing off’ the Magnas to allow for the WGA to be fitted. So far, this is the only instance of the factory configuring an RM to sport both of these.
| Stocks | |
| Magna | 380 |
| Magna w/ WGA Attached | 6 |
| Unknown | 13 |
| WGA Attached | 87 |
| WGA Unattached | 14 |
| Total | 500 |
The subject of finish becomes a little tricky when one examines the early RM order forms. There was no spot on the form for one to specify the desired type of finish. The presumption (quite rightly I think) was that unless otherwise specified, the finish was to be blued. Purchasers who wanted nickel would write it in on the form. Later RM forms did have a spot to specify finish as well as hammer type (regular or Hump Back).
| Finish | |
| Blued | 484 |
| Nickel | 11 |
| Pinto | 1 |
| Unknown | 4 |
| Total | 500 |
Within the block of 500 guns that we are looking at here , there is one Pinto (RM1067/48384) and eleven others in nickel. The nickel guns are:
| RM1061 | 48411 |
| RM 1062 | 48387 |
| RM 1067 | 48384 |
| RM 1135 | 48357 |
| RM 1206 | 48525 |
| RM 1337 | 48635 |
| RM 1382 | 48708 |
| RM 1440 | 48755 |
| RM 1441 | 48775 |
| RM 1442 | 48746 |
| RM 1481 | 49603 |
| RM 1483 | 49624 |
Sales By Region
When looking at where a gun goes, we run into some questions.
RMxxxx appears in the shipping ledger as a sale to Joe Blow Gunshop in Brooklyn, NY. The order for the gun shows that Joe Blow Gunshop of Brooklyn is ordering the gun and having it shipped to them, but then they are going to ship to Brethern Arms in Missoula, MT. So, is this gun a sale to NY or a sale to MT?
RMxxxx appears in the shipping ledger as a sale to Brethern Arms in Missoula, MT. The order was placed by Brethern Arms with Joe Blow Gunshop in Brooklyn, who ordered the gun from S&W and stipulated it be shipped directly to Montana. The result is the shipping ledger will show the gun SHIPPED to Montana but was ordered from the factory by New York.
If the question is “how many RM’s shipped to NY” then how do we count this gun?
I’ve given this some thought and my Solomon-like decision was to just log everything!
The result is that in my database there is a heading for Book Destination that will list:
- Name gun went to
- City
- State
Then there is another column that lists Ordered By/Through (per invoice/order form). This is the entity that either ordered the gun from the factory for their own inventory OR ordered a gun from the factory on behalf of someone else. This entry will list:
- Name gun went to
- Street Address
- City
- State
The next column lists Ordered For/Ship to (per invoice/order form). This is the entity to whom the gun was physically sent to, either by the factory or the other party that the order went through. This entry will list:
- Name gun went to
- Street Address
- City
- State
So if Sutcliffe orders a gun for their inventory, the entry would look like this:
The blue line shows a gun that Sutcliffe ordered for their inventory. The green line shows a gun that Sutcliffe ordered for a customer, had shipped to them (Sutcliffe) and then they shipped it to the customer.
In this instance both entries in the Shipping Ledger show the gun went to Kentucky, but the ultimate destination was Indiana. So how do we count this gun?
I put both sets of data in the database and this way if we want to search by where the factory shipped it we can do that; if we want to search by where it eventually wound up, we can do that too!
This can be a very important distinction, particularly with international sales. Many of the Mexican arms dealers maintained a presence on the US side of the border as well as in Mexico. It’s not unusual to see an order for a large quantity of guns from a Mexican arms dealer and the order specifies that the guns be delivered to their warehouse in…Laredo? I can’t say with one hundred percent certainty why a Mexican gun company would want their guns shipped to Laredo, Texas, but I understand the river is really shallow thereabouts.
For this look at Sales By Region, I’m going to go with the end user destination rather than the shipping destination. I feel it is more accurate although I may put a comment or two in if I think a little more explanation is needed.
Of the 500 RM’s I looked at for this analysis, the following foreign sales were noted:
| Foreign Sales | |
| Cuba | 2 |
| CZ (Panama Canal Zone) | 2 |
| Germany | 1 |
| Mexico | 61 |
| Norway | 1 |
| Switzerland | 2 |
| Trinidad | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 1 |
| Hong Kong | 1 |
| Total | 72 |
Sixty-one guns to Mexico is a good indicator again of just how much of the Magnum production went south of the border.
