54 Bore Old Rusty Pistols Need BIG Balls (.45":

 HIPPIE NOO YEAH

Mid 19th Century - these were the self defence 'CARRY GUN' for a subprime average Joe or Jude.

NOBODY wants a half inch hole in their guts or chest as payment for upsetting someone .. so in those days folk mostly were quiet mannered, polite and respectful .. less opinionated perhaps.

One of these babies, bought with a bullet mold, a tin of powder - some caps, and maybe a handful of ready-made balls might provide family entertainment AND security for years:

Food, Knowledge & Security (but the Garlic is Chinese shop bought)

No charge for telling you .. but this second 54 Bore 'Turn-Off' pistol made me sweat & swear trying to release the seized barrel .. and yes I DID put several new marks on the gun as I was hot-wrestling with it - the butane torch - the can of CRC - a tub of water - the bench vise - some strips of leather and a massive Stillson plumbers wrench ..

Fully Functional & Cleaned-Up .. Ready For whatever in the next 150 Years

The old nipple next let go reasonably easy and a S.S. nipple for a ROA spun into place as if it were built for it ..

Chamber cleaned-up showing Flash-Hole:

I'm getting OK ish at juggling subject in one hand, camera/phone in the other - light in another hand .. I reckon *HE* made a mistake only giving us two hands eh. - A "before" image would only have titilated someone with pics of black grit mess over corroded steel. Those internal lock parts must have been assembled & fitted by very small hands ..

Note: Both of these antique wee snubbie carry guns - while being Birmingham UK Proofed -  and the same caliber and style of cap'n'ball pistol - are very different in chamber sizes, nipple threads and barrel wall thickness .. interesting eh. - I've got another one coming which I will be keen to compare.

- I have read that these Proof Marks have been falsified sometimes?

In this percussion period  - say 1840-80 .. Birmingham England and Liege Belgium were both centers of manufacturing small arms. It would be interesting to find some record of interchange of gun parts as there does seem to have been "parallel" development of firearm types.

Many of the larger London Gun Houses had their guns made in Belgium while engraved in England. - Sub-contracting is not a recent development. - Pieceworkers were often employed on the basis of HOW MANY CHILDREN THEY HAD .. to do the out-work.

Marty K.

Here's Interesting  .. DOUBLE ENDED Belgian? POCKET PISTOLS  Link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=By-p0hymUC8

  

BIG BORE "SNUBBIES" - RUST & 'cock-ups'

 This old bugger - I strongly dislike the Magnum loaded BIG BLASTERS as - to be frank - I can't handle them. - They hurt the shooter. - But in general terms, I do like a big lump of lead moving forcefully downrange to frighten the horses .. provided it hasn't blasted my ears, stung my hands - sprained my wrists or broken my collar-bone.

Ain't They Manly ? (apart from those stupid lock-holes)

Cute as, when downloaded for a reasonable argument ..

Mormon Leader Brigham Young had a bodyguard, who once quieted a crowd by saying “I never killed anyone who didn’t need killing.”

Cut-Down Colts "MORMON AVENGING ANGEL"

I've seen pics of this PRETTY PIECE around a bit. 

- It isn't just Glock owners that feel the urge to p-about with a working gun eh ..

I bought this below mid-19th Century 1850-60's " unknown caliber" Turn-Off  or Screw-Barrel "Muff Pistol" from images posted at the auction site - guessing that both the barrel and nipple would be rust-seized in place .. as they were. Naturally.

It takes the same .454" size balls (140 gns) as Ruger Old Army Revolvers

My propane torch made me very happy when the screw-off smooth bore tube shifted on the third cooking-quenching .. it spat, crackle & popped a bit under the flame when smoking hot - 

Always CHECK FIRST for WHAT IS DOWN THAT BARREL

Long ago I learned that THE way to clean a gun after use was to pour boiling water through it to dissolve crud and to flush it out & away. The heated metal dries rapidly to be wiped down and polished with an oily rag.

This one went into the boil pot with a spoonful of 'Cold Power' detergent that promptly went muddy as the crap dissolved - boiled for 10 minutes then all change - dumping a lot of grit and yummy ancient Deoxyribonucleic acid - DNA polymers, before repeating. - Boiling is supposed to convert rust into a black oxide - but that doesn't seem to work for me.

