Suicide specials?

[Kadmos]

Went to the local gun show, I ended up picking up four of these tiny pistols.

.22 short Hopkin and Allen spur trigger single action

.22 LR same basic style, only marking is "Bull's Eye"

.32s&w long H&R double action model 1905

.32 s&w British Bulldog with ELG marked on the cyclinder in a circle (Belgian?)

All are in well used condition, but more or less functional

How much of a risk would I be taking by firing these things?

Anyone ever fire these or know more about them?

I picked up some CCI long CB's and some CCI shorts and a really old box of Western brand .32 S&W just in case..

[mriddick]

If they time OK and lock up tight they are probably safe enough to shoot. You should understand that most of these older revolvers did not have what we'd call a cylinder stop so all the dangers of shaving lead is possible even if they are in working condition.

[Gunreference1]

Kadmos, it would probably help if you could post pictures of each of these pistols. Then we could see exactly what you have and be better able to give a detailed description.

Steve

[Kadmos]

Wife got the digicam. I'll try the cell phone cam thing tomorrow.

[weevil]

Those are all pretty anemic rounds so it's highly unlikely the guns will blow-up like a pipe-bomb.


Other than being out of time and spitting lead shavings out the side I doubt very much you'll be injured or killed by firing any of those.

[American Rage]

I want pics!


Rage

[Prometheus168]

If you don't already, make sure to wear eye protection!

Rusty

[Kadmos]

I want pics!


Rage

Me too, but the best I can take is a gun shaped blur.

The .32 bulldog looks about like this
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j102/dglockster/Guns-Misc/BritishBulldog005.jpg

The hopkins and Allen is this one but not as nice off shape
http://pics.gunbroker.com/GB/184088000/184088876/pix431318265.jpg

The H&R .32
http://picturearchive.auctionarms.com