Here's a picture of the 1891 I bought on GB last week for $500 Is there any way to date this pistol quickly with legal certainty as if I can prove it is pre 1899 it does not require CA DROS. Thank you.

According to the SCSW, and Jim Supica, Director, National Firearms Museum., "all single action top break revolvers, regardless of frame size or caliber," are to be considered Antiques by the BATF. Most published list of antiques show all Model 1891s are antiques. That would include 1st model single shots, as the frames are Model 1891s. Regardless, I've found that many Calif. FFLs will not accept shipments of non-DROS guns as they are "gun shy" ( no pun intended,) of CA. DOJ ignorance of what's an antique and what isn't. Also, out of state sellers (GunBroker) often will not ship antiques directly to the buyers, as they are ignorant of what's an antique. Hope this helps, Ed.

I don't know if this will help you out with the seller, but about the only comprehensive listing of antique firearms was published by James Wesley, Rawles, The Pre-1899 Antique Guns FAQ. The gun list is alphabetized at the end of the FAQ and you can find the S&W section.

As Ed states the same thing as the FAQ that all single action S&W top break revolvers and Model of 1891s are considered antiques. I have never found a BATF list of antique firearms, so assume they leave it up to the seller to make the determination if their gun was made before 1899.

The Pre-1899 Antique Guns FAQ

Could you post pics or a link to the auction? I'd like to see what you got.

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1891SingleShot

1891SingleShot, There's a picture posted, Click on the little blue square with the question mark in it, in the first post. Also, the BATF does not post a list of antiques, only a list of C&Rs. An antique list would require all guns going back to Chinese hand cannons of the 13th century , to be complete, so the gov't just came up with the arbitrary date of 1898 to draw the line, and let us collectors figure it out. With a gov't that can find one Mad Cow in millions in Wyoming, but can't find 12 million illegal aliens, we don't need any more help from the gov't! Ed.

I must be blind, but I can find no question mark anywhere on this thread? I was sure that the BATF did not have an antique list, but the question I have always wondered about was what resources do the agents use when determining if a revolver is an antique of not if they have no antique list? The years that are a problem are the latter part of the nineteenth century and that should be manageable. Muzzle loading firearms and percussion revolvers should be no problem unless you are dealing with a reproduction.

There was no qustion mark in a box that I found on this thread either. However, I clicked on the box in the upper left corner of the original post of this thread (it even had a Red 'X'in it) and found a picture of the S/S 1891. Mike #283

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Mike Maher #283

Here's the link to the GB sale
Smith & Wesson Single Shot 22 : Revolvers at GunBroker.com

Appreciate the comments. i inspected the pistol today at the dealer, but still have the wait period. It's not bad. No deep pitting. Has what may be a barb wire stringing mark on the barrel. I have seen this before on Colts of the period. I have an 1891 barrel and cylinder I may try to mount. The pistol is rough enough that it would not bother me to re-blue it. Seem to function fine too. A bit of looseness in the lockup of the barrel break. More later when i pick it up.

To be honest, I have not seen a 1891 Single Shot go for less than $750 for awhile, so the price is good. I noticed that the seller's ad states - "Will not sell to California". Did you reach an agreement to receive the gun?

glowe, I think I did okay. This is really the first time that I had any money at the same time a suitable 1891 was available, so I guess I got lucky in that sense...The dealer agreed to sell to me in California for an additional fee. I saw a much nicer example not sell on GB in AZ recently for $875. I think it's still on there.