AND so far I can't shift that rotten nipple .. it's looking like it may have to be DRILLED OUT.

Stuffed & Stuck - what do you expect .. it's from Birmingham England.

- 'Crossed Sceptres & Crown over V' Proof Marks.

- Here's how a TURN-OFF Pistol works - It's technically a breach-loading pistol as, around 10 grains of powder is dropped into that quarter inch dia. chamber, and the ball sits into the cup while the barrel screws back - compressing it onto the powder charge. This gives perhaps, 300-450 foot/sec velocity depending on the quality of the propellant.

- Center 'Dolphin' Hammer, Slab Sided Grip. 2 3/8 inch smooth-bore barrel 54 Bore -.454" caliber.

Nothing wrong with a smooth-bore in a close range firearm .. what is any rifling-twist going to achieve, other than raising friction to reduce velocity? - This cap'n'ball pistol with a 2 3/8 inch barrel is a period 'snubbie' .

- Now for those worried about boiling gun parts - SPRINGS are tempered between 400 C - 700 C, while boiling water cannot rise above 100 C - so relax.

- A clean antique has to be better than a dirty old banger.

- DO NOT BOIL YOUR Glock. - If it was laying on the bottom of the pot - it could MELT.

- I'm thinking that the small powder chamber might benefit from being polished once I get the nipple out .. using fine grade emery paper - this might increase powder capacity- WARNING WARNING I'm first trying dissolving the rust using White Vinegar in the chamber - well I've seen good test results online. We only need a small miracle ..

OK, this worked overnight inside the chamber BUT is not recommended as the vinegar dribbled causing orange surface rusty outbreaks. - Perhaps TOTAL IMMERSION works OK while the acids eat into the corrosion .. anyway the powder chamber appeared somewhat CLEANED and ready for more CRC soaking/penetration/lubrication before further gas torching.

This is all 'seat of the pants flying' for me .. but it WORKED - it's OUT.

Stuffed Nipple removed & a possible Replacement found -YIPPEE

- the new Nipple is a TRESO in Beryllium Copper (no more rust eh)

I tried clearing the damaged cone & it's insides crumbled into gritty dust ..

Reassembled, Threads Greased, & Canola-Oiled

I note that small pistols of this nature might be called "Barkers" - "Pops" - Snappers, Sticks, or "Toby Pistols" - as a High Toby Man was a Highway Robber - mounted, (not a Low-Way Robber .. on foot)

- I like to call them "a GET OFF ME" pistol  Ref. Link:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2002/may/03/londonreviewofbooks

- Should I try some 'Cold Blue' finish applied hot - or leave the antique pistol raw metal?

By the way .. that old removed nipple was hollowed-out with corrosion - I've scraped-out about 4 grains of gritty oxide-crap .. just a "shell" remains of it's proper shape.

Corroded & Horrible with a 9mm Case Fired From a Glock 20 10mm ..

ALL MY OWN WORK ...

Now THAT's "FIRE FORMING"

Marty K.

Old Fashioned CRAP versus New Stuff ..

Thought of the day:

Testicular injuries have increased sharply among women athletes ...

Look, I write about "handguns" because I like them. - I'm getting too 'past-it' to be struggling to climb snow clad mountains seeking the elusive Thar or for pushing through dripping muddy bush to sneak-up on a Whitetail Deer in continuous Southland rainforest mist .. A couple of quiet hours on range on a sunny day - with trusted mates, and a can of cold ginger beer is a 'Good-One' for me.

"Pistols" come in different Brands - and are made from very different materials eh. - Polymer, scandium, titanium, aluminium, chromium, various alloys of stainless steel - 'old fashioned' 4140 Ordnance alloy steels .. Tritium gas and even zinc based crap "Pot Metals" like ZAMAK.

