More Gun Identification
November 8th, 2006 - 10:41 am
OK, I have another gun I am trying to identify and learn about. This time it’s a revolver. I have not personally held this gun in my hands since I was small, so I can’t tell you a damn thing about it. Mom doesn’t know anything about it either. Someone in the family owned it, and somehow we ended up with it. All I have are the photos my mom sent me this morning (sorry they are so small, I’ve asked her to send larger ones). I’m probably going to end up posting about this on AskMetafilter at some point, but I know I have a lot of guys that read this site and like guns, so maybe someone right here might have a clue about it. When mom sends me the larger photos, I’ll link them in this post.
UPDATE: November 8, 2006 - 9:31 pm
There’s some more information (not much) in the comments, and I uploaded the larger photos.
Click the pics for a larger view!
A few more behind the cut.
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10 Responses to “More Gun Identification”
Looks to be a Government Service issue of some sort. Could be a colt or a Smith & Wesson. Looks like a large bore. Maybe .45, .357, or even a .44.
Just the fact that it maybe a service issue would make it worth something to a collector.
Post name brand and model number if you can. I would be interested in this one as well.
When I opened the first photo, my first thought was it was something police or military issue. Mom says the only writing on it is the U.S. on the grip and Made in the USA (somewhere on it). No serial/model number. No makers mark or logo. Nothing. That in itself makes it interesting, but it also makes it harder to find out anything about it.
I thought it looked like a Colt, so that’s where I started looking. I’ve looked at hundreds of photos of guns today (historical to modern), and haven’t seen ANY that had that shape of grip. There was one from the early 1900’s that came close, but it wasn’t that particular gun.
The only thing anyone knows about it is that when my grandfather died and his belongings were being allocated, my aunt wanted to keep his dad’s handgun. She offered my parents this one, but said she didn’t know where it came from, which may or may not be the truth of the matter. I have the feeling there is, or was at one time, a story about this gun, but it’s been lost … or someone doesn’t want to talk about it. I’m probably going to poke some family members at Xmas (if we go). Someone must know how this came to be in the family, which would help dating it and finding out what it is.
I’m going to keep working on this, because it’s really fascinating to read about firearms history. Never thought about it much before. I’d be willing to part with this one before the rifle, simply because I don’t really have any connection to it … unless I discover some really juicy family story that goes along with it.
At any rate, I’m sure to be babbling about it until I solve the mystery.
Hopkins & Allen made guns that look like this one, some marked H&A and some were made for other companies. If its a military gun it would have a serial number and other markings. Good luck with yer investigation.
I’ll look into that, thanks! Yeah, the lack of markings or numbers is making this really hard to find anything at all. Basically I am down to looking at photos of guns and trying to find design similarities. Now that’s tedious.
US Firearms.
I thought that this gun might have come from US Firearms, but after talking with one of their experts it is clear that it did not.
From the looks of it has to be service related in some way and from the sliver finish it isn’t a standard issue.
When you are able look on the top of the barrel for any lettering/markings, if not there the cylinder should fold out and there maybe some markings/letters some where inside of the cylinder housing.
If it is a service issue then it has to have numbers of some kind somewhere unless it is a very early WW I weapon.
Also see if there is a dealer in your area that is an expert in old firearms and let them help you because you may just have something of real value.
I didn’t even think to ask Mom to look in the cylinder for any markings. She’s so nervous about handling an even obviously non-loaded weapon, I think I’ll just wait until Thanksgiving when we go again to look for myself and bring it back with me so I can get someone local to look at it. Austin is bound to have someone who knows older weapons.
It’s a real mystery, and it’s been fun doing research on it. I can’t wait to find out what it is! Then maybe I can find out from my family what the story behind it is. I know there’s a story. My family doesn’t hold onto things unless there’s family history attached.
I was told that you should unscrew the grip plate and look under there and there should be a seriel number.
I’ll be going over it with a fine tooth comb when I go see Mom. I’d ask her to do it, but just touching it freaks her out.
HELLO: I HAVE A EXACT/SIMILAR REVOLVER. BUT SHORT 2″ BARREL .38 CAL. SAYS US REVOLVER CO. INGRAVED SERIAL # 22996. I FOUND IT SOMETIME LAST YEAR WALKING IN THE WOODS. QUITE RUSTY BUT PROBABLE STILL FIRES. ANY INFO WOULD BE HELPFULL.