All you have to do is be friends with Tom Morgan, Jr.
If you're the fastest revolver shooter in history like Jerry Miculek and you have the chance to check out Elvis Presley's S&W .357, you don't miss the chance to get your picture taken by another great shooter (who happens to be your wife, Kay) while posing with multi-world title holder Juli Golob. Jim Shepherd/OWDN photos. Tom Morgan, Jr. (right) holds the Presley revolver while explaining its story to Gary Giudice during Morgan's appearance "In the Chamber" at the NRA Annual meeting. Even the leaders of the National Rifle Association were drawn to Morgan's Presley collectibles...Wayne LaPierre (above) talked with Morgan while NRA-ILA head Chris Cox (below) did what most of us did- smile and pose with the badge and gun. Josh Ward of Blue Heron Communications was still producing "In the Chamber" but he was also enjoying the Presley memorabilia. The revolver and case that drew a crowd of unlikely Elvis admirers -one expert said the engraving was only "so-so" but "the fact Mr. Morgan has all the documentation imaginable on the gun makes it really valuable. |
They reacquainted years later when Morgan worked for the Shelby County Sheriff's Department as the Administrative Assistant to then Sheriff Gene Barksdale. Elvis, according to Morgan, was always intrigued by law enforcement and and eventually became a "Special Deputy".
Without beating the history aspect to death, Morgan is now the owner of some of the coolest Elvis Presley memorabilia on planet Earth- if you happen to be a gun enthusiast: Elvis' .357 Magnum Smith & Wesson Revolver - and his Special Deputy badge for the Shelby County Sheriff's Department.
Both are decorated in truest "Elvis" fashion. Not zebra skinned, but inlaid with gold and silver carving on both and carved ivory grips on the .357.
Morgan and I struck up a conversation while standing around the Smith & Wesson booth. Neither of us knew the other was waiting to appear on Smith's "In the Chamber" webcast with Gary Giudice, just that we were a couple of older guys hanging around.
Then Morgan asked me if I wanted to see something cool. When I responded "sure" I had no idea he was about to stun me with what he'd pull out of one of those obnoxious little trade show trollies. When I saw a leather pistol case with "Elvis" carved in it, I blurted out "You've got to be kidding."
He wasn't and I found myself holding a gun that had belonged to - and been fired (plenty according to Morgan) by Elvis Presley. To a southern boy who grew up with his music, that was a big deal. OK, not as big as meeting John Wayne, but....big.
Being me, I immediately asked him if I could show it to one of my friends. At that point, the ogling and photography started in earnest. Within a very minutes, we'd collected a crowd of celebrities and...well, let's just let the pictures tell the rest of the story.
It's safe to say that no matter who you are in the shooting industry, you have a solid appreciation for the history of a gun -or the badge associated with it.
There's really no good way to explain why gun people are attracted to certain guns, but it's not very difficult to see that some gun people were- and certainly still are- celebrities in their own right.
My thanks to Tom Morgan, Jr. for sharing the guns and the story with me -so I could share it with you.
-Jim Shepherd