Anybody Know Anything about Iver-Johnson 22's?

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CajunBass

CajunBass

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My LGS has this for sale. I'm thinking about buying it, but wondered if anyone would know when it was made or any other information. It's an Iver-Johnson Model 55, 22 LR. S/N is H177xx It seems to be in very good condition, with a box that seems more like something jewelry would have come in than an inexpensive revolver.

IMG_20151017_100824059_HDR_zps7luqauo2.gif

Inside the box is an instruction book, and a screwdriver. Well it may not be a "screwdriver", I remember it being just a flat ended screwdriver shank, about 4-5 inches long with no blade. Maybe a cartridge ejector, or a tool to push out the pins. Or maybe just something that didn't go with the gun at all.

Also I noticed with the hammer down, the cylinder spins freely, but locks up tight with the hammer back. Normal? Something broken?
 
If they don't put it on the Internet, Gun_Master is probably right. If they do put it up for auction, then it will sell for quite a bit more. There are Iver Johnson collectors out there now, and that case seems unusual. There was just a thread here about an IJ top-break 38 that sold for $310 online.
 
Model 55A, Made 1961/1962 Operating of the cylinder is normal for that model ( and most other Iver models.) . The case is also normal for that era.
 
My first handgun was an Iver Johnson Trailsman 66 purchased new in 1960. It was a total POS, definitely not up to a 15 year old kid putting 200-300 rounds a week through it. (One could actually purchase .22 ammunition in those days.) The revolver went back to the factory twice and still failed to properly index with the firing pin hitting lots of places on the cylinder face but only occasionally on the rim of a cartridge.

If you want to buy it and put it in the safe, go for it. You could not pay me to own another IJ firearm.
 
Probably gonna buy an IJ some day.
I had a great-uncle named Iver Johnson.

He'd probably get a kick outta knowing I bought a gun in his honor.

I've seen a coupla IJs - they're not exactly Colt, S&W or Ruger quality. :(
 
Naw...I didn't think they were S&W quality. I really was more thinking I liked the case than I did the gun, but the little gun was in really nice condition. Still they wanted too much for it, so I decided to pass. For now. If it hangs around the case for a while, and they drop the price I might buy it just because it's different.

And the case is really neat.
 
I have an Iver Johnson Supershot Sealed Eight revolver that I got on Auction Arms for about $200 a few years ago. It's a break-action that ejects all the cases if you snap it open briskly enough and at the right angle. DA/SA with a very stout double action and a halfway decent single action.

Iver.jpg

I like the look of these older break actions. It's just a gun for fun at the range. It's pretty accurate for what it is.
 
I used to have an old single shot .410 shotgun marked Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works. Wish I still had it.
 
I have one of the Supershot Sealed 8s as well...from 1941. I love it. Something classic about it.
 
Toivo ,

"It's a break-action that ejects all the cases if you snap it open briskly enough and at the right angle."

Be careful with your top break revolver ; SNAPPING it open "briskly enough" may well lead to damage.

Probably will , in fact.
 
Waveski said:
"It's a break-action that ejects all the cases if you snap it open briskly enough and at the right angle."

Be careful with your top break revolver ; SNAPPING it open "briskly enough" may well lead to damage.

Probably will , in fact.
Click to expand...
I just mean not to weak-hand it. The action is meant to be moved swiftly, just like lever-action rifles. Try moving a Model 94 lever slowly and gently and see how well it ejects/loads.

I'm not talking about snapping it open one-handed. Just grasp the barrel firmly with your off hand while you release the catch with the other hand. Then tip the gun away from you and open it quickly enough to eject the casings.

If you open it too slowly and/or with the gun upright, the ejector star can slip off some of the rims, leaving the casings in the cylinder. The star will then come back to rest on top of the remaining casings, making it even harder to get them out.

I would never snap the action open until it hits the stop, with this or any other revolver. I didn't mean to give that impression.
 
Very well , we are all on the same page. I own a Harrington Richardson 999 Sportsman (top break) ; I operate it just as you described.

Thank you.
 
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That is a very appealing gun, danjet500. And excellent photographs. Thanks for putting them up. My first pistol was a top-break - an H&R 999. Stiff trigger, but a good gun.
 
FWIW, the "sealed" term comes from the ridge around the back of the cylinder that kept gas in if a case head let go. With the universal adoption of brass cases instead of copper, that problem pretty much ceased but IJ kept the term and the sealed cylinder. Some IJ's even had a ridge at the front, with a space cut out for the barrel so the cylinder could be removed. That kept gas from the barrel-cylinder gap from escaping.

Jim
 
I have an IJ 7-shot "supershot" model, looks almost the same as the sealed 8 pistols shown. Due to age I always shot it single action and check the cylinder timing with my finger before pulling the trigger. Every once in a while I'd catch just a hair off of the locking notch but it's never shaved a bullet on me. It was always very accurate and a pleasure to shoot. I think I'll think I'll dig it out and carry it down to the gunsmith. In my opinion they made fine revolvers but they weren't real robust and timing is always an issue on a well used one. That said they did OK considering mine is at least 75 years old.
 
I have an Iver Johnson TP-22 semi. It is reliable and looks a bit like a Walther.
 
Toivo asked "Any chance of a picture?"

Sure , why not?

The upper piece is the 999 Sportsman 9 shot .22 Someone refinished it in an odd but interesting two tone. I forget the age ; the grips date it as an early model. The trigger guard is very stylish.

Now the lower piece is one of my favorites. It is the predecessor to the 999 - the ".22 Special" , also Harrington Richardson. Note the brass blade front sight , the luxurious deep bluing , and the "saw handle" grips. I researched that one - 1930!!! I don't know where it had been for the 82 years prior to my acquisition ; only got a vague reference about the liquidation of the collection of a deceased individual. Doesn't look like anyone took that one camping and left it out in the rain. It too has the cylinder which free wheels when the action is not engaged.

There you have it.
 

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