British Bulldog Revolver?

[kutekat73]

Hi!

This was my grandfathers revolver and I am trying to find out more info on it. Any help would be appreciated. Any idea what the handle is made of?

IT has the markings ELG, which someone told me means that it is Belgian. There is also an R and a B on the front of the revolver. Can anyone tell me anything else about this? The worth?

Thank you!

 

[Pete D.]

Bulldog

I have three Bulldogs - one is very similar to the gun in the photo; the others are American made by Forehand and Wadsworth.
My little Belgian needs work - a new hand spring. There is a fairly good article about maintenance in the revolver volume of "The Gun Digest Book of Firearms Assembly and Disassembly" by J.B. Wood.
A good place to check of value is at Antique Guns.com. This is an auction site. Guns like this show up quite often and they always sell. There was a gun pretty much exactly like yours that was sold within the last month or so. Another Bulldog sold yesterday A American made 32CF. It went for $111. The most that I paid for any of the three guns that I have - two are shootable (finding and loading correct ammo is another issue) -was $135.00.
Bore condition, and functionality are paramount for the best prices. Surface finish just adds to that. Your piece, if it works and the bore is good, could sell for double or triple what I have paid - or not, as it depends on who is looking.
The guns do sell, though.
The markings are proof markings.
The folding trigger on these guns is usually visible. Is the trigger there?
From what I can see, that gun appears to be in good condition. How is the bore?
The grip appears to be something like Bakelite.
Pete

 

[bannockburn]

kutekat73

The initials "ELG", which may be found in an oval with a star at the bottom of it, were used in Belgium and were done in accordance with their Proof Rules of 1846. This particular proof mark was used for barrels designated for export and for small caliber pocket revolvers. The letters "R" and "B" may be inspectors marks, if there is a small star above the letters. The grips on the gun could possibly be ivory, as they have that appearance from your photo.

 

[BHP FAN]

as for worth, I just paid $250 for the next size up.

 

[Pete D.]

grip

Grips = ivory. Yes, could be. Didn't even cross my mind.
Pete

 

[Ron James]

As stated these Belgium self defence revolvers were made by the hundreds of thousands for sale across Europe and the U.S. They are made of non hardened steel and are more of a curiosity than anything else. The engraving is not very well done and is called " Shop Engraving " done right right at the work bench in a couple minutes time. They are nice display pieces but just a few collectors and they are not rare. It's not really a copy of a Bulldog, as a rule Bulldogs had a trigger guard, the so called Belgium British Bulldogs are cleared marked as such. Your gun is classified as a personal defence revolver. The folding triggers was to make it easier for pocket carry and is a common Belgian practice. I have seen those such as yours go for as much as 150 - 200 at gun shows, but most times they sell for much less.They sold out of catalogs in the early 1900's for as little as 1.95.

 

[Radagast]

A good source of info on european guns is http://www.littlegun.be/