 

- When I worked in the plastics injection moulding industry we called the particular blended Glock Polymer, TYPE 6 NYLON - and those Stainless Steels needed to be carefully matched and differentiated on sliding surfaces to avoid friction GALLING issues. Steel ain't just steel .. while many of those early guns from the likes of Colt's weren't even made from steel - they were IRON and cast BRASS alloy, - the brass was often silver plated, as they didn't develop the shinier nickel plating until after 1843 -  Sometimes with German Silver front sights  (Not real SILVER .. it's a copper-nickel alloy). 

"Class - Who can tell me why are most modern firearms coloured BLACK ?"

"- Well children .. most plastics when exposed to sunlight are degraded & weakened by UV Radiation - so they learned to mix Carbon BLACK into the material to block the sunlight and then they add UV Stabilizer chemicals too." 

"That's why modern guns are black."

"Did you know that BULLET-PROOF GLASS is actually layered or laminated with a kind of tough plastic called POLYCARBONATE and it has to be changed EVERY year to remain effective - because the plastic slowly gets weaker from the sunlight?

A "BLACK GUN" ..

Now I really like Glocks - my bestest Glock currently would be the G 19X ...

Glock G19X - A Thoroughly Modern Pistol that Strangely, Is not Black:

Another favorite shooting gun - my four inch Webley Revolver ..

A Reputedly Weak Design Top-Break Revolver (this one Israeli Issued)

- in an "Under Powered" Obsolete Caliber 38-200

Plasticine can be very adult useful once the kids have finished with it .. to prove that 'old & useless' is typical modern bollocks

'Wadcutter' Bullets are outdated technology too ..

How Come they still Work?

- I like watches too, G-Shocks & Glocks make me smile ..

I can't work it out 😒.. women with penises - men having babies, & guns causing crime .. jeez.

Marty K.

Colt's FIRST METAL CARTRIDGE GUN .. Was A Derringer?

 So - youse jokers seem to like obscure detailed information about guns .. Colt's are said to have sold more than 60,000 of these derringers between 1870 - 1912 having acquired The National Arms Company in 1870 (Sam Colt had died 10 January 1862).  - The National Arms Co built some 30,000 brass framed derringers before Colt's takeover ... They also built Moore's Patent Revolvers in the .32/.41 TEAT FIRE cartridge - designed to beat the Rolin White Patent for drilled through chambers. 

The National Arms Moores Patent Revolver in .32 Teat Fire caliber:

.32 Teat-Fire Cartridges - Designed by Daniel Moore & Patented by partner David Williamson in 1864 for the 'National Revolver' produced by Moore's Patent Fire Arms Company and by The NATIONAL ARMS Company of  Brooklyn, New York.

Teat-Fire Cartridges were made (by Ethan Allen) in both .32 and .41 caliber - AND there were both ROUND TEAT & FLAT TEAT versions.

These Are .32" Caliber .. four FLAT - two ROUND

Teat Fire Cartridges were Made By Ethan Allen

First Two Below, poor things↓     - at far right the .41" has a Round one ↓

                   have Flat Teats↓

Link to an *SUPERB* cartridge article:

  https://www.oldammo.com/april10.htm

These revolvers were popular during the American Civil War selling around 30,000 before Colt's bought the business. - The fulminate priming mixture was in the TEAT that projected through the back end of the cylinder chambers. - Another interesting link HERE:  https://www.historynet.com/daniel-moore-challenged-big-boys-number-reliable-handguns/

The all-metal National Arms Derringer in .41 Rimfire:

If you missed - you might use the gun as a KnuckleDuster ..

Colt's 1st Model Derringer .. with iron frame in .41 Rimfire ..

Colt's 2nd Model Derringer ..

Originally manufactured by The National Arms Company from 1860, but after they were acquired by Colt in 1870, production continued with these Derringers - but Colt changed the brass frames to iron. - Caliber was .41 inch rimfire?(I think)

Colt's 3rd Model Derringer ..

Also known as the Colt THUER Derringer:

Brass frame with a 2.5 inch steel barrel in .41 Rimfire short caliber .. deadly up close. 

- Thuer developed the 'automic ejector' for this model .. Rumour states there were guns in .41 centerfire made for the British market.

.41 short - 130 grains soft lead, 

13 gns black powder 111ft/lbs @ 685ft/sec.

Then There Was Colt's 4th Model Derringer ..

