I'm Not Sure What We Have Here....

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Buffaloewingz

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Hi all,

I'm a new guy and this is my first post here. Thanks for having me!

I'm posting tonight to try and determine what my gun is and find out if it's worth anything. It is a Frank Wesson, 31 May 1870, all numbers on barrel and handle match, wood handles, looks really nice (hopefully the picture will show below). It was inherited from my grandfather. He never used it but rather dug it up in a field while he was plowing.

Thanks in advance for your assistance!
 

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Frank wesson was the brother of daniel wesson and made pistols in the 1860s, I am no expert on your particular model but have seen these sell for 6-800 dollars, hope this helps.
 
Frank Wesson

Buffaloewingz,

I am thinking the part of the story where that Frank Wesson was plowed up in a field was the story your Grandmother was told when he brought that thing home! Does not look like a "dug-up" to me.
Hard to believe a man would tell a story way back when like guys do today?!?!?
It may have a detachable shoulder stock, missing from the case, still hanging around the house somewhere.

Terry
 
Thanks for the info. There are no other pieces but I wish I had a shoulder stock to go with it. He dug this up back in the 30's as a teenager and I absolutely believe him and don't doubt his story. He kept it wrapped up in a old oily t-shirt until he built the display case back in the 70's. The pics may not show the best detail but it's not perfect but it looks really good to me. There's a little pitting to the metal but that's about it.
 
Welcome to the Forum. Assuming the frame is brass, and the barrel is rifled, what you have is a Frank Wesson Pocket Rifle. It came originally with a metal skeleton style shoulder stock. Caliber .22RF models were called the "Model 1870 Small frames"" and caliber .32RF were the "Model 1870 Medium Frames." There are two types of the Small frames, 1st type & 2nd type. If you gun is a .22RF, then it is a 2nd type. 2nd types have full octagon barrels and the patent dates you cite. The medium frames were made in both .22RF & .32RF. Barrel lengths
were from 10 in. to 22 in. There's no way that gun was plowed up in a field, unless it fell out of the pocket of the farmer plowing in front of your Grand Pa,
and that's how he found it! It's worth around $600. About 3000 of each frame size were made. Ed.
 
While I do thank you all for this valuable information, it really ticks me off that you'd accuse someone that you don't know of lying about where something came from. My grandfather was the finest Christian man I ever knew and told me this story ever since I was old enough to show an interest in the gun. What did he have to gain by lying to me about where this came from? No one knows how long the gun had been in the ground. He was so poor he never could have afforded to buy the gun. I in fact do have a teenage son and have no problems with him telling me the truth. I spent 15 years working in public safety and am by no means thin skinned. I do however have principals. Unfortunately, people associate a brand with a particular experience and this one has been unpleasant. I don't own a Smith and Wesson firearm and have no desire to own one. I do however own several quality firearms and will continue to do business with those companies. I will remove myself from this forum.
 
Buffaloewingz,

I am so very sorry to cause any problems. I sometimes forget that words in print can take on any flavor the reader intends them to be. I intended to be cracking on the old sayings that we sometimes tell our wives, "a story" as to where ANOTHER gun came from.
I have nothing bad to say about your Grandfather!! Since you feel the way I do about my own Grandfather, I understand your response. I hope to explain this and also wish for you to remain on as our friend. Life is too short for me to allow my words to cause you pain. I hope that you continue to speak up for what you believe and we all know that you believe in your Grandfather. I am hoping you will believe in me when I say that I am truely sorry.
This is a great group of guys and gals on this forum and I do not wish for my response to shine over the rest here.
Your Frank Wesson is in great condition to have been underground!!! Sometimes I have unconventional ways of saying that and this time was one of those!

Terry Wagner
 
Buffaloewingz, Whoa! You're going off the deep end here and assuming facts not in evidence. I'm sure your
Grandfather didn't intentionally lie to you, however I'll bet you didn't determine the full facts from him regarding the exact situation when he "plowed"
up the Wesson Pocket rifle. I have one of the largest dug up rusty relic collections of firearms in the world and the largest dug up rusty relic Smith & Wesson handgun collection, so I've been around the block as bit on what constitutes a genuine plowed up relic. The condition of your Frank Wesson means that when it was plowed up it was in some sort of well protected or sealed container, that kept it from ever suffering the damages to it normally seen when metal and wood is left exposed and buried over a period of time.
I raised five sons, all of whom were teenagers at one time, and I well remember times when I had to interpret what they were telling me, which didn't alway include all the facts. You and I were both teenagers at one time and I'm sure I didn't always reveal all I knew when my parents asked me a question!
Congrats on your 15 yrs. of providing Public Safety . I put over 40 yrs in the same field, so I can appreciate your dedication. I hope that if you're providing Public Safety requires you to carry a firearm, you are not relying on a second level of quality found in firearms made by competitors of Smith & Wessons. Good luck with your great Frank Wesson dug up! Ed.
 
i live in a "mecca"of metal detecting...meaning relics from the ground...it's the richmond/petersburg,va.area....i have dug any number of relics and have seen a boatload of others....some are in better condition then others for a variety of reasons....the firearm i see here is WAY better then any i have seen dug....just saying
 
Well that is a neat looking gun, I have never seen anything like it myself. And a great story as well, it is a privilege to hear these stories of our ancestors. I wonder, can it be shot? I have absolutely no idea myself, but there are folks in this forum WAY more knowledgeable about that than me and they have given me some good pointers. I hope it IS shootable, and that you can shoot it with your teenager!
 
Please accept my apology. We do like to poke a little fun here. I meant no disrespect to you or your grandfather.

I also have some experience with found guns.

Perhaps you will post several more pictures that will allow a more extensive examination.
 
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