This was turned up in a plow furrow probably around '67 or '68. When Dad was plowing, I used to walk behind the tractor and look for arrowheads. I had found a beautiful large one there a year or so earlier so I always looked closely in that part of the field. I remember having to use my pocketknife to free this from the furrow. I showed it to my Dad and he said it was probably a toy gun that some kid had lost years ago. It was hung up on a nail in an old tool shed and remained there for almost fifty years.
A few years back I was looking for my grandfather's old corn sheller when I saw the gun and looked at it real closely for the first time.
The first thing you notice is that obviously non standard machine screw in the barrel pivot. That, and the need to finish plowing, is probably why my Dad dismissed it as a toy years ago. But some features make me think it may have been a real top-break revolver.
The good:
It has what appears to be the latch at the top of the frame.
It has a slot in the bottom of the grip frame for a hammer spring.
It has a trigger and the stub of a hammer.
The five shot cylinder has flutes.
It appears to be chambered for a .38. (A .38 S&W seemed to be the closest fit to the end of one of the chambers that I was able to somewhat clean out. A .32 was too small.)
The only picture I found on the internet of a toy top break looked nothing like this.
The not so good:
As it is, the gun weighs 13.1 oz. Even accounting for metal loss due to rust, that seems a bit light for a revolver.
The barrel has a narrow rib on the top but no front sight. The barrel does show signs of damage at the end and may have originally been longer.
That big stainless steel screw!
Two of the cylinders appear to be empty but I can't be sure about the others. If ammunition were present it's likely inert after all this time but until that can be determined, it's treated with respect like any other gun.
The spot in the field where this was found was about forty feet from an old county road that was abandoned when the state highway was built in the late thirties. It's possible someone could have thrown it from a car or a buggy but that's only conjecture.
There's a lot of knowledgeable folks on this forum and we all love a mystery so what do you think?
A few years back I was looking for my grandfather's old corn sheller when I saw the gun and looked at it real closely for the first time.
The first thing you notice is that obviously non standard machine screw in the barrel pivot. That, and the need to finish plowing, is probably why my Dad dismissed it as a toy years ago. But some features make me think it may have been a real top-break revolver.
The good:
It has what appears to be the latch at the top of the frame.
It has a slot in the bottom of the grip frame for a hammer spring.
It has a trigger and the stub of a hammer.
The five shot cylinder has flutes.
It appears to be chambered for a .38. (A .38 S&W seemed to be the closest fit to the end of one of the chambers that I was able to somewhat clean out. A .32 was too small.)
The only picture I found on the internet of a toy top break looked nothing like this.
The not so good:
As it is, the gun weighs 13.1 oz. Even accounting for metal loss due to rust, that seems a bit light for a revolver.
The barrel has a narrow rib on the top but no front sight. The barrel does show signs of damage at the end and may have originally been longer.
That big stainless steel screw!
Two of the cylinders appear to be empty but I can't be sure about the others. If ammunition were present it's likely inert after all this time but until that can be determined, it's treated with respect like any other gun.
The spot in the field where this was found was about forty feet from an old county road that was abandoned when the state highway was built in the late thirties. It's possible someone could have thrown it from a car or a buggy but that's only conjecture.
There's a lot of knowledgeable folks on this forum and we all love a mystery so what do you think?
Larry
