Early 1917 Brazilian contract revolver

littlerocknroller · #1 08-15-2013, 06:44 AM

Hi,
I may introduce myself first. I'm new in the forum and not yet member of the S&W collectors association. My name is Rainer Bergfeld and I live in Germany. I'm born in March 1947 and I'm collecting since 1986. First Colt's and now Smith & Wessons only. In fact, I re-started collecting only a few month ago and during this time I could put my hand on some really nice guns. The latest which I received yesterday, is an early D.A.45 1917 HE from the Brazilian contract. I'm especiall fond about a) the really nice condition of that gun and b) of the very early SN. In the latest S & W catalog Supica/Nahas mention SN 16974x to be the earliest known Brazilian marked revolver. The SN of my gun is 16425x. The gun is in very nice condition compared with the once I saw before. It has really nice smooth walnut grips which have matching numbers. The action works as smooth as one could think of and a look "inside" showed a really clean lockwork. There are only some minor flaws - a litte bit of "browning" at the muzzle and on the right side of the top strap. On the left side there is a shiny mark within the words "Made in USA". A little pitting near the lanyard ring. The barrel is marked with the correct number and has the eagles head with S34. The barrel is as clean as it can be and there are practically no signs of use, only from storage over a long time. The recoil shield is like new and there is only a very light ring on the cylinder. A friend of mine told me that these guns are great shooters with the 230 grains round nose bullets. So I have casted a batch which comes close to that weight. I have a Lyman double cavity mould which cast 225 grains bullets. They are now ready for loading. If the gun shoots as it looks it must be real fun. I will post some pictures of the revolver and hope you like them.
Rainer

beagleye · #2 08-15-2013, 07:15 AM

Welcome to the forum. That's a beauty. How did that gun likely come to be in Germany? Commercial importer? Is that a german proof on the frame just behind the barrel? Thanks.

JayCeeNC · #3 08-15-2013, 10:44 AM

Very nice gun, and welcome aboard.
Most Brazilian 1917's I see are in pretty rough shape.

delta-419 · #4 08-15-2013, 11:13 AM

That is the best condition 1917 Brazllian contract that I have seen. It is a most desirable S&W. Welcome to the forum! I have several in my collection, but none as nice as your 1917. You will enjoy many trips to the shutzenhime (pardon my spelling) with a very accurate revolver. Show us your targets and give us a range report when you take it out for a test shoot. I think you will be very pleased.

littlerocknroller · #5 08-15-2013, 01:36 PM

Hi beagleye,
thanks for your nice comment. You are right - the marks are German proof marks. Strange enough they are from 1975. I bought this gun through eGun, a European internet platform. It comes from a dealer who auctions used guns of all kind. I'm really happy with it.

wadcutter1 · #6 08-15-2013, 01:46 PM

That is a lovely revolver.

littlerocknroller · #7 08-15-2013, 04:59 PM

Hi delta-419,
yes, I will go to our Schützenhaus next Tuesday to find out how good a shooter the gun is. I still have to load the ammo with the bullets I cast. I'm sure it will perform great. I love to shoot the guns of my collection from time to time. By the way - this by far the gun with the best timing. If you pull the trigger you can hear the click of the cylinder stop just before the hammer is in the firing position. Most of my older S &W's are like that, but this is by far the best. It surprises me because this is a military revolver and not a target gun. I will come back with some results next week.
Rainer