Jim Colburn wrote in with a few questions about the guns of Spenser and Hawk:

Hello-
having an attack of insomnia, I decided to do a bit of research.  Your pages "The Guns of Spenser"  and "Hawk: His Weapons of Choice" have a few ambiguities that I was hoping to help clarify a bit. . .
Spenser's .32 Smith and Wesson is most likely a revolver; the only 32 caliber automatic S&W made prior to the writing of "Crimson Joy" is a seldom-seen piece with a reputation for less than reliable functioning.  The Iver Johnson 12 guage shotgun is problematic.  The book describes it as " a 12-gauge Iver Johnson pump gun".  Iver Johnson made lots of 12 gauge shotguns but I have found no mention of a pump-action shotgun of any gauge manufactured by or for Iver Johnson.  Spenser's Colt .32 automatic cannot be a revolver--Colt didn't chamber the revolver's for the automatic cartridge.  Colt made a "Colt Pocket Model Automatic Pistol" in 32 auto from 1903-1945, this would be the best fit for the scant description. The 25 automatic is most likely a Colt "Pocket Model Automatic", often referred to as the "Vest Pocket Automatic", or a variation of the same design produced by Browning in Europe.  It could also be a European piece of a similar design--many of the European WWII military officers were issued sidearms chambered for the .25 or .32 auto cartridges. 

Hawk's guns are more. . . diverse.  His 44 magnum, at least in the early books, would most likely be a Smith & Wesson.  Colt didn't introduce a 44 Magnum until the early 90s if I recall correctly;  other makers were available but were either a bit less than reliable (such as the Dan Wesson) or very bulky (Ruger Redhawk and Super Redhawk) or were so unusual as to merit more description by Parker if that was what he had in mind (the examples that come to mind here are the various single-action revolvers--which would require manually cocking the revolver for each shot-- and the Automag--large, bulky, ridiculously expensive and a bit hard to obtain).  Other than the S&W and the Automag, they lacked style and class. . .

Hawk's Colt .357 Magnum would probably be a Python (the Anaconca is a large-frame gun chambered for cartridges such as the 44 Magnum).  It could also be something like the Trooper, Lawman, New Service, or Three-Fifty-Seven.  Given Hawk's propensity for the finer things in life, I'd bet on the Python. 

 Dennis Tallett replies:

Thanks for sending me the correspondence on my gun pages. I've been traveling around the Central Coast, 200miles from L.A. so here is a belated response.  Getting input on the research that took RBP and myself to gun catalogues is rewarding. It's good to know that there is somebody out there verifying.

My observations  on your correspondent's findings are as follows:

Spenser's .32 Smith & Wesson. I was unable to find a suitable model that fits the description so I label it writer's license.

Spenser's Iver Johnson 12 ga. pumpgun. Agreed. No mention of this model appears in their catalogues or archives.

Spenser's Colt .32. My own research settled on the Colt .32 New Police (S & W).

Spenser's .25 automatic. These seemed to have been produced between 1908 and 1941. Can we assume that Spenser has a good pre-used model?

Hawk's .44 Magnum. I found several that could fit the bill. Knowing Hawk, the heftier, the better. Several models were produced in the 1990s.

Hawk's Colt .357 Magnum. This should have read 'Python' and the reference to the Spenser gun page illustration would then read correctly.

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But wait, there's more.  Matt wrote in with more information:

My grandfather, who passed away in December of 2000, owned a 12-gauge Ivers Johnson pump gun. It was passed on to me upon his death and resides with my other weapons in my safe at home.

Also, the .25 autos mentioned could be from a variety of manufacturers. Baretta makes a really nice one, and several lesser companies make them as well. It's a caliber of choice for "Saturday Night Specials." I would think Spenser would use a Baretta. It's a pretty nice piece, although reliability is an issue. Personally, I prefer a revolver for my back up weapon.  Revolvers don't jam!

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