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LOT 478
Documented Historic Smith & Wesson .357 Registered Magnum Double Action Revolver Shipped to Famed Handgunner Ed McGivern with Factory Letter - Serial no. 53696, 357 mag cal., 3 1/2 inch solid rib bbl., blue finish, walnut grips. This Smith & Wesson Registered .357 Magnum revolver was shipped to famed exhibition shooter and shooting instructor Ed McGivern. McGivern (1874-1957), “the World’s Fastest Gun,” was fascinated by fast shooting after witnessing a shootout in Sheridan, Wyoming, and he learned sign painting from his father. He lived in Lewistown from 1924 until 1949. Even after gaining fame for his shooting, he earned much of his living painting for Graham’s Sign & Poster Shop and later his own business called McGivern Outdoor Advertising. He is easily one of the most famous and renowned exhibition shooters and handgunning authors of the 20th century and also trained law enforcement officers locally and with the FBI. He published “Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting” in 1938, and an autographed copy
of this book is included (the revolver is pictured on page 45). He held many records in his day for fast and accurate shooting and still holds some, such as drawing and firing 5 shots into a 1 inch group at 20 feet in less than half a second (recorded as 9/20th of a second in August 1932). He could shoot dimes thrown into the air and preformed fast shooting demonstrations with guns in each hand. He preferred double action revolvers and claimed he could shoot faster with a revolver than any semi-automatic pistol could keep up with. In fact, his rate of fire is said to be faster than an AK-47. One of his recorded stunts was hitting a can thrown roughly 20 feet in the air six times with a Colt double action revolver before it hit the ground. Elmer Keith said McGivern was “the fastest and finest double-action revolver shot that ever lived and probably ever will.” Some of his handguns are on display in the National Firearms Museum, and very few of his guns are in private hands today.
The accompanying factory letter states the revolver (Reg. No. 2902) was shipped on May 25, 1938, and delivered to
Ed McGivern of Lewistown, Montana, with a 5 inch barrel (currently 3 1/2 inches), McGivern bead front sight, deep “U” notch rear sight (currently a square notch), blue finish, and checkered walnut Magna grips. The letter goes on to state, “It was authorized as a ‘no charge’ shipment by D.B. Wesson and marked for fast double action shooting.” In the letter S&W historian Roy Jinks noted he was unable to confirm that the revolver was returned to the factory for the purpose of receiving a shorter barrel. He stated that it was not uncommon with shooters such as McGivern to alter firearms from the original factory shipped configuration. Although the revolver is without the factory rework star proof, gun expert Chuck Karwan concluded that the quality of the work shows that the barrel was shortened and refinished
at the factory, in a letter he wrote to collector and previous owner of the revolver Thomas E. Floyd. Karwan wrote,
“The clues to indicate this are the way the rib in front of the front sight has been removed in front of the front sight precisely the way the factory 3 1/2” barrel was configured during the period and the fact that the same area appears to have original factory bluing.”The hammer spur is offset on the right side, one of the alterations Ed McGivern is known to have performed on many of his S&Ws and is further confirmation of his ownership and usage. The revolver was one of McGivern’s firearms listed at his death (a copy of this list is included).
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Ed McGivern