Triple-Lock Rescue

kevh481 · Apr 22, 2011

So about a year ago I was in a shop perusing their selection and began to talk to the proprietor. He told me he had an old S&W in pieces in the back that he had bought as part of an estate sale and asked me if I might be interested. He brought it out and I immediately recognized it as a British-proofed Triple Lock. The bore is spectacular for its age, but someone disassembled it and began to polish it at some point in its history. It looks like it was long ago converted to 45 Colt. The SN if you cannot read it is 1523. I finally picked the gun up today and brought it home. I have some special plans for this gun.

I don't know much about British proofs. If you do please let me know about what they say about this gun.

Ken NC · Apr 22, 2011

That is an amazing find, congrats! And thanks for the great photos. I am sure a lot of folks here will be looking forward to an update as you "special plans" go forward. I know I will.

Frank46 · Apr 23, 2011

Not an expert on British proof marks but will tell you what I can.
What looks like an arrow with wavy wings denotes British property. The straight line with an X through the middle denotes sold out of service. Basically the military had no use or was obsolete. And was sold. Closest to the receiver on the bbl you have three proof marks. The last one should have a crown above the letters NP. This means that the revolver was proofed with smokeless powder. The NP denotes Nitro Proof. The other two proof marks stand for British View and Black powder proof.
Not quite sure about the meanings of the last two though. The crown above the FE
E is probably an inspector's stamp. Usually after proofing and the gun is ready for service an inspector gives it good going over looking for anything that will cause problems and if satisfied with it he will stamp his acceptance mark on it. There are probably more folks out there that can probably give you either or more info than the little I have tried. Hope this helps. Your revolver should look a winner once all the parts are installed and reblued. Frank

SDH · Apr 23, 2011

I believe that is Birmingham Proof (BP) and Birmingham View (BV).

DCWilson · Apr 23, 2011

Spectacular find! Congratulations.

I also have a .455 TL converted to .45 Colt. It loves cowboy action loads. I can't offer much help because my gun does not have some of the British marks seen on yours.

I don't see a center pin or center pin spring, and the screw count seems to be low by one. Those should be obtainable from the usual parts dealers if they are truly missing rather than simply omitted from the photo.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your project as it develops. Please keep us posted.

H Richard · Apr 23, 2011

Some people have all the luck. I get called from one of my favorite gun shops frequently to help identify old S&W's they get in, so do get first chance to acquire, but never had this nice an opportunity yet. Will be watching for updates as it is resurrected.

delta-419 · Apr 24, 2011

Congradulations! Super find. I too, have recently acquired a triplelock project gun and have managed to locate some needed parts. One of the best references, if you haven't already seen a copy, is David R. Chicoine's,
Antique Firearms Assembly/Diassembly on page 334. There is a parts list that may prove useful.Interesting enough, my gun also came from CA. Hope to see your project progress reports on the forum.

bigdaddyusmc · May 17, 2016

Hope no one mind if I resurrect this 5 year old thread,,,
I have a British 455 triple lock with a broken center pin ,,
Any idea where I could find one ?????

I started a new threat asking the same question, But I figure it can't hurt to shake all the trees,,

mrcvs · May 28, 2016

I, too, am resurrecting this thread. Interestingly, the one that is the original subject of the post is not stamped "Not English Make". Mine is, and was shipped in December, 1914. My understanding is that this marking may have been used 1925 and after. Is this correct? If so, what may be an explanation as to if mine is marked as such? If not, were all or most triple locks shipped to the British government marked as such?

Jack Flash · May 28, 2016

The third pic shows the crossed pennants, a proof mark. Other markings are also proof marks / view marks in this pic.

Fourth pic:
This is the typical column of markings:
Broad Arrow: Accepted into (British) Military Service
Crown: Property of the Crown (in theory anyways)
F9: Accepted into service by Inspector F9
E: Inspected and Accepted into service at the Royal Small Arms Factory located at Enfield Lock

Note that there is no Roman Numeral Two (II) since this is the First Model .455 S&W approved for service. If it were the successor to the Triple Lock, the HE II .455 S&W, it would have the II mark.

Fifth pic:
The "giant asterisk" is actually two broad arrows, point to point, indicating that this was sold out of service onto the civilian market.

Down by the trigger guard (still 5th pic) I can't read the letters / numbers interleaved with the crossed swords. Here is a guide to their meaning for those with better vision:

Skeetr57 · May 28, 2016

British military S&W revolvers were not proof marked by either the Birmingham or London proof houses when they were received, but instead, got the Enfield acceptance stamps referenced above, along with the broad arrow stamp for government ownership. Officers were required to buy their own handguns, and sometimes bought them from the government, in which case they would get the opposing broad arrow stamp. I believe that a later proof act called for the not English Make stamp. Any US revolver with Birmingham or London proofs was sold commercially in Great Britain. Apparently guns sold for shipment out of the country didn't require proofing or stamping, as I have seen many such guns with no proof stamps, and have two, a .455 HE second model and a .38 S&W BSR with no proof stamps, but both have acceptance markings and the opposed broad arrow, indicating that they were sold out of service and not stolen or battle trophies.

jmace57 · May 28, 2016

I had high hopes when I saw this thread resurrected that we would see the end product!

kevh481 · Sep 9, 2016

Just as a follow-up. Life happens and this gun was placed in the safe for another day. Hopefully that day is now here.

I would like to get this gun restored. Any ideas on gunsmiths qualified to do a restoration on a Triple Lock?

The Gila Bender · Sep 11, 2016

kev,
There are two that I can recommend but cannot guarantee that they will take the project. Doesn't hurt to ask, right? I'll send PM with contact info.

alwaysoutdoors · Sep 11, 2016

kevh481 said:
Just as a follow-up. Life happens and this gun was placed in the safe for another day. Hopefully that day is now here.

I would like to get this gun restored. Any ideas on gunsmiths qualified to do a restoration on a Triple Lock?

You could sell it to me and buy yourself something pretty that doesn't need restoration.

Triple-Lock Rescue

kevh481

Member

Ken NC

Member

Frank46

US Veteran

SDH

DCWilson

H Richard

US Veteran

delta-419

bigdaddyusmc

Member

mrcvs

Member

Jack Flash

Member

Skeetr57

Member

jmace57

Member

kevh481

Member

The Gila Bender

alwaysoutdoors

Member

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