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06-11-2009, 11:24 AM
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Copies of the .38 S & W Smith DA's
Who were the companies that produced copies of the Smith & Wesson .38 S & W break open revolvers. I know of Iver Johnson, and US revolver (branch off of Iver), but who else made these guns?
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06-11-2009, 12:15 PM
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Just how close a copy are you asking about?
The two you mentioned have unique features that are different then the S&W's they resemble. Most other US made DA's are the same, some closer than others. Just a few that come immediately to mind are Hopkins & Allen, Forehand & Wadsworth, Marlin, Harrington & Richardson, etc. If I hit the books I'm sure I could come up with at least a dozen others. I've always considered that a collection of these "look-a-likes" would be an interesting undertaking,
I would guess that the closest copies probably came out of Spain. Some of these even say "Smith & Wesson" on them.
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06-11-2009, 12:59 PM
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I'm not sure any of the US companies were actually making copies of the S&W. They each had unique design features.
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06-11-2009, 01:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by walnutred
I'm not sure any of the US companies were actually making copies of the S&W. They each had unique design features.
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I agree. Iver Johnson's "Hammer the Hammer" design was years ahead of its time.
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06-11-2009, 05:01 PM
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Ludwig Lowe & Co. of Germany made excellent copies of the S&W Russian .44's. Many S&W break-top copies were also made in Spain. Some in .455 were bought by the British in WW I.
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06-11-2009, 07:16 PM
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One of my local gun stores has an M&P made in Spain. What kind of quality guns were these? Any inherent problems with them as far as metallurgy etc? It's a tight lock up and the finish isn't all that bad.
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02-10-2017, 01:39 AM
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CH revolver
Quote:
Originally Posted by deadin
Just how close a copy are you asking about?
The two you mentioned have unique features that are different then the S&W's they resemble. Most other US made DA's are the same, some closer than others. Just a few that come immediately to mind are Hopkins & Allen, Forehand & Wadsworth, Marlin, Harrington & Richardson, etc. If I hit the books I'm sure I could come up with at least a dozen others. I've always considered that a collection of these "look-a-likes" would be an interesting undertaking,
I would guess that the closest copies probably came out of Spain. Some of these even say "Smith & Wesson" on them.
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I have a Spanish CH revolver which is a copy of the S&W M&P model 10
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02-10-2017, 10:30 AM
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You are asking about 38 top-break double action revolvers - right? Most were visual copies of the S&W, being designed to look like a 38 S&W DA. There are hundreds of brand names out there that were made by only a handful of companies. An example is the US Revolver you refer to, that was not a manufacturer, but rather a brand name of Iver Johnson.
Major US Manufacturers of S&W look-alikes include Hopkins Allen, Forehand Wadsworth, Harrington Richardson, Meridan Firearms, Crescent Firearms, Forehand Arms, Marlin, etc. As stated above, European and Spanish gun makers also copied the top-break design of S&W, plus there were private manufacturers that made guns for Sears, Wards, etc. retail companies.
There is some controversy about who came first? S&Ws first 38 DA was manufactured in 1880, while IJ Safety revolver did not start until 1894. H&R 38 DAs started around 1887. Forehand started in 1898; Marlin in 1887; and Meriden started in 1895. My thoughts are that S&W was the first US company to produce the 38 top-break, so all others are copies in one form or another.
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Last edited by glowe; 02-10-2017 at 10:36 AM.
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02-10-2017, 11:36 AM
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I realize this isn't exactly what the OP wants to discuss, but it is at least related.
In WWI, the Brits were very short on handguns. Well we know that they had contracts with S&W and Colt to supply large frame revolvers chambered for the .455 Webley cartridge.
They also had contracts with consortiums in Spain to produce a clone of the S&W top break double action revolver, chambered of course for the .455. This isn't really surprising since their standard military issue revolver of the time was a top break double action revolver.
I've never seen one for sale locally. The ones I see on-line have surprisingly high asking prices.
Obviously the photo below is staged, possibly from a movie. Certainly not circa WWI. But it does show one of these DA Eibar Specials.
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02-10-2017, 04:16 PM
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An H&R or IJ "copy" of a S&W top break DA is sort of like a Ford being a copy of a Chevrolet or a Toyota in that they all have an engine, a windshield, and four wheels. There are similarities and there are differences.
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02-10-2017, 04:22 PM
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...I was looking through a reprint of the 1908 Sears catalog...the revolver section featured the A.J. Aubrey model made by Meriden...
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