What sort of 19th Century Smith & Wesson guns have you fired in your lifetime?

I'm really curious to know if a Forum member has ever fired one of the early tip-up rim fire revolvers.

Anyone actually touched off one of the early Smith & Wesson magazine pistols or rifle?


I've only shot a common 1882 vintage .38 DA revolver.

What sort of 19th Century Smith & Wesson guns have you fired in your lifetime?

I'm really curious to know if a Forum member has ever fired one of the early tip-up rim fire revolvers.

Anyone actually touched off one of the early Smith & Wesson magazine pistols or rifle?


I've only shot a common 1882 vintage .38 DA revolver.

Back in my foolish days, a No.1 2nd Model, a 1st Model Schofield and a Revolving Rifle.

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

OK Dean, you answered in spades! I'm impressed.

I occasionally fire my Baby Russian topbreak - it was shipped in 1877. I use very light smokeless powder handloads with a soft lead bullet and get good results at 50 feet in spite of the crude sights and spur trigger. I've never had a misfire with about 300 rounds through the gun. Combined age of gun and shooter is 197 years!

An old Safety Hammerless made in 1902.

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SWCA # 2294

1909 Triple Lock in .44Spl.

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John

Model 1 1/2 made in 1873... .32 rim fire...fired it five times... took hours to clean the BP residue out of it... never again...

FWIW

Chuck

Breaktop .32 S&W no.1 1/2 1876, S&W 44-40 Frontier 1886 (1st year), Breaktop .38 S&W No.1 1/2 1880s and others.

Also my triplelock, one time I shot it off the bench with 3 or 4 other .44s and it outshot them all! I have shot other guns a quite a bit older than the triplelock.

M1917 made in 1918.

CXM, the model 1 1/2 was only made from 1865 to about late 1868. What's the serial number on yours?

Mine is 1308, made in 1865, and if you told me where I could find some 32 rimfire for it... that would be the oldest one I ever fired too!!

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S&WCA #2018

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S&WCA #2018

My .44 Double Action 1st Model with BP handloads, shipped Sept. 1887. Fun to shoot a lot of work to clean!

You're talking about the Model 1 1/2 Old Model.
I have a 1 1/2 New Model that was shipped in 1870. They were made up until 1875.

There's also a Mod 1 1/2 Centerfire aka .32 Single Action, but it's a topbreak.

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I've got a 44/40 Frontier DA that I've been meaning to shoot.(with BP)
However there is a 1st Model DA in 44 Russian in about 40% condition (nickle mostly gone) being auctioned on GB right now. It's at $1,575.00 with around 2 hours to go. I'm having second thoughts about shooting mine if they worth that much in just "shooter" grade.

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

Shot this about 4 weeks back. Its so accurate, I can hit a 11" x 14" paper target every time at 3 yards.

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Pace

Hmmm, that would be my first edition Lady Smith dating from 1903. It shot very well with modern 22 shorts. When I called Mr. Jinks about getting it lettered, the first words out of his mouth were...." DON'T SHOOT IT...we can't replace any parts if anything breaks~ " I laughed and told him I already shot it~~~ I have a nice target with a nice seven shot group on it as a reminder. ( I know it doesn't count, but I've fired off pulled cases in my 1868 First Model Third edition ...living so dangerously! hahahaha!! )

A commercial model Scofield - I put six rounds of black powder through it. It was about 10 year ago and I don't think I would do it again.

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Joseph L. Lyon

What is your SN? I've got 209x that hasn't been lettered but I have estimated was about 1888.

I used to shoot it quite a bit, but since S&W re-finished it in 1975 and screwed up the double-action I have only shot it once as I recall. Someday I'll post some photos.

Posted in my intro that I had been given my GGrandfathers S&W in .38 by his daughter, my great aunt. Mr. Jinks advised it was shipped in 1881. Took it out I think in '63, and put the better part of a box of shells through it. Gave it to my nephew on his graduation from cop school. He's now a sheriffs deputy in Illinois.

I foolishly shot my Number 1-Second Model many years ago with low velocity .22 shorts. No damage done to a beautiful old Smith but won't chance it again.
Gary

Great replies here. I really wasn't expecting much of a response, especially with shooting the tip ups. I'm like CXM and others and would likely have to try it out once.

The Ladysmith would be another interesting model to try.

I used to be one of the "I wouldn't own anything I haven't or won't shoot" crowd.
A number of years ago I came to realize that they all work pretty much the same and make similar noises, so why take a chance on putting more wear and tear on something old when I have perfectly good modern guns to shoot? (Besides, I stand a much better chance of hitting what I'm aiming at with one of my more modern guns. )

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

Alk8944
SN on my .44 DA 1st is 17862 shipped to M. Arms Co. St. Louis, Missouri. It was started out as a blue gun but was nickled sometime long ago and has seen a lot of hard use.

Randy

I fired one cylinder of those low velocity .22's through my Model 1 2'nd issue. I only hit a can one time at ten feet. No damage, but no more.Also one cyliner through my Model 2 Army.A little better accuracy, but not much. That one is retired too.

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Stan

"Get off my lawn."

I've fired my Single Shot 3rd Model Perfected(s) many times and will likely continue to do so. Too much fun not to.

I will hve to check the s/n when I unpack it... I though there were several issues of the 1 1/2...

Will check... thanks for pointing that out...

