This gun was up in a recent auction, but didn't draw much interest because the catalog description reported problems with the action. I rolled the dice on it because the description did not use the word "broken" or say "parts gun." I think I lucked out, because what's wrong with it can be fixed or accommodated without too much trouble.
.22 Hand Ejector, First Model, S/N 632. I have to believe this is 1902 production given the three-digit number. This is the long barrel (3.5") variety. Like all Ladysmiths, it is chambered for .22 Long, not Long Rifle. The whole gun is barely seven inches over its entire length. That's a .32 long case under the muzzle. These tiny M-frame guns make I-frames look big.
I was interested to learn that the cylinder release (the dome on the left side) works like a Colt release -- you pull it back with your thumb rather than push it forward.
The gun has good points and bad points. Nickel loss has begun, and the surface is pitted in several places. The brown hard rubber stocks are cracked and large chunks are missing from the bottom of the left panel. The front sight has been filed, and the ejector rod is slightly bent, though I have turned it in the photos so it looks straight. The ejector rod may have drifted in from some other gun. The length looks wrong, and the knob is not like the First Model Ladysmith knobs I see in photos. The strain screw seems way too long. If it is turned in all the way, the action becomes so stiff that the gun cannot be operated.
The hammer nose looks as though it has been broken and filed, but it appears to be long enough to hit and crush a cartridge rim when the chambers are loaded.
The best news is that the barrel is not bulged and the forcing cone not cracked. Those are common problems of these revolvers whose owners tried to shoot long rifle rounds in them.
For those who have never seen a Ladysmith action, here it is at rest...
and cocked...
The problem with the action involves the compound spring that drives both the trigger return and hand tension. You can see it snaking in front of the hammer and trigger blocks, but behind the hand in this close-up:
Note that at the end of the spring, there is a small notch into which the tip of a rotating cam is positioned; the cam is integral with the hand. That's the weak point in this gun, for the action will cycle properly a few times, and then the cam will pop out of the notch, which means the cylinder will not advance and the action binds about half-way through a trigger pull as the tip of the cam hits the revolver frame and will go no further. I'm thinking this problem could be solved by squaring up the front face of the cam (not the top!) so that at its maximum extent the increased tension from the loaded spring is not required to be held by a beveled surface. Or maybe I just need a new part.
So it's a nice little M-frame that shows lots of wear but which has an action that can be made reliable with a little smithing or,at worst, with a replacement part. The chambers and bore came to me grimy but appear to be in good condition after a preliminary cleaning. I would not hesitate to load this up with CB caps and go on rat safari in my crawlspace.
This the first M-frame I have ever held, let alone added to my collection. Let me ask those of you who know them better than I do -- must one drive out that lower front frame pin the remove the yoke and cylinder? Removing the front sideplate screw certainly doesn't do it.
.22 Hand Ejector, First Model, S/N 632. I have to believe this is 1902 production given the three-digit number. This is the long barrel (3.5") variety. Like all Ladysmiths, it is chambered for .22 Long, not Long Rifle. The whole gun is barely seven inches over its entire length. That's a .32 long case under the muzzle. These tiny M-frame guns make I-frames look big.
I was interested to learn that the cylinder release (the dome on the left side) works like a Colt release -- you pull it back with your thumb rather than push it forward.
The gun has good points and bad points. Nickel loss has begun, and the surface is pitted in several places. The brown hard rubber stocks are cracked and large chunks are missing from the bottom of the left panel. The front sight has been filed, and the ejector rod is slightly bent, though I have turned it in the photos so it looks straight. The ejector rod may have drifted in from some other gun. The length looks wrong, and the knob is not like the First Model Ladysmith knobs I see in photos. The strain screw seems way too long. If it is turned in all the way, the action becomes so stiff that the gun cannot be operated.
The hammer nose looks as though it has been broken and filed, but it appears to be long enough to hit and crush a cartridge rim when the chambers are loaded.
The best news is that the barrel is not bulged and the forcing cone not cracked. Those are common problems of these revolvers whose owners tried to shoot long rifle rounds in them.
For those who have never seen a Ladysmith action, here it is at rest...
and cocked...
The problem with the action involves the compound spring that drives both the trigger return and hand tension. You can see it snaking in front of the hammer and trigger blocks, but behind the hand in this close-up:
Note that at the end of the spring, there is a small notch into which the tip of a rotating cam is positioned; the cam is integral with the hand. That's the weak point in this gun, for the action will cycle properly a few times, and then the cam will pop out of the notch, which means the cylinder will not advance and the action binds about half-way through a trigger pull as the tip of the cam hits the revolver frame and will go no further. I'm thinking this problem could be solved by squaring up the front face of the cam (not the top!) so that at its maximum extent the increased tension from the loaded spring is not required to be held by a beveled surface. Or maybe I just need a new part.
So it's a nice little M-frame that shows lots of wear but which has an action that can be made reliable with a little smithing or,at worst, with a replacement part. The chambers and bore came to me grimy but appear to be in good condition after a preliminary cleaning. I would not hesitate to load this up with CB caps and go on rat safari in my crawlspace.
This the first M-frame I have ever held, let alone added to my collection. Let me ask those of you who know them better than I do -- must one drive out that lower front frame pin the remove the yoke and cylinder? Removing the front sideplate screw certainly doesn't do it.
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