Offered here is a historic S&W .357 Magnum Revolver with special "Zero" serial number (0372) and S&W Vice President Douglas B. Wesson presentation inscription. Known as "Club Guns," S&Ws with "0" prefix serial numbers were given or loaned to shooting clubs or notable shooters as samples or test guns. A few .357 Magnums with "Zero" serial numbers were assembled in 1934-1935 to be evaluated by the period's leading experts. Serial numbers 0372 and 0373 were given to S&W Vice President Douglas Wesson for use in his extensive and highly publicized big game handgun hunts of moose, elk, grizzly and antelope in 1935, a grand marketing strategy that helped popularize big game handgun hunting and forged the legacy of the .357 Magnum cartridge. These hunts are documented in the included copy of "D.B. Wesson's Scrapbook." In the accompanying factory documents (copies) provided by the S&W Historical Foundation there is Wesson's internal factory order for both 0372 and 0373 serialized .357 Magnums and a business card size note, almost certainly in Wesson's handwriting, specifying the configuration of both revolvers. This revolver is listed by serial number in Supica and Nahas' "Standard Catalog of Smith & Wesson" on page 133 as used in Wesson's big game hunts. This .357 Magnum serial number 0372 was presented by Douglas Wesson to Ernest Miller. The inscription reads, "MAJ. J.B. WESSON/S.&W. ARMS CO./TO ERNEST MILLER." Gary Garbrecht's research indicated Mr. Miller had the side plate inscription placed in the years following Doug Wesson's gift of this gun to him, and that the engraver mistakenly used the initials "J.B." rather than Wesson's correct "D.B." initials. World War I veteran and well known big game hunter Ernest Miller, along with his wife Grace, founded Elkhorn Ranch in Montana near Yellowstone National Park in 1922 and a second Elkhorn Ranch in Arizona in 1946. These ranches provided guests with the ultimate dude ranch experience. In 2016, the Montana ranch joined the National Register for Historic Places and remains open to the public. The ranch in Arizona is still maintained by the Miller family. In October 1935, Douglas Wesson was at Miller's Montana dude ranch “examining and discussing the various brands of factory-loaded ammunition being used for the special performances of fast and fancy revolver shooting which were [being] conducted [by Ed McGivern] for the entertainment of Mr. Wesson, Ernie Miller, Mrs. Miller, and their many friends and guests,” as documented by famed shooting exhibitionist Ed McGivern in “Ed McGivern’s Book of Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting” on page 153. On October 10 while at Miller’s ranch and at the end of Wesson’s big game hunt, McGivern presented Wesson with the S&W revolver he used in fast shooting performances that took place in January 1934 (pages 154-155). Ernie Miller was Wesson's guide during several hunts where this revolver was tested and used. Douglas Wesson (1884-1956), grandson of S&W co-founder Daniel Wesson, worked hand-in-hand with the period's leading ballistic experts such as Phil Sharpe and Elmer Keith to develop a cartridge more potent than the .38 Special. The result was the .357 Magnum cartridge which was first introduced on the S&W .357 Magnum Revolver, the most powerful handgun at the time. Initially each production S&W .357 Magnum was built to the specifications of the buyer, then registered by number to the owner by Douglas Wesson himself. As a pre-production revolver, this .357 Magnum correctly lacks a registration number. The revolver is fitted with a Marble Sheard pinned beaded blade front sight and an adjustable "U" notch rear sight. Matching serial numbers are stamped on the butt, cylinder, and ejector shroud. The right grip panel has the number "56765." The frame and crane have matching assembly numbers. In May 2011, this revolver along with its counterpart, serial number 0373, was awarded the National Rifle Association's Annual Meeting's "10 Best" Silver Medal, "one of a maximum of ten certificates awarded each year to arms of outstanding historical value, or beauty, or rarity, selected from displays of the NRA's Affiliated Gun Collector Organizations." A copy of the certificate is included. The NRA Silver Medal also accompanies the revolver. This revolver's counterpart serial number 0373 is offered in the previous lot.

Excellent, retaining 97% original blue finish showing minor high edge wear, minor handling marks and a cylinder drag line. Nearly all of the original case colors remain on the hammer and trigger. The grips are very fine showing minor handling marks mostly near/on the bottoms and crisp checkering overall. Mechanically excellent. Truly a historic Douglas Wesson presentation .357 Magnum Revolver used in Wesson's highly publicized hunts at the dawn of big game handgun hunting. A must have for the serious S&W collector or big game collector, the revolver that started it all! Provenance: Ernest Miller, Miller family, Gary Garbrecht, Ray Cheely (2006), Ray and Sheryl Cheely collection