I need a little help with this please. I believe it`s an 1862 - 32RF but can`t be sure. I`d guess it`s blackpowder but once again i`m not sure. The action works pretty good but the lock up is a bit sloppy and the bore is badly pitted. Anything you can tell me about it would help. It has a three digit serial #

Burch

This appears to be what you have:

Collector's Firearms

Any idea on it`s worth ?

I have a very similar one, marked F. Wesson. The frame on mine is brass. If memory serves, it has a serial # of 265. I have never measured the bore, but the caliber appears smaller than .32. I'll try to come up with a photo. Is there any relation between F. Wesson and S& Wesson?

Flayderman' Guide to Antique American Firearms has a good section on Frank Wesson firearms. Frank ( Franklin) was D.B.Wesson's younger brother, and was a prolific firearms designer & gun maker, circa 1855-1880s. Your gun is .22RF caliber, and is a Model 1862. About 2,000 were made of this model in 1st & 2nd types. Values are not high for these guns unless they are mint condition.

Mine isn`t a 22RF, it falls all the way through.

Mine also is definately not a .22. I have some ammo for it, though I would never attempt to fire it. I have been told that it is a .28 caliber rimfire, but can't confirm that. I will try to get time to measure the groove dia. sometime this evening.

I have some S&W 32 long ammo that I just tried and it`s too big.

Flayderman lists only .22RF caliber for a Model 1862, however guns produced about the same time in the Frank Wesson Pocket Rifle models came in .22RF, .30RF, and .32RF. so I suspect the some Model 1862s got the larger caliber barrels, and your guns decribed above are probably .30RF caliber. Whether those are the original barrels or are larger caliber barrels switched later by early owners, who knows?

OK, I dug the old pistol out and took some measurements. Didn't get pics, but it looks just like the OP's gun except for the brass frame. The barrel has 3 lands and grooves, so an exact measurement isn't possible, but it is very close to .279 across the grooves. The chamber is .297-.298. I suspect the caliber is actually .30 RF. This one is in excellent condition, save a couple of small chips on the wood stocks/grips. It maintains close to 100% finish, and the bore is bright with sharp rifling. I'm pretty sure the barrel has not been changed. My grandmother had the gun since the 1800's, (she would have been born about 1869), and I'm pretty sure she wasn't into amatuer gunsmithing. The patent date on the barrel is 1859, BTW.

I wouldn`t fire mine since it`s so old but i`m guessing these are blackpowder - right or wrong ?

Most definately black powder. I doubt you would ever find ammo for it. I have a few rounds I picked up at a gun show years ago. I just bought them to say I had them. I kinda doubt they would go off if I did try to fire the gun. If there were a source of modern ammo, I don't see any reason you couldn't fire the gun. They seem pretty well made.

Finally got some pics of the old gal. Looking at burch's pics again, I guess that one is a brass frame also, though it looked like steel on my monitor when I first looked at it.















Possibly the serial number? I need to take the grips off and look. I somehow remember a SN of 265 for this gun.

My serial # is on the bottom of the grips also. Mine is a steel frame. I would imagine you might be able to shoot these just because of the low pressure of blackpowder but finding any casings to load `em with would be hard. I know in cowboy action shooting some folks load a ball by thumb pushing it into the casing. I`ll bet finding dies for it is impossible also. Like I said earlier my bore is trashed so why bother. Still a pretty cool lookin` little pistol.

I took the grips off my gun and found the number 267 in pencil on both grip panels. That number doesn't appear anywhere else on the gun. The only number at all, except the patent date, is the numeral "1" stamped on the bottom of the grip frame. Could that be the serial number??? That appears to be the location on burch's gun for the SN.

Holy moly... it would sure appear from the pics that you pistol is s/n #1 !
The different numbered grips would indicate that they have been changed sometime in the last 150 yrs. ?
What a find !!

Not exactly a "find". To the best of my knowledge, the gun has been in the family since new. I would be VERY surprised to learn the grips have been changed. But, stranger things have happened.

Burch: Have you looked under your grips for a number? Just wondering if yours are numbered, and if so, does the number match the serial number?

If this gun really is serial #1, any ideas as to value? Certainly not a highly collectable piece, but I would think that would give it some sort of boost at least with some collectors.

The numbers on my grips are the same as the numbers on the grip frame. Are you sure you can`t see any other faded numbers on the bottom of that grip frame epj ? Find a magnifing glass and look using a bright flaslight or something like that. If you do in fact have #1 you could have a high collectable.

I put a 20X lighted jeweler's glass on it and the number "1" is very distinct. There are no other numbers.

I`d be doin` some research. Even if ya don`t wanna sell it since it`s been in your family so long. Here`s a couple places to start.

Collectors Firearms
"The Spirit of the Old West - Collecting, Travel and Attractions in the Old West - Collectibles Guns Swords Militaria Firearms"
Photos d'armes de collection

I've done a bit of research on the sites you provided. I have been able to ascertain that there were at least two, and possibly three frame sizes. We already knew that there are both steel and brass frames. So far I have seen both .30 RF and .32 RF calibers. I am speculating that the .32 may be the medium frame, and that there was perhaps a .38 large frame? Just speculating about the large frame, if you have a medium frame, makes sense that there is a small and large to go with it. One of those sites had a photo of a smaller brass frame gun and a slightly larger steel frame side-by-side. I'm purely guessing one was a .30 and the other a .32.

The .32 steel frame on the collectors website had a good bore, good wood and no finish remaining. It was valued at $550. No mention of serial number, dates of mfg, number made etc.