Released in 1959 in .22" Short rimfire - this Colt gun was rubbish ... or at least it was made of rubbish pot-metal 'ZAMAK' zinc alloy - built to look pretty & sell - intended mainly for display. Despite their shortcomings AND THE FACT that these plated tinsel decorations were made by BUTLER Assoc. Inc. for Colt's - 1959-63. They sold well enough to justify a second production run 1970-73. 

Plated Pot Metal and Plastic fake Pearl Grips make me shudder. - Throughout this period Colt's was owned-controlled by good-old boys PENN-TEXAS CORPORATION merging Fairbanks-Whitney Corporation - Colts Industries

"All that glisters is not gold" .. Bill Shakespeare

- Even after Colt stopped putting their name on that silly gat, Butler Assoc. Inc. built even more, under their own label and they made a better fist of it than Colt - by actually adding a steel barrel liner in some of the earlier guns - that you might confirm with a magnet ...

NO - Butlers didn't "copy" Colt's - they just carried-on making them without Colt.

Bubba wants one 'cos they purty' and R L Wilson would have sold and certified him one - a Sam Coults "personal carry pistol" for ten thousand greenbacks eh.

- I'm too polite to mention the 1998 BOYCOTT of Colt products ..

Marty K.

P.S.: Ethan Allen, Gunmaker - also Patented and made the LIPFIRE Cartridge as an improved alternative to Pinfire Cartridges that might still try to get around that pesky patent ..

M.K

Rollin White's Patent Was Both OBSTRUCTIVE & QUESTIONABLE:

 Happy Holidays everyone .. I'm not a Patent Lawyer .. but I reckon multiple firearms designers and makers got a raw deal in 19th century America. - Nobody seems to care about REALITY and FACT anymore ..

1/- Rollin White patented a design on April 3 1855 that was a laughably inept design - for loading Paper Cartridges from the cylinder's rear, - where the instant the first chamber is fired THEY ALL WENT OFF as the flame front travelled through the soft wrappings. 

- But later two of his patents did include through boring of the cylinder and that held the attention of Smith & Wesson who paid White 25 cents 'license' for every gun they sold using that feature for their Metallic Cartridge guns - these did work.

2/- Now the simple fact is that over in France - Eugine Lefaucheux had already patented his pinfire revolver design in both Paris and London, having a bored through cylinder nearly a full year earlier, on April 15, 1854.

- Lefaucheux did not register his design in America.

This relic Lefaucheux Pinfire Revolver, said to have taken the life of mentally unstable painter Vincent Van Gough in 1890 - sold at auction for 162,000 euros in 2019.

 - This is another 'Rabbit Hole' about Tall Tales, Revolvers and TRUTH; 

https://flicense.blogspot.com/2019/06/van-gogh-revolver-sells-well-at-auction.html

Facts indicate that Gawd botherer Van Gough almost certainly did not shoot himself .. nor likely did he previously cut-off his own ear .. the nutter had lied to excuse "friends".

3/- The fact that this earlier Lefaucheux Patent was not registered in USA, was accepted as to invalidate it there  - BUT in appealing against the U S restriction - that earlier European Registration SHOULD have proven 'PRIOR ART' that invalidates granting Rollin White any legal claim or rights.

Many thousands of these French patented bored-through Pinfire Revolvers were imported into America for use by both sides of the 1862-65 Civil War - despite that American patent limitation.

Belgian Liege built American Model Pinfire Revolver

Rollin White was yet another greedy liar who got lucky after stealing scrap Colt cylinders to develop his design - he made commercial life miserable for Smith & Wesson, - tried to cheat Colt's again by selling them one of his patents for a million bucks THAT WAS WORTHLESS WITHOUT THE SECOND PATENT - then he'd have had a go at getting another million from them .. all for his failed design.

S&W Model 11/2 from 1865 in .32 Rimfire Metallic Cartridge 

... Bored Through Cylinder:

S&W Model 1 from 1857

At least the U S lawyers refused a further patent extension  .. Such is life eh

Nutter without ear,  with pipe, burning vegetation 

 Before slow death from shooting ..

Marty K.