Using the same criteria, ending destination rather than shipping destination, we come up with the following for domestic sales:
| Domestic Sales | |
| AK | 6 |
| AL | 2 |
| AR | 5 |
| AZ | 6 |
| CA | 53 |
| CO | 15 |
| CT | 8 |
| DC | 16 |
| DE | 1 |
| FL | 9 |
| GA | 1 |
| HI | 0 |
| IA | 5 |
| ID | 6 |
| IL | 31 |
| IN | 6 |
| KS | 7 |
| KY | 14 |
| LA | 8 |
| MA | 13 |
| MD | 0 |
| ME | 4 |
| MI | 11 |
| MN | 6 |
| MO | 10 |
| MS | 2 |
| MT | 11 |
| NC | 0 |
| ND | 0 |
| NE | 1 |
| NH | 1 |
| NJ | 1 |
| NM | 5 |
| NV | 1 |
| NY | 34 |
| OH | 14 |
| OK | 11 |
| OR | 10 |
| PA | 21 |
| RI | 0 |
| SC | 1 |
| SD | 2 |
| TN | 8 |
| TX | 30 |
| UNK | 3 |
| UT | 2 |
| VA | 5 |
| VT | 0 |
| WA | 11 |
| WI | 3 |
| WV | 3 |
| WY | 5 |
| total | 422 |
FBI Guns
Within this lot of 500 there were 19 guns that were booked out to FBI agents, either directly or through another agent. Where agents did not buy a gun directly, the order went through Kirtz, Baughman or Brantley.
It is entirely possible that there were more than these 19 sales to FBI agents, however, these are the 19 where there was a clear indication of an FBI sale. An agent may have ordered a gun and had it shipped directly to them but mention of their agency affiliation may not have appeared on the archived records.
I also note one sale to a US Marshal who I included here for convenience.
I’m only listing names here and not the RM/serial number simply because it treads, I think, a little too closely to breaking the Smith & Wesson Historical Foundations rice bowl.
- Frank Baughman – ordered by one fellow but specified shipped to Baughman
- SA Ben E. Jackson, Bostona, MA
- SA C.S. Duggan, Washington, D.C. (ordered thru SA Dwight Brentley)
- SA C.W. Toulme, Shreveport, LA
- SA D.M. Brightman, Knoxville, TN
- SA E.J. Chayfitz, Washington, D.C.
- SA F.G. McGeary, New York, NY
- SA H.K. Johnson, Indianapolis, IN
- SA H.L. Sloan, Jacksonville, FL
- SA J.N. Franz, Pittsburgh, PA
- SA Myron Gurnea, Washington, D.C. (ordered thru Baughman)
- SA Paul W. Hansen, Oklahoma City, OK (ordered thru SA Dwight Brentley)
- SA R.H. Winton, San Antonio, TX
- SA R.N. Butterworth, Oklahoma City, OK (ordered thru SA Dwight Brentley)
- SA W.G. Banister – Washington, D.C.
- SA Walter A. Gray, Butte, MT
- US MARSHAL – R.L. Jemberg, Juneau, AK
- 4 RM’s to – Frank Baughman (likely for re-sale but booked out to Baughman)
Possible FBI connection but requires more research:
- Russell Byron – Boise, ID
Noteworthy Guns
Noteworthy Gun is a tough description because it requires one to define noteworthy.
To me a noteworthy gun is one that has unique features or went to a special individual.
Keeping in mind that we are looking at purchasers from 90 years ago, it is very likely that here were some folks who were noteworthy in their day but the annals of time have dimmed their brightness to the point that when we see their name today, we don’t realize that they were well known back in the day.
- RM1001/47861 – presentation gun by Ed McGivern
- RM1003/48296 – C.E. Purdie, editor of Field & Stream
- RM1021/48279 – For son of SD Myers
- RM1096/48422 – Alexis Felix du Pont, Sr. of E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co.
- RM1161/48455 – Engraved on sideplate TOM C. COGBILL; superintendent of AR prisons)
- RM1183/48431 – Engraved COLONEL SANDY MACNAB FROM DOUG WESSON
- RM1238/48522 – US Inf. Rev. Team – Magna stocks with WGA, stocks ‘slabbed off’ to fit
- RM1239/48514 – US Inf. Rev. Team – Magna stocks with WGA, stocks ‘slabbed off’ to fit
- RM1241/48538 – CMDR E.F. McDonald, Pres. of Zenith Radio Corp. and major RM fan
- RM1249/48539 – Dominican Minister to the US
- RM1250/48545 – Dominican Minister to the US
- RM1285/48581– US Inf. Rifle Team – Magna stocks with WGA, stocks ‘slabbed off’ to fit
- RM1286/48596– US Inf. Rifle Team – Magna stocks with WGA, stocks ‘slabbed off’ to fit
- RM1287/48593 – US Inf. Rifle Team – Magna stocks with WGA, stocks ‘slabbed off’ to fit
- RM1294/48560– US Inf. Rifle Team – Magna stocks with WGA, stocks ‘slabbed off’ to fit
- RM1368/48661 – CMDR E.F. McDonald, Pres. of Zenith Radio Corp. ; Tom Mix brand on sideplate
- RM1424/48716 – Prize gun
- RM1452/48753 – engraved “CAMP PERRY / 1936 / FIELD FIRING MATCH / WON BY / RALPH L. KIRK”; gun donated by S&W as prize
- RM1470/49593 – Noted jurist Hamilton Vreeland, Jr.
So, that’s where I am on my Magnum Opus (MAGOPUS) Project. I think the idea of putting all the data into a single multi-field searchable database has some merit, as we see here.
Best,
RM Vivas
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