Club Obi Wan

A smith 1917 in 45ACP. I am going to cut down the barrel and do a raiders copy. Don’t know if I want to do the Bapty or the Stembridge conversion?

Are you going to look for new grips?

Looks like it's in decent condition, aside from some rust - but for $400? Not bad! Are you thinking of working on that rust, too?

Shane

When I cut down the barrel it will be reblued as well so yes the rust will go away. These are the grips I have to put on it.

I always have mixed feelings when I see these found in this kind of condition, and the plans are to cut the original barrel down. They don't make these anymore.

Is there any chance you could locate a replacement barrel for cutting, then keep this original barrel back should you decide to sell it?

Just a thought.

VERY nice old war-horse you found there!

Regards! Michaelson

Well they DO make the 1917 in 45ACP, but they're definitely not as nice as the originals, and they're pretty pricey.

I think The Knower is right though - if you could find a new barrel to cut down, that'd be pretty good.

Shane

Well I do see what you are saying about the barrel. I may look in to buying a new barrel and cutting that one down.

I'm completely with Michaelson on this one. The patina and original condition make this gun a beauty in my eyes. Get a replacement barrel to cut down. Better yet, just send the whole gun to me. ;-)

I also agree with the others. On my .45, my buddy located another barrel, cut it down to size then attached it to my gun. I was a very happy camper.

Wow, she's a beauty. Great find.

Great condition, and at a good price. ( and yeah, get a spare barrel )

I agree with the barrel suggestion and its just my opinion that the grips you have on it are better than the replacement grips.

lol I just found another one for 200$ it's been in a fire and I haven’t seen it yet but that’s more than likely my cut down gun.

I have a bud here on COW with a spare barrel he might sell... it's TCS. Send him a PM.

C3

Revolvers are soooo stylish...

Man, just missed out on a 1917 Brazilian contract for $330 on gunbroker. That's the lowest price for a decent looking one I've seen in months. Seller said he was a BIG Indy fan? Anyone on COW sold or purchased this one?

RaiderZee

RaiderZee wrote:Man, just missed out on a 1917 Brazilian contract for $330 on gunbroker. That's the lowest price for a decent looking one I've seen in months. Seller said he was a BIG Indy fan? Anyone on COW sold or purchased this one?

RaiderZee

i got my eyes open for you

;-)

They are around.... All you need to do is keep on top of it.

Hey RaiderZee

That was me who just won that auction for the Brazilian contract S&W 1917!!!

The seller didn't know about COW but he does now! He said he will be joining the forum soon. I look forward to meeting with him next week when we do the transfer.

Now I have a decision to make. Should I keep it at 5 1/2 inches or should I have it cut down?

Will post more pics when I get it!!

Mr. Bond, I hate you

Seriously, I just knew a COW member would grab it. I really think you got a steal. Great catch!

RZ

DON'T CUT IT DOWN!!!!! ...Just my humble opinion. ;-) These guns are getting more rare in good condition as time goes by. If you want to cut it down, get a spare barrel and have the spare cut down. ;-)

Hey Bink,

I think you are right and I'm definately leaning towards leaving it as is. I've been doing some more research and I'm amazed how much these Brazilian contract issues are selling for. Plus as a collector I know how blasphemous cutting one of these down would be!

I'm going to speak with Lee Keppler to get his opinion and also to get a holster and belt from him for this piece.

Thanks for your input!

RZ - Thanks for the compliment. At least we didn't end up bidding against each other!

What’s it like to have to wait to get a gun? That would kill me I have a hard enough time waiting on class3 stuff

Misfit,

Yes the 10 day wait is a drag but what's even worse is when I have purchased a pair of revolvers for cowboy action shooting. Since, you can only purchase 1 handgun at a time in a 1 month period, you first have to wait the 10 days to pick up the first of the pair and then you have to wait another 30 days to get the second one!!

But at least we still can purchase and own them! I feel sorry for our friends in other lands that are not fortunate to have a Bill of Rights like we do.

Ouch I walk in buy what I want and walk out this is the stuff I have to wait on


By steven36

(Deep breath, RZ . . . must not talk politics, must not talk politics)

I would think the Stembridge would be easier, but if you can swing it, I would do the Bapty.
Stembridge: fired at Lao Che's minions, thrown out of car window by lounge singer; later surrendered to Belloq, then thrown in suitcase
Bapty: Raven , SOC, etc.

I want the gun that dropped the swordsman ;-)

RZ

Misfit,

You are very fortunate to have your Class 3 license! I used to have my FFL about 20 years back but even that got a bit expensive and crazy to hold on to. By the way, what's the yearly fee for the Class 3 nowadays? What's your waiting period like?

Definately a nice set of toys you have there!!

RaiderZee wrote:(Deep breath, RZ . . . must not talk politics, must not talk politics)

RZ - I feel your pain!!

I don’t have a class 3 license I just pay my 200$ tax stamp and about 10 weeks later I get a little piece of paper saying it's ok to have the class3 device and thank you

misfit wrote: I walk in buy what I want and walk out

So I guess you still have an FFL or at least a C&R to "walk in buy what I want and walk out". Correct?

I see, the "Class 3" items only require a $200 tax payment. I always thought you needed a Class 3 license for that.

I guess not - That's good to know!

Thanks for the info and I'm going to have to look into some "class 3" goodies for the future!

I am in Arizona no back ground checks especially if you have a CCW. Class3 stuff is very easy to get you just have to know how to go about it. If you need some more info pm me and I can walk you through it

Thanks Misfit.

Problem is I'm either in California or Hawaii which are probably two of the most "unfriendly" states in the Union.

Maybe I need to move to Arizona!