Colt's 1st, 2nd, & 3rd (Signature Series) - Generation Percussion Revolvers:

 Starter JOKE from Jay Leno: The Doctor said - "I'm going to need a URINE sample .. a SEMEN sample .. and a FAECES sample".  - So, I gave him my underpants ...

Colt Revolving Navy Pistol (1851)

Quiet often I come across 'misguided' claims about Colt Percussion Revolvers and their values that annoy me. These spurious beliefs upset me because - for some reason, I've grown-up to hate liers & hypocrites. - This may be a hangover from going to a Catholic Grammer School run by some very nasty Jesuits and vicious lay teachers. - In all fairness - perhaps more than the two that I remember, may have been decent men doing a good job.

I am NOT an expert. - THE number one such Colt author & expert RL Wilson is now exposed as a swindler, faker, liar, and thief .. but sadly many folk still quote his expertise. So much of our recorded story is written from marketing material and doubtful sales talk as to be more myth than history. "When you mix clean water with dirty water - you get dirty water".

This is a wide field so I'm focusing my research mainly to the 1851 Navy 36 Caliber guns that were originally designed & made by Colt in their Connecticut factories between 1850-1873. They were of the 1st Generation. The East Armory building at Harford was completed 1855 and destroyed in the 1864 fire.

2nd Generation: Tales of how Colt's dusted off their old tooling dating from 1851 and began remaking new guns at Hartford in 1970, would have been very interesting - had that tooling not been destroyed when the fire razed most of the factory on Feb. 4, 1864.

These were manufactured and assembled in the Colt factory between 1971-1982 using parts imported from A Uberti of Brescia Italy, by Val Forgett of Navy Arms 1971-1973.

Then Lou Imperato supplied them, still from Italy 1973-76. - Production was then transferred to Lou Imperato's Iver Johnson Arms factory in New Jersey from 1978-1982 where they were manufactered with some U S made parts, fully to Colt's quality control and final inspection - and these are recognised and authenticated as genuine Colts.

It is likely that Louis Imperato bought Iver Johnson Arms in 1973. - Louis & his son Anthony Imperato started HENRY REPEATING ARMS in 1998 moving it to NJ in 2008.

Armi San Marco date from around 1960 in Italy - and Replica Arms of El Paso who first imported ASM into America, was started by L.F. Allen. This was sold and moved to Marietta, OH., and then, in around 1973, was sold to Navy Arms. Allen then started Western Arms which became Allen Arms, and then to Cimarron?

Both Uberti and Pietta seem to be currently owned by BENELLI - who are owned by BERETTA ..

3rd Generation: Imperato's 'Colt Blackpowder Arms Co.' (1993-2004? not Colt) manufactured this "3rd Generation" at the NJ Iver Johnson factory. - Armi San Marco built many parts marked Colt for Imperato but this contract failed - leading to ASM building & selling a quantity of guns stamped 'Colt'. Here things get very  messy and legally involved. - Imperato planned to get these guns fully built by A Uberti in Italy and many Colt marked revolvers were built having the Uberti name under the barrel. 

It was in NJ that all F Series standard production models were manufactured as The Authentic Colt Blackpowder Series. These new F Series 2nd Generation models came in black cardboard boxes with dark gray foam rubber inserts and featured Sam Colt's portrait and signature on the lid and end label.

I understand that the Colt Factory do not accept this 3rd series of guns as of Colt Manufacture.

2nd Gen. C series were assembled in Hartford. They have Colt's Royal Blue finish on barrel, cylinder, trigger, wedge and screws. The F Series were assembled in Middlesex, NJ and have the darker Colt Blue finish. These guns are authenticated by Colt. - BUT - the current Colt Company is owned & controlled by CZ - Is it - that company, authentic?

3rd Generation Revolvers are generally known as Signature Series guns.

There is ongoing debate about the status and values of both 2nd & 3rd Generation Revolvers. Most accept that 2nd Gen guns, authenticated by Colt are genuine ... but many enthusiasts consider that 3rd Gen Signature series pistols fall between the 'real thing' and the wholly made in Italy replicas..

