Help! Unknown Revolver

[PtrJack]

I'm a C&R liscense holder but since I own -0- revolvers I need all the help I can get! I will call things by the wrong name but will try to describe this revolver. Sorry, no "photo to computer" skills!

My son, a "County Mounty" (Deputy Sheriff), brought me a 5-shot revolver to clean up that an old lady gave another deputy. She said her husband served in Korea, but I don't know if that has any bearing on the pistol!

It's only markings are: Top of barrel rail-"FOR SMITH & WESSON CTGS"; under break-over release-"7207". No markings on either side of the frame, barrel or trigger guard.

The frame around the hand grips has been filed all the way around from the frame to the frame, but it looks like it was to help make the grips fit! The butt looks small and to aim it requires me to curl my little finger under the butt. The grips are wood and also have file marks on them. They are held on by a straight blade screw with a nut on the right side that has been filed smooth with the wood.

The break-over has a pop-out ejector wheel that moves out as the barrel is turned down until about 95-100 degrees, then snaps back into the cylinder. The barrel is 3.25". The trigger will not cock and stay back. The cylinder moves with the action of the hammer as does the trigger. (If you try to cock the hammer, the cylinder and the trigger both move.)

The rear sight is a V cut into the T-shaped break-over release. The front sight is shaped like Napoleon's hat and sits on the top of a rail that runs the full length of the barrel and spreads out to house the break-over release.

The break-over release and the top of the hammer both have factory hash- marks for gripping. The hammer has a V shaped firing pin milled as part of it.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[rcmodel]

"FOR SMITH & WESSON CTGS" and no other markings would at first glance indicate it is a cheap Spanish copy of a real S&W top-break revolver of the early 1900's.
In short, it is Junque!
As such, it has no value, and might not even be safe to shoot.

It is probably chambered for .32 S&W, or .38 S&W.
Be warned that .32 H&R Magnum, or .38 Special cartridges "might" fit in the chambers, but it is in no way safe to shoot them in it.

And no, it had absolutely nothing to do with the U.S. military or Korea, unless the guy bought it during his travels somewhere.

rc

 

[Carl N. Brown]

My father fought in WWII and had a H&R revolver for protection at his shop, so there may be no connection between overseas service and the revolver.

Not only a lot of small Spanish shops copied the S&W revolvers, but there were a lot of small domestic makers of revolvers "for smith&wesson cartridges" also, so without without photos will be hard to ID. Take a look at a facsimile of a 1890s Sears Roebuck catalog: there were literally dozens of "no name" makers of revolvers "for S&W crtg"

 

[Red Cent]

Can you point out the differences by this picture?

 

[rcmodel]

1890s Sears Roebuck catalog: there were literally dozens of "no name" makers of revolvers "for S&W crtg"

I am not aware of any American revolver manufacture that didn't mark their revolvers with something besides "for S&W crtg".

Anything Sears sold in the 1890's either had an actual manufactures name, or a "trade name" of some kind on it. And usually logo's on the grips you could identify also.

The Spanish copies were the ones with no names due to S&W going after them for Patent infringements at the time.

rc

 

[PtrJack]

The cylinder and rear sight looks like #3
The hammer & trigger looks like #5

My first guess was a foreign knock-off because of the "no-name" status, but I felt no need to venture a guess out of my total ignorance!

Thanks fellows. I will pass on the info. with a suggestion of its probably lack of safety!
Jack