Tag Archives: Indiana Jones revolver

You now have a choice between War Daddy and Indy

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Smith & Wesson went the extra mile for wheel gun enthusiasts this week, paying tribute to the famed M1917 while also adding a revolver fans have waited years for.

As we have detailed in the past, the U.S. Army Model 1917 revolver in .45 ACP was one of the company’s first big N-frame “triple lock” revolvers. Using two 3-round “half-moon” clips or a single six-shot “full moon” to accommodate the rimless .45 ACP, 150,000 S&W M1917s were delivered to the Army before the end of the Great War, and they were often standard-issue for specialist soldiers such as dispatch riders, military police, tankers, and machine gunners through WWII.

Wartime S&W M1917s had plain wooden grips and a lanyard ring. (Photo: U.S. Army Signal Corps image circa 1918, via the National Archives)

The new “no lock” S&W Model 22 is headed to market in both a 1917 clone with much the same features as the original, along with a Classic variant that recalls the common conversion often seen with such “war babies,” primarily a shorter 4-inch barrel as seen in the famed “Stembridge” guns used by Dr. Jones in the 1981 classic, “Raiders of the Lost Ark.”

The new S&W Model 22s, with the more “Indy” 4-inch Classic on the left, and the more “Fury” 1917 on the right. (Photos unless noted: Chris Eger/Guns.com)

Side by side, you get a better idea of the differences. Both are N-frame .45s, but the Classic can use either .45 ACP or rimmed .45 Colt in its cylinder. Meanwhile, the 1917 is ACP only.

Both have smooth wood grips and a lanyard ring, recalling the revolver that was originally meant to fight the Kaiser.

Note the barrel-profile differences: the M1917 uses a simple half moon, while the Classic carries a red ramped front sight, like what you would see on a more modern combat magnum.

Either way, these are great-looking revolvers that look like they “belong in a museum” while still being range-ready.

Plus, with the Classic especially, you could make a case for it as a good sidearm for those headed into dangerous predator country when loaded with heavy cast bullets.

The MSRP on the new Smith & Wesson Model 22s in .45 is $1,299.

Indy’s S&W .455 up for auction

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Remember this scene? Of course, you do.

Well, that big honking .455 is up for grabs.

“Known as The Bapty, this revolver was used by Indiana Jones throughout the production of the motion picture Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark. Raiders of the Lost Ark is the first movie in the adventure film series made famous in the early 80?s by creator George Lucas, director Steven Spielberg, and actor Harrison Ford. Featuring serial number 37891, this revolver is a British contract Smith and Wesson Hand Ejector MKII revolver. Chambered in .455 Webley, the gun had been altered to fire blanks for safety on the movie set. This revolver was carefully selected and uniquely modified prior to the start of filming. The barrel was cut from six inches to four and a custom one of a kind Baughman-style steel front sight was installed. A patina was applied to the factory bluing to offer it the well worn look we would expect of the gun carried by the famous adventurer. It features Smith and Wesson factory diamond patterned walnut grips with gold medallion inlays. A standard lanyard ring sits underneath the frame.

This is one of two revolvers used by Ford during the production of Raiders. The second revolver, known as The Stembridge, was briefly used during the scenes where filming took place in the United States. The majority of Raiders was filmed overseas where Indy carried The Bapty. It is accepted that The Bapty was used in all Raiders scenes where Indy fired his revolver, including the Ravenwood Bar shootout, the infamous shooting of the Cairo Swordsman, the gunfight in the streets of Tunisia, and the rescuing of Marion Ravenwood from the nazis.

Bapty Limited was the armourer who supplied this revolver to the production crew. It sat safely in their vault from the time production wrapped in September of 1980 until it was sold at auction in 2006. Accompanying this revolver is a signed letter from Bapty Limited stating its authenticity.”

Price? $5 Mill, which is probably a bit higher than anything I would have pegged it at, especially being that it is deactivated.