Quality: I've been around guns for some 66 years .. I've seen much praise for Colt quality and lots of adverse comment and complaints about these later production guns - so I'd opine that many are excellent but some have faults & issues. The antique originals in my hands sure have their issues too - no surprise there then. No 'for profit' manufacturer WANTS to spend his money paying for unproductive Quality Control. 

To date I own three original antique Colt percussion revolvers and would love to have more to care-for.

In my experience - revolvers built by Uberti, Pietta, and Armi San Marco are fine percussion revolvers and well worth the money - once tuned a little.

- Now I wonder how the experts feel about the Colts made under licence in Belgium as Colt Brevete guns .. authorised and stamped by the Colt representative.

  Marty K.

SHOOTING IS SIMPLY AN ENERGETIC PROCESS:

 te tari pureke - that may also be refered to as 'The Firearms Safety Authority' is building a costly REGISTRY or a list of guns lawfully owned. - This might also be titled an INVENTORY. - I wonder how close the word invention is associated to the word inventory ?

______________________

HOT AIR: So when we use our living bodies - they are making ENERGY by the oxidation of carbohydrates - together with our stored fats, that we eat - by cellular respiration as we digest .. As we warm our bodies we give off carbon dioxide GAS & WATER by breathing out. 

HOT AIR

- When we light a fire and burn something ORGANIC such as wood - we achieve complete COMBUSTION by the oxidation of that compound into carbon dioxide GAS and WATER (as steam) and make heat ENERGY.

Shooting BULLETS from a gun has been done for some 6 - 700 years using "antique propellant"  GUN  POWDER  that very rapidly releases amounts of heat, light, and sound energy by EXPLOSIVE COMBUSTION (complete oxidation) .. this results from the rapid generation of ENERGY as a large volume of hot GAS and WATER.

These three very different physical processes are similar CHEMICAL 

oxidation process's ..

Hard to believe eh, - but that's science.  - When we EAT, the food stuff needs to be tasty - When we light a fire to get heat - that fuel stuff needs to be dry - And when we want our antique propellant to rapidly combust explosively and to powerfully push-out our bullets or shot  - we need to blend an exact amount of oxidizer to feed oxygen to the FUEL fast & in the correct ratio, while in intimate contact and confined.

75% Potassium Nitrate KNO3 - 15% Charcoal - 10% Sulfer.

                                Oxidizer                                               Fuel                              accelerant, by lowering                                                                                                                                                  combustion temperature

A litre of gunpowder will weigh about a kilo/two pounds - during combustion it produces 44% of it's weight in GAS ..  400 litres of gas. This gas - being heated to around 2,400 degrees, occupies a space of some 4,000 litres: consequently the volume of powder is to the volume of gas produced by its combustion as 1 to 4,000.Now - This propellant is a MIXTURE of individual substances - not a chemical compound .. so we need to help the stuff to do it's best. - Each component needs to be finely ground and then thoroughly mixed together in a BALL MILL.Then either COMPRESS the damp mixture into Pucks to make it DENSE - and break it up when dried and pass through a SIEVE to grade it ... 

OR - employ the safer CIA Method using methylated alcohol to clump the milled powder like clay and grate it through your sieves while damp.

Job Done .. but as either way involves mechanical breaking apart of the now explosive mixture - MAXIMUM CARE is needed.

 Fouling: The solid byproducts from gunpowder combustion may include potassium carbonate, potassium sulfate, potassium sulfide, sulfur, potassium nitrate, potassium thiocyanate, carbon, & ammonium carbonate - these are mostly SALTS ..

You might want to know why some of these 56% sooty residues left in your black-powder gun are so corrosive - if not promptly removed by cleaning ... Well these compounds are HYGROSCOPIC and hold water in contact with your gun's steel.  

However, consider this - in 1746 John Roebuck developed a new system for making SULFURIC ACID .. Roebuck mixed sulfur with a small amount of saltpeter KnO3 on a ladle, ignited it, and placed it on a tray in the bottom of a lead chamber. Water on the floor of the chamber absorbed the gases. This operation was repeated several times, and then he withdrew the acidulated liquor, - which contained about 35–45% sulfuric acid. 

Sulfuric acid likes to eat steel gun barrels .. so be energetic when cleaning your guns.

Marty K.