The factory letter confirms this revolver was shipped to Ed McGivern in his hometown of Lewiston, Montana, on December 21, 1916, and confirms the factory engraving and basic configuration (grips not listed). The trigger guard has "E. Mc G" inscribed on the bow which is not noted in the factory letter. The gun has classic scroll engraving with punch dot backgrounds and other accents, adjustable target blade and notch sights, the two-line address and patent marking on top of the barrel, "NEW SERVICE RUSSIAN/S & W SPECIAL 44" on the left side of the barrel, matching serial numbers (including on the grips), the Rampant Colt trademark on the left side of the frame below the hammer, and knurling on the trigger and grip straps. It comes in a modern display case. Ed McGivern (1874-1957) was a famous and colorful exhibition shooter, expert firearms witness, law enforcement defensive shooting instructor in the early 20th century, and the author of "Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting" (1938). 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. A very similar Officer's Model Target Revolver was used to set one of his shooting records in November 1919. He is also known to have presented some Colts at events and did events for Colt. One story he told according to the News-Chronicle on February 16, 1943, was that he once went to Colt's factory to do an exhibition, and one of the higher level officials was surprised at his short stature and asked if he really was the famous trick shooter, to which he replied, "Who the hell do you think I am, Tom Mix!?" Elmer Keith said McGivern was "the fastest and finest double-action revolver shot that ever lived and probably ever will." Many of his Colt and Smith & Wesson handguns are on display in the National Firearms Museum. Very few of his guns are in private hands today.

Extremely fine overall with 85% plus original blue finish, some mild holster and firing wear indicating the gun was actually used (likely in exhibition events), light marks and scratches, crisp checkering and engraving, and some slight oxidation. Mechanically excellent. The modern case is fine with minor storage wear. This is a very rare opportunity to get your hands on a scarce factory engraved New Service Target revolver made all the more rare and valuable by the fact that it was owned by one of the greatest shooters of all time: Ed McGivern.