Century Arms had some .32 RF ammo some years ago...somewhat pricey, but I bought a small quantity... never know when you might need it...

Chuck

Ive shot my DA .44 Russian made in the 1800's with a cylinder full of light loads just to say Ive shot it.

I've shot my Wesson percussion target pistol in .36 caliber...

It supposedly dates to the 1840's or 1850's...
When Daniel was still apprenticing to to brother.

Does that count?

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Lost it all in a boat accident

#2 Army in 32. Shoot it all of the time with BP. Made in 1863.

That works for my purposes, Andy. I'd have liked to been present when you fired it.

JohnHenryD; How do you come up with the ammo?

I guess Iam in the I shoot everything crowd:~) Shot my Ladysmith today with mild shorts in it.I have lots of early 20th cent stuff I shoot all the time. I shot my 1878 vintage Colt Lightning many times before I sold it, that one was fun to shoot! I have my eye on a 1 1/2 tip up that I will shoot if I get it....

Colt Mod. 1877 D.A. .38LC ("Lightning" mfg 1893) with "Goex" BP ammo.

OK, thats not a S&W. But the only old S&W's I have are .38 or .32 S&W cal. And altho large cal. BP ammo (i.e. .45-44/40 etc) can be found fairly easy. (I don't have any reloading equip.)The smaller cal.s just don't seem to be availible.


Personaly I think BP is no harder to clean up then smokeless. Takes a little longer maybe, but it's no more work. (you just can't put it off)

I had a number 1 that was a tight gun, some of the nickel was off so I thought I would shoot it, I only shot standard velocity 22 shorts in it but it shot fine, no sigh of any trouble.

TheGunCellar

I have a S&W No. 2 Army. It is just about as tight as it was new. .32 rimfire and still going strong! Serial number range puts it at
1864.
Thanks for the interest on the old girls. The older the better. Would like to hear about more of these.

For the fellow who can't resist touching off a .32 rimfire, what are the options for providing ammunition?

There have been various offerings of .32 RF over the years. Navy Arms, Old Western Scrounger, SOG are a few that come to mind.
Be aware that some of this ammo is smokless and some BP. Stevens offered single shot rifles in this caliber and some US companies loaded it up to the 1930s.
Some of this stuff is a little hot for the weak action of the S&W tip-ups.
Be careful.

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Dean
SWCA #680 SWHF #446

I am curious about how fragile the tip-up is. One of these days I could end up with one of the graceful little things. The latch appears delicate and the cylinder walls are pretty thin and of uncertain composition. Are they iron or a mild steel?

When I was young, I shot a #2 Army regularily from 1958 to 1963. The Peters .32 RF ammunition was plentiful. In Canada, the cost was 35 cents a box of 50 (1961). The #2 Army belonged to my father's Great Grandfather. When my father was a boy, he'd shoot .22 RF Shorts in it by rolling up tissue and stuffing the cylinders to hold the rim of the .22 shorts against the outer edge of the cylinder. The accuracy was +/-6 feet at 10 yards.

A First Model, Third Issue was also shot and I often shot a .32 RF Pond (Made for Smith & Wesson)into the mid '70s. The latter would drive the Range Master nuts. I still have all these revolvers and wouldn't think about doing that again. I was lucky. To me they are all priceless. Mike

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Mike Maher #283

Cheat a little. Actually someone converted this to a centerfire years ago by installing a firing pin through the frame under the sideplate . I reload S&W 32 longs with BP and round lead balls by hand. Pretty accurate and fun to shoot. I carry it on fishing trips, mushroom hunting, etc. There is no finish on it but it's basically mechanically sound so I don't worry about hurting it or the value.

Nothing that old.

1915 is the oldest I shoot regularly.

My first 2 Antique S&Ws were a model 1 3rd and a model 1 1/2 2nd issues tip ups. I fired both; the model 1 with cb caps and the 1 1/2 with dominion .32 rf shorts. I had no problem with them. Later I boughr a 1 1/2 tip down, a model 2 .38 Single action 2nd, a .38 DA 4 th, and a .32 DA 4th which I fired with vintage .32 and .38 S&W cartridges.

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Gun Safety is no accident.

Hi! Southern Ohio Gun (SOG) has a limited amount for $24.95 a box of fifty. Sounds high, but a few years back they were going for twice that.

I shoot all my antique guns with black powder and clean them out caerfull.

Smith and Wesson second model single action.38
" " " model 1881 in .44 russian.
" " " New model 3 target in .44
" " " Second model Schofield .45 S&W

Off all the New Model 3 is the best off all. This shoots a fly of the wall or castrate him.

Hi Thuer;

I'd love to shoot any of those three big .44 or 45 caliber models.

In 1974 when I was 13, my father gave me a
Model 1, 3rd issue. Shot it constantly with CB caps without any problems. It had minute of tin can accuracy at 10 feet.
This was my first S&W and I wish I had it now!

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Mike

I put about a full box of factory ammo thru my 1889 New Defender Safety tip up 38 S&W...

decent accuracy, got talked out of it by a buddy...

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Dum vivimus Vivamas

Had 2 Model 3's New models. One in .44 Russian other was a 38-44. Had some 44 Russians cartridges the [2 boxes] Shot them all up. Accurate old pistol. The 38 I used 38 long Colt's. Been a while ago but don't have the pistols anymore but thought I'd pass the info along. Good talking to you guys.