I have a 1937 that is in fair shape except for some nasty rust spots on the cylinder and a cruddy coat of sprayed and baked on black matte finish.

The black matte is going to get bead blasted before a refinish. I have an engraver lined up to refresh the markings before it gets cerakoted (no I am not trying to fake an original condition gun). I can just barely see the crest through the spray on finish so I can't take a picture to give the engraver as a guide. All other markings are legible enough for me to photograph on my on revolver.

Thanks.

I really hate to see an old piece of history get blasted or refinished.
Just tuck the old girl away or sell her. Buy something that suits your tastes.
These old 37 are getting hard to find. Best

__________________
Mike 2796
SoFo Bunch member

See if the paint will come off with a solvent before blasting it off to see what lies underneath.

__________________
NEVER GIVE UP YOUR GUN

There is a fairly good picture on page 163 of the 3rd edition S&W bible. Most I've ever seen were buffed off or badly scratched/corroded. Maybe someone has a nice picture from one that didn't get shipped off to Brazil.
I like the Brazilians and a real nice one has a nicer finish than a 1917 military model, but I wouldn't go to the trouble of employing an engraver to fix up the roll marks unless it was a real special piece. They make terrific shooters or project guns otherwise.

Here ya go.



f.t.

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South Carolina-God's country

If Tom's pic isn't sharp enough, Search for Brazilian Mauser rifle, M-1908. I've done that and seen some good pics of the receiver crest. Of course, on the rifle, the crest matches the curvature of the receiver.


Or, just find a Brazilian flag and look at the national crest. The five internal stars are for the five states of Brasil. (Their spelling, Portuguese.)


We had a couple of Brazilian members here awhile back who posted about Brazil in WWII. They showed the green webbing holsters for those guns and noted that Colt also provided M-1911A-1 .45 autos. They said the revolvers usually went to enlisted men; the autos to officers.


Brazil provided both infantry and air power in the Italian battles. Their fighters were US-made P-47 Thunderbolts.


I think that for this foreign fighting, they used US small arms.


The Germans found them tough opponents.


Today, most Brazilians are limited to auto pistols of no more power than .380 ACP or revolvers of .38 Special. But rich collectors can get a special license for more powerful guns. However, I'm not sure these can be shot.


If Ray in Rio sees this, he can explain.

The refinish is almost a phosphate and the rust spots underneath are quite rough so the old girl is far from pristine as she is. No solvent will remove the finish, I've tried a couple. She shoots like gang busters both with 230 grain .45 ACP in moon clips and with .45 Auto Rim loaded with 255 gr. Keith Style semi-wadcutters running between 850 and 900 fps.

I won't mess with the internals other than dropping in fresh springs the DA pull is very nice as is.

I'm also going to have the front sight modified along the lines of a 1982 Gun Digest article that showed a project to turn a 1917 into a better shooter.

I won't bother looking for a .45 Colt cylinder and yoke to make it a convertible as most of the article describes. The .45 Auto Rims come close enough to duplicating the .45 Colt ballistics for me in a gun of this vintage.

Thanks to all.

Thanks for the pic I will use it and check out the 1908 Mausers.

Today, most Brazilians are limited to auto pistols of no more power than .380 ACP or revolvers of .38 Special. But rich collectors can get a special license for more powerful guns. However, I'm not sure these can be shot.


Well Texas, thanks for putting me in the 'rich' bracket ! I wish I was. As a matter of fact it´s not so expensive to to get a CAC license- in portuguese - colecionador, atirador, caçador or collector, shooter, hunter . What troubles one the most is the red tape !
It appears these army people have too much time in their hands to harass the law abiding people, while the real criminals run unchecked.
And yes, if you belong to a gun club you can shoot your piece at will.
Ammo here is expensive , even a .22 LR box can rip your pockets open !
.38 SPL from the infamous only national ammo factory CBC - Magtech overseas, only come in blisters containing 10 cartridges.
You can of course reload but you are required to obtain a special license to do that and the press and dies, mere tools, must be registered by the always " concerned" army bureaucrats.

Regards, Ray

Here is a pic of my Brazilian:

Thanks again. These have all been helpful.