What kind of gun do I have???

[tjg]

Recently my son found what we believe to be a 38 special. It has no brand name on it anywhere that I can tell. The handle seems to be made of white plastic. It is a six shooter and has an automatic ejector. On the side of the barrell it appears to say for38specialandUSservicectg (the g could be a c) On the top of the barrell, it has many, many numbers and letters. They appear to be
FA(a is underlined) DETROCAOLAARANZABALYCA(a is underlined)EIBAR(ESPN
then it looks like it could have a letter or two more, but they are possibly worn off. Does anyone have any idea what kind of gun and it's approximate age?
tjg

 

[Trebor]

A picture would help alot.

Sounds to me like a Spanish copy of a Smith & Wesson revolver. That's just a wild guess based on the markings.

What do you mean by "automatic ejector?" Is it a top break? Or does the cylinder swing out to the side.

Without a picture though, we're just guessing as to what it is.

 

[tjg]

I'll submit a pic as soon as I can get my son over here with his digital. The term automatic ejector may not be the correct terminology. The cylinder is side open and has a mechanism to push the spent shells from the cylinder. Thanks for the response.
tjg

 

[HammerBite]

FA(a is underlined) DETROCAOLAARANZABALYCA(a is underlined)EIBAR(ESPN

Fa. de Trocaola Aranzabal y Ca. Eibar Espn

Made by Trocaola Aranzabal and Company, Eibar, Spain. Probably a copy of a Smith & Wesson. It was most likely made before 1937, which was the year Eibar fell to Franco's forces during the Spanish civil war.

I don't know if Trocaola Aranzabal was resurrected after the war. Today Aguirre y Aranzabal (AYA) is a maker of nice shotguns.

Trocaola Aranzabal y Cia. made guns for the allies during World War I.

 

[tjg]

Here are a couple of pictures of the gun in question. Anyone's help would be
greatly appreciated.

 

[HammerBite]

Except for some changes in the barrel profile, cylinder bolt thumbpiece and ejector rod it appears to be a copy of a S&W .38 Hand Ejector, 1st Model - Model of 1899.

 

[Ron James]

Hammerbite had the right information, made from soft steel with only internal quality controls and no government regulations. Might be safe to shoot, might not, I would hang it on the wall. The larger Spanish gun makers used steel that was second to none. The smaller makers used steel that was easier to work with because of their equipment or rather lack of equipment. Each gun was more or less hand fitted and sometimes parts from the same type gun from the same shop will not interchange. Made some time between 1921 and 1936. If it does not say Made in Spain, then it came over in the back pocket of a Spanish immigrant. These guns in excellent condition are of some interests to the collectors of Spanish firearms. however in the condition yours is in I'm afraid it doesn't have much monetary value.

 

[fly_fisherman]

One thing you may also want to consider is that it could be a 8mm Lebel revolver. My father owns a revolver that is almost identical in appearance (except for the white grips) to this particular gun. It took him and I about 18 years to finally determine what the caliber of the gun was. We took chamber casts of the cylinder as well as the barrel to determine the proper caliber. The caliber is .323, which corresponds to an 8mm Lebel revolver. We have since acquired ammunition and have shot the revolver several times.

Aside from being somewhat unique, it is fun to reload as well. It was somewhat hard to find all the components, but Buffalo Arms was very helpful in tracking down dies, slugs, and cases for reloading.

I hope this is helpful.

 

[Clipper]

Fly, it's marked 38 special on the barrel. I don't think you can wish it into a Lebel...