Please text anytime 6476871484. Fully functional compact revolver in ready to shoot condition. NO PAL required. Comes with RCMP paperwork and factory Letter. Smith & Wesson 44 Double Action "First Model", .44 Russian, Factory Letter The letter states that this one was nickel plated and shipped with a four-inch barrel in 1883 to M.W. Robinson of New York. It is still in its original configuration. The gun is in very fine condition and the action is accurate and strong. The cylinder indexes and locks properly. The bore is very good and bright, with sharp rifling. The black hard rubber grips are excellent and undamaged. SN 6932, very fine as refinished. ​ ​ History & Background Smith and Wesson's first double action design dates back to at least 1872 - years before Colt ever attempted a double action cartridge revolver. It was mentioned in a letter to the Russian envoy General Orlof, and although the sale to Russia never materialized, it served to pave the way for the very popular and successful line of double action top break revolvers. The .44 Russian model was actually the first to be produced as a prototype, and the last to be released for sale to the public. For this reason there exists a degree of confusion over the proper terminology: the first one to be manufactured for sale was the .38 caliber model, followed by the .32. The .44 caliber model was not released until 1881, and is variably known as the No. 3 Double Action, the Double Action "Navy" (a name Daniel Wesson wanted to keep alive to differentiate this model from the No. 3 single action, and still holding out hope to sell it to the Russian navy), and the First Model Double Action. Originally, the .44 Double Action was made with a 1 7/16 inch cylinder, however an optional .44-40 version was available as of 1886. This required a 1 9/16 inch cylinder, and a longer frame. The firm soon realized that it was too expensive and cumbersome to manufacture two different sizes of frames for what was essentially the same gun, and the shorter cylinder and frame were dropped in favour of the longer one in the early 1890's. The No. 3 frame .44 double action top breaks were dropped from the Smith and Wesson catalogue in 1913.