Hopkins & Allen info?

[DonP]

Has anybody found any online information on the old Hopkins & Allen guns.

My Dad asked me to clean up his old Hopkins & Allen Forehand Model 1901. It's a five shot break top with what have to be the world's smallest sights. (Makes my Keltec P32 sights look huge by comparison.)

He said it's a .38 spl, but being that old I was thinking it might actually be an original .38 instead. We have shot .38 spl out of it in the past with no problems or Kabooms ... so far.

 

[Ron James]

The internet is not the source of all knowledge. The best place to start researching Hopkins and Allen is Flayderman's Guide to Antique American Firearms. Other source is Pistols of the World and The Standard Catalog of Firearms. If you really want to do some research then Carders " H&A
Revolvers and Pistols" is the best reference. Hopkins and Allen took over the Forehand and Wadsworth operation around 1898. Forehand guns continued to be sold until 1902. These were in fact Forehand and Wadsworth guns. With out more information and pictures I have no ideal which revolver you have, but I do know this! It is not chambered for the .38 Special. In fact I have a hard time believing a .38 special can even be chamber in one of these old guns. But if in fact you and your father have fired .38 special through this gun , you are both very, very lucky not to have suffered serious injury or even death. This is a black powder firearm and should not be fired with any type of smokeless cartridge.

 

[timothy75]

The 38 S&W is slightly larger so I could see and old gun being able to chamber a special. Blackpowder was being phased out right about that time so it may have been designed for smokless. Also how do you know it was mfg in 1902? You could be reading the patent date on the frame instead of year of mfg.

 

[DonP]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

First, the cylinder takes a .38 spl cartridge with no problem as far as fit goes. Not too loose or snug, seems a pretty normal cartridge fit. No bulging in the barrel or damage apparent on the cylinder.

I have no idea when the gun was made. It's nickel plated and has the potential to be a real pimp gun, if it only had pearl handles on the grip. According to what I found, the company went out of the revolver business in 1917 when they picked up a contract to manufacture BAR components near the end of WW I.

There are no markings on the gun, other than on top of the barrel, where it says "Hopkins & Allen Forehand Model 1901". The only other marking is a 4 or 5 digit serial number on the bottom of the butt strap.

I'll start to dig through the books you suggested today and see what else I can find out about it.

Are .38 S&W cartridges very hard to find? If I determine that's what it needs, I can pick up a few boxes for the "old boy" to have on hand, just in case. He's been using this as a "kitchen cabinet" back-up gun anyway. He does his practice shooting with a Ruger 9mm anyway.

 

[Ron James]

Lets put it this way, Neither Hopkins and Allen ,nor Forehand and Wadsworth made any .38 Special firearms. If you've fired .38 Special and nothing bad has happened, consider yourself very lucky. The very next time you do it the gun may go Boom ( it will blow up, it's just a question of when).