Dirty Harry's revolver
I've been looking at S & W model 29's and have noticed some models are 29-2, 29-5, 29-10. What does the dash and following # mean? Is this a generation i.d.? What was Harry Callahans?
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The different "dash" numbers refer to slight changes in manufacture over the years. Here are a few of the specific changes:
Model 29
-1 1960 Change to LH thread
-2 1961 Cylinder stop changed, hole in front of triggerguard eliminated
-3 1982 Eliminate cylinder counterbore
-4 2004 Thunder Ranch 44 Special, fixed sight
Most of these changes were to make the gun easier/cheaper to manufacture. Of course collectors and purists want the lowest "dash" number possible, but these changes make absolutely no functional difference from a shooting perspective.
As to the fictional movie character you refer to, the movie came out in 1971. So the "period authentic" gun would be a blued Smith model 29-2 with the 8-3/8" bbl.
Of course popular legend has it that the gun actually used by Clint Eastwood as the movie set prop wasn't a model 29 at all, but rather a model 57 in .41 magnum, that is externally identical.0 -
The number after the dash represents a engineering change. It's common practice in all manufacturing industries when a major change is made to a basic product, it's identification will be changed. This is how S & W identified the changes. 0 -
As I understand it, in the first movie they used a S&W 57 0 -
Looking closely, I can make out the number '44' on the right side of the barrel. Best, Joe 
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Ole Clint was the best .44 salesman that ever lived! 0 -
At least one of Eastwood' s 44's is in the NRA museum....
JIM.............0 -
quote:Originally posted by givette
Looking closely, I can make out the number '44' on the right side of the barrel. Best, Joe
Well, I can't see any numbers in the images you posted, but even stipulating that the number .44 IS on the gun, that still doesn't mean its NOT a model 57.
Its a movie prop and it may have been altered to fit the movie.
Supposedly actual model 29s were next to impossible to come by, and the guns were assembled from parts for the movie. So its entirely possible a .44 caliber barrel was grafted onto a nominally .41 caliber frame.
Some interesting discussion on this here:
http://www.imfdb.org/index.php/Talk:Dirty_Harry
Ultimately if you want something that LOOKS like the "Dirty Harry" gun, you'd want a 6.5" bbl (sorry NOT 8.375" as I indicated above!) model 29.
Which parts comprised the movie prop is ultimately trivia.
Edit (responding to below): A prop revolver chambered in .45 Colt might make sense since .45 LC blanks were readily available and common from shooting Westerns (of which "Man with no name" Eastwood would have been highly familiar!). But its not clear to me which (if any) N-frame .45 Colt guns were available in the early 70s.
Again, the actual components of the PROP guns used on the set may NEVER be known for sure. Nobody could possibly have predicted at the time how iconic the movie role and the associated gun would ultimately become. Its just a question of which myth you want to believe, and why.0 -
Depending on the shot, 8 3/8 and 6 in versions were used. 0 -
Popular legend also had it that the pistol was actually a .45 Colt, which presented just that much more of a threatening bore. 0 -
DIRTY Harrys gun WAS A 657 41 magnum. That is a fact. I have seen the gun on display for myself. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by Oakie
DIRTY Harrys gun WAS A 657 41 magnum. That is a fact. I have seen the gun on display for myself.
It may well have been a Smith 57 (not 657), but its seems plain that he didn't use a stainless gun! [;)]
Smith 657:0
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