Howdy
Although I have lots of Handejectors, this is my first 19th Century Smith. SN is 767X. It was advertised as a Baby Russian, but when I got it home it turns out it is a 38 Single Action 2nd Model. I understand it is only the 1st Models that are correctly called Baby Russians.
When I picked it up, I thought the grips were in too good condition to be original, so I supposed them to be some modern replicas. Imagine my surprise when I removed them and saw plenty of oxidation on the insides, and the serial # penciled onto one of them. I now believe these grips are original, unless somebody went to some effort to counterfeit them.
Anyway, the bore and chambers are beautiful, no pits at all, the bore looks like it just left the factory. There is some flaking of the nickel plating on the outside of the gun and there is a score line around the cylinder from the bolt. It locks up tight as a bankvault. I suspect this gun spent most of its time in somebody's drawer and was not fired much.
I did fire about half a box of Remington 38 S&W through it. Accuracy was good, although the trigger pull was so heavy and the grip so small it was difficult to hold steady while pulling the trigger. The knurling on the trigger is a nice touch and helps get a good trigger pull. I do realize this is a pocket pistol and not meant to be a target pistol. I doubt I will shoot it much, and will make up some Black Powder rounds for it next time.
According to SCSW this model was produced from 1877 until 1891. I am guessing that with this relatively low SN it was probably made in the first few years. Any thoughts on that?
Thanks.
P.S. I don't know anything about rating the condition of antique revolvers. Can anybody tell me from the photos what percent this old pistol should be?
P.P.S. The red coloring visible on the barrel in one of the photos is a reflection of the shirt I was wearing, it is not part of the gun.
My First Antique S&W
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