[gtoken]

Hello,

My first post! I picked up a revolver my Dad had. I have no idea who made or how old it is. Its has very few markings on it. I'm going to guess its a 45 cal.

[MrBorland]

The F & L around the crossed sabers and the crowned R make me think a Belgian Franken & Lunenschloss, though it doesn't look exactly like the one in the link below. It's a start, though.

http://www.littlegun.be/arme%20belge/artisans%20identifies%20e%20f/a%20franken%20and%20lunenschloss%20gb.htm

[mnrivrat]

It appears to be Belgian to me as well - pull the cylinder and look for a Liege proof mark on the rear of the cylinder.

The Style is basicaly the same as the English Bulldog revolvers, but was also a popular style for Belgian made revolvers.

[gtoken]

I googled belgian revolvers and I agree what I have is very similar to what I was seeing... but I didnt find anything exactly like what I have. I also have a damascus double barrel shotgun which I think must also be a belgian make. My Dad must have been in Belgium sometime during the war. ??

[The Lone Haranguer]

Was it World War II? This type of revolver dates back to before the First World War, but with firearms being "durable goods," it would have easily survived into the Second.

[gtoken]

Yes, WWII. He was stationed somewhere in Germany, not sure exactly where. I have no desire or intention of firing this pistol or the shotgun but I would sure like to know something about them like when they where made and by whom. At least I have a couple tidibits of info to go on now.

[The Lone Haranguer]

In WWII, the Germans never had enough handguns, so it is very probable some German officer or soldier carried it at some point.

[MrBorland]

Here's the link to the general site:

http://www.littlegun.be/

Warm up your clicker finger and start clicking to maybe find a better match. I'd start with Belgium. Then maybe Spain - they seemed to make a lot of revolvers in the late 1800s,too.

Also, check out this site:

http://www.gunproofmarks.ru/belgian-gunmakers-e-f.html

It's in Russian, but I'm sure you'll figure it out. This particular page is set so you can click on different Belgian gunmakers to see their proofmarks. So far, the F/L with crossed sabers seem a good match for Franken & Lunenschloss. They may, of course, have made several models of revolver. Other countries are represented on this page as well.

[gtoken]

Ive been clicking on picture links all day! hehehe Nothing yet. I will attach a pic of the back of the cylinder for markings there.

Also, anyone have an idea what caliber this might be? Its smaller than .45. I tried to measure the barrel and cylinder with calipers and I get in the .40" to .44" range.

[Jim K]

Definitely Belgian; the "star/F" is the initial of the individual inspector; the "ELG" in the oval is the Liege proof mark.

Liege turned out thousands of tons of guns of all types. Many were made by gun makers' cooperatives, with one company making, say, barrels, another cylinders, etc., so the guns have no makers' names. The caliber appears to be 10.6mm or 11mm, possibly for the German 10.6mm service cartridge.

Not too many were imported here, but those guns were sold all over Europe and the middle east. That gun was not officially used as a military revolver by any country, but could have been purchased by a soldier or officer. It would have been well obsolete by WWII, but the Germans hauled out some old Reichsrevolvers for reserves, so even that old clunker could have been carried by someone.

More likely, it was a civilian owned gun, siphoned up in the great gun confiscation/destruction by American troops in the invasion of Germany.

Jim