Help identify "Alfa" revolver?

whitecoyote

whitecoyote

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I have this strange revolver, and I need help identifying it. :confused:
It looks very much like a five screw M&P S&W. My best guess is it was made in South America.
What I have is a six shot revolver with a 4.25" barrel, caliber ".38 Long" :confused: (.38 Special fits in the cylinder). Overall condition is good, it has some slight pitting. Bore, and action are excellent. Functions, and locks up excellent! It appears to be very well built.
On top of the barrel it is marked "American best cartridges are those that fit best the Alfa revolvers".
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Somehow when I looked at the grips, I thought German.

Alfa is a Czech product. Wiki

Probably a fine and well made revolver. The Czech firearms
I have seen are very well made.

Google and you will find some informative sites.

Are you going to chop it? ;)
 
Alfa is listed as a Czech company. They show a line of revolvers under that name currently. None in .38 long.

Upon further checking, another source shows Alfa as a German
distributor that branded Spanish revolvers with the Alfa name.
These revolvers were considered low quality knock offs.

Does your revolver have markings showing location of maker?
If Spain fits with story # two, if Czech, story # one.

In any case,appears to be well made from the pictures.
 
I'm almost sure that these are Spanish, and among the brands that S&W sued. This led to the Marcas Registradas marking being placed on S&W frames.

I don't think the Czech guns are from this firm.

Don't shoot it. May be dangerous.

T-Star
 
I have a basically identical revolver to yours with the exceptions that it is a round-butt and .32-20. There are no medallions or any identification whatsoever on it except an import roll-mark behind the trigger guard of "Spain". No doubt it was sold/imported after the S&W lawsuit was settled.

Mine has the same barrel marking as yours except for the O.V. "American best cartridges are those that fit best the O.V.

Thanks to deadin for the lead to the manufacturer. I have been able to find nothing about this revolver based on its markings (lack of). I will let you know how that pans out.

It seems, contrary to the comment by "Texas Star" of "Don't shoot it. May be dangerous.", that it is of much better quality than the more commonly seen Spanish revolvers such as Orbea, etc, and a far better copy of a S&W cosmetically than any other I have ever seen. I wouldn't hot-rod loads for it, and mine runs about 100 f.p.s. slower with the same loads than my 6" and 6 1/2" S&W .32-20s, but part of this is the difference in barrel length. I need to compare it to my 4" 1909 Smith.

Your revolver is definitely Spanish, and the .38 Long is .38 Long Colt as deadin said.
 
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Alk,

The total lack of markings is curious, even on Spanish revolvers. Does it look as if the grips have been changed out? Sometimes the only manufactures mark is on the grip panels. The barrel marking ending in "O.V." might be a clue that could point to "Ojanguren y Vidosa", another Eibar Spain maker.

As to the quality of Spanish revolvers, they seem to run the whole gambit from crap to pretty nice. The main problem with a good number of them is that the quality of steel they used was not up to standard. It can be somewhat soft and the guns will "shoot loose" fairly rapidly. Just take it easy on the loads and if they start getting sloppy, hang them in a display....
 
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The ALFA revolver seems to be of good quality. There is a lot of attention to detail. Fit, and finish appear to be excellent. All parts match, including the grips.
The only markings on the revolver is the side "trade mark", and the inscription on top of the barrel.
Would a .38 Special cartridge be safe to shoot in this revolver? :confused:
Thanks for all the reply's.
 
deadin said:
The logo on the frame and the grips belongs to
Armero Especialistas Reunidas of Eibar, Spain.[/QUOTE

I have a similar Alfa and agree with "deadin" on the owner of the logo.

Picture004.jpg


Picture002.jpg


My Alfa is clearly marked "Made in Spain" on the grip frame just behind the trigger guard.

Picture003.jpg


Similar barrel top marking

Picture006.jpg



The lockwork, however, is clearly unique

101-0198_IMG.jpg


I also agree that this Spanish copy of a 1920's S&W is of relatively good quality compared to many.

Russ
Click to expand...
 
ALK, part of the reason you Spanish revolver may shoot slower than you S&W made ones is the bore. Many are actually 8mm rather than proper bore size for 32-20. The Spanish gun makers learned early that a revolver chambered and bored for 8mm Lebel Revolver could not only be marketed in France and Spain, but stamped 32 Winchester and sold in the US.

A quick check to see if your revolver is 32 caliber or 8mm is to insert a loaded 32-20 ctg into the muzzle bullet first. 8mm Lebel uses a .330 projectile so if the bullet of the loaded ctg goes into the bore very far,the bore is probably 8mm rather than 32. .
 
I did a double take on the OP revolver pics. It looks identicle to one offered to me at a small show a couple of weeks ago. That was pending another buyers first right of refusal,,and he took it for the asking price of.... $75. Gotta buy it for that.

The lock up was as tight as any S&W or Colt I've handled. Perfect timeing both SA and DA and the polish and fitting up of the gun was excellent.
The pics of lindes revolver show their typical lockwork,,a mix of Colt and S&W.
The pics of the OP gun here show nice sharp polishing lines and flat surfaces. Not all Spanish guns met that goal but there are a few that do and this is one.

I like the early Spanish semi autos but rarely look at the revolvers they made. But that one piece that was trolled in front of me and the one posted here are definate examples of the quality that they can be found in.
 
The lockwork is very similar to the Model 1892 French Ordnance Revolver, except that it is a mirror image (the French revolver opened to the right while most revolvers open to the left). The most striking similarity is the combination of rebound lever and V-mainspring. The biggest difference is that the Spanish revolver has a single cylinder bolting system, whereas the French revolver used two locking bolts.

I found another reference (Zhuk) that suggests the revolvers were made by Orueta Hermanos (Eibar) for Armero Especialistas Reunidas, suggesting that AER were more a marketing firm than a maunfacturing firm.


Buck
 
barrel on ALFA 38 long ctg

a friend of mine has one these and the barrel is loose can it be fixed

tks
 
See my earlier response about the quality of steel used in some of the Spanish revolvers. Sounds like this one has already been stressed. Even if you tightened it up, it would probably just shoot loose again.
Sounds like a candidate for a display piece.
 
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