You can have class3 stuff in Californian but I don’t know how hard it is to get though. If you like guns then Arizona is the place for you ;-)

While waiting for my 10 days before I get my Smith I decided to get more info about the Stembridge as that is the conversion I'm considering to do. So I decided to speak with Lee Keppler about the Stembridge gun and also its' use in TOD. Lee has confirmed to me that it was the Stembridge that was used in TOD. He was told by the Stembridge company that it was rented from them for TOD. He also confirmed that the car interior scenes were filmed in Hollywood. Furthermore he told me that the Stembridge is also a "shooter"! It was fired in the car chase scenes and also Lee fired it himself when he had it!

So that means that the Stembridge appears in two of the films, and is also a "shooter". Also if you plan to convert a 45acp Smith the Stembridge would be correct for that as the Bapty was a .455. Lee also had some doubts if the Bapty we have been using as our model is actually the one used on screen in ROTLA as the sights do not look quite right. He feels that it may have been a "back-up" to the actual screen used Bapty.

With all this "improved" info I feel a lot more confident with my decision to create a "Stembridge" conversion as that may be the more "accurate" screen used version. Also it would be the gun used in two of the films and not just one. I also noticed that most of the revolvers of the WWII period had the "half moon" or "partridge" front sights. Check out some other WWII revolvers and see for yourself. The "ramped" style of front sights didn't become popular till sometime after WWII. So historically and stylistically the front sight on the Stembridge is more accurate than the one on the Bapty.

So now I just have to wait my 10 days before I get it in my hands and then I start working on getting the conversion done!

Hummm. Lee needs to get his stories straight.

viewtopic.php?t=16398

Back in 2006, he was telling folks the Stembridge was the NON-shooter. ;-)

The concensus back then was that the Baphy was the shooter:

viewtopic.php?t=16273

What's changed in 3 years?

Regards! Michaelson

Michaelson,

I was hoping you would comment on this as you are the knower of all things!!

I believe that the Stembridge is definately the "non-shooter" for the Raiders film as it was not shot. But it seems that is WAS the "shooter" for the Temple of Doom film.

So Lee is is correct in that the Stembridge was the NON-Shooter in Raiders and the Bapty was the shooter.

Little has been said about the identity of the revolver in TOD and now it seems that we have a bit more clarity on that issue.

No, it has always been said that the 'shooter' in Raiders was also the shooter in TofD....it's just been dicey as to what gun was which, and the story shifts back and forth. Now we're reading it was fired in one, and not the other. Interesting twist. That's one I've never heard before today. It didn't even get included in the main page write up, so if it were 'known' all this time, THAT sure fell through the cracks!

It's also been reported for years that the gun tossed out the window of the car was a Colt New Service rubber 'stunt gun'....and yet in the latest clear photos of the still framed revolver, you can make out a barrel shroud in front of the cylinder. The big Colts weakness was its exposed cylinder pin under the barrel that was easily bent. The jury is STILL out on THAT one, even with the current photos. You can make out a cylinder pin shroud in the photos on our main page write up. Every New Service I've ever handled had its pin exposed, in the open with no front support.

So, we're still questioning these 'facts' to this very day....

Regards ! Michaelson

Yes Michaelson!

This is our own version of "archeology"!! Instead of digging for clues in the dirt we dig for clues in cyberspace!!

That's what makes it so much fun!

But it would make sense that if the filming of that scene was done in Hollywood they would have used the Stembridge instead of shipping the Bapty all the way from England. Plus we know the Stembridge was "operational" as Lee himself fired the gun. And perhaps the gun that was tossed out the window was also the Stembridge.

It all makes sense to me!

Makes perfect sense to me. I'm just puzzled after all these years that the TofD info was just now offered. That's all.

If that is indeed the case, that needs to be included on the main page write up.

Regards! Michaelson

Yes that is strange. But perhaps no one ever inquired about the "true identity" of the TOD revolver before? At least now we may know a bit more and perhaps more info will surface since it has been brought up.

I'm just glad to have been of help in digging up this info!

I've posted an 'alert' in the main site update area for the webmaster to take a look at this thread.

Thanks!

Regards! Michaelson

Not the Stembridge. You can clearly see the S&W medallions on the grips:


Not the Stembridge, at least in these shots. Maybe we need to take this to another thread?

RZ

Yes I see the Medallions. Also notice there is no lanyard ring on the bottom of the grip! It also looks as if the barrel is longer than 4 inches.

OH NO!! Does this mean there is ANOTHER Indy gun!!!

RZ,

Can you do some more screen grabs in Hi-Res and post them somewhere where we can download them and inspect them under the microscope?

I think we may have stumbled onto something Very Big here!!!

Looks like the stunt gun that went out the window and bounced off the side of the car.

Regards! Michaelson

Yes, my thoughts also!! Looks like a 5-6 inch barrel. Even when I still framed the shots where Indy is firing out the back window I felt the barrel seemed longer than 4 inches.

We may have a totally new and different revolver here! They may have rented the Stembridge as Lee mentioned but that doesn't mean they actually used it!

From those photos it could have been any of the commercial civilian S&W models with Medallion Grips, no lanyard ring, and a 5-6 inch barrel.

Michaelson, Any possible ideas of a specific S&W model other than a 1917?

Only the big N-frame Smith Triple-Lock comes to mind at the moment.

Regards! Michaelson

You're right, IB, it REALLY looks like the commercial 1917, or at least a prop version of it. I'll try to pull some more screen caps, but I can only get DVD. Someone NEEDS to do this on BlueRay.

RZ

Well, Indy had a larger holster in ToD than in Raiders, so is it feasible that they could've written in for another gun?

And timeline wise it would make sense also. If he losses his gun in Shanghai why would he have the same gun later on in Raiders? It should be a different gun!