A Chinese Hand Ejector Copy

[Goony]

First off, a link to a fun article (short read) -

Chinese Warlord Era Revolver

Here's my example of this genre. Six shot, with the barely rifled 4" barrel and cylinder being close to K-frame dimensions. The remainder of the gun is very much on the petite side, though.

The barrel markings are all gibberish. The trade mark is also poorly rendered. However, the grip medallions are credible, and the grips themselves are a decent fit and rather finely and nicely checkered.

It does have a legible four digit serial number on the butt, and amazingly a matching number on the rear face of the cylinder. It chambers .38 Special.

I've never removed the sideplate to check the lockwork, but it does seem to be generally in working order. In fact, the action is commendably smooth in double action, and the trigger pull in single action is pretty crisp (although the cylinder doesn't want to rotate fully into lockup when the hammer is manually cocked).

 

[Muley Gil]

Have you shot it?

 

[bigmtnman]

"The barrel markings are all gibberish"

I was laughing while looking at the "patent dates" area on the top of the barrel ---- "gobbledygook" was my thought before and went back and read your "gibberish" . Thanks --- fun post !

 

[Goony]

Have you shot it?

Well, I have some +P stuff I need to shoot up, so maybe I'll take it to the range tomorrow. Seriously, no and not likely to, for two reasons. First, while .38 Special chambers, I've no idea what ammunition was really meant to be used in it, and no reason to be confident in its metallurgy. Second, whether the rifling was originally this thin or it's just plain shot out, the state of the bore is such that I can't imagine being able to hit anything with it. In fact, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the rounds keyholed.

 

[stansdds]

What you have is a genuine Smidh & Wisson Hand Elector.

Yep, that thing was made by a talented blacksmith in China. Lots of fake Mauser 98's came from China too. I would not trust any of these firearms, no telling what grade of steel was used and I doubt any were properly heat treated.

 

[Goony]

Lots of fake Mauser 98's came from China too.

The variety and quantity of small arms the Chinese were able to churn out in small, crudely equipped workshops is pretty impressive. The Mauser C96 "broomhandle" and FN M1900 pistols were both widely, if imperfectly, imitated. I have one of the latter, replete with faux trade and proof marks.

 

[chief38]

It appears they let it soak in the Hot & Sour Soup too long! Man, don't know what the heck that is!!

 

[Narragansett]

I hope you came by that by way of free, and did not spend quality S&W funds on it. I would never fire that, the steel is no doubt junk.

I think that model was designed to fire a 38 caliber egg roll

 

[Inland7-45]

I have never seen a photo of one , but I have heard the the Chinese made copies of the 1928-A1 Thompson.

I have however seen parts kits from Thompson that were converted to 7.62 x 25.

I have also heard of Chinese copies of 1911s and M-3 SMGs.

 

[DWalt]

For some reason I cannot access the attachment. I sort of remember a similar article about war lord guns in the AR several years ago.

 

[swagmeister]

That is one ugly gun!!! The barrel markings could pass for Russian the way it looks. Hope you got a good deal on it, that meaning FREE.

 

[Goony]

This topic in general is actually pretty fascinating. Here's an article on a weird one that seems to have drawn on a number of different designs for inspiration:

Another Chinese Pistol

I've also attached a photo of a similar, although not identical, pistol.

 

[tennexplorer]

You need a copy of Ian McCollum's "Pistols of the Chinese Warlords."

 

[Goony]

You need a copy of Ian McCollum's "Pistols of the Chinese Warlords."

Apparently an expensive book, but if I can find one reasonably priced, I'll add it to my library. Thanks for the heads up on it.

 

[Jack Flash]

It doesn't look like they paid any more attention to patents and copyright laws back then than they do now.

 

[Goony]

Here's a great account (with lots of terrific photos) on another forum regarding phony hand ejector revolvers produced in China during WWII. In this case they were serially manufactured rather than singularly handmade knock-offs. They blatantly marked them "SMITH & WESSON" on the barrels, but did make an small error in stamping the other side with the caliber information.

See: Chinese War Time Arsenal Copy of Smith Wesson Revolver | Gunboards Forums

 

[Goony]

Another excellent article on Chinese warlord era copies in general.

See: Chinese Warlord Pistols: 1916-1949 | An Official Journal Of The NRA

 

[Goony]

More on the aforementioned book by Ian McCollum:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5o_UOxr-PPA[/ame]

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

If you look close enough you can make out Norinco on it.

 

[alwslate]

Beautiful revolver, obviously very high quality. Looks like a good candidate for a rechambering job to the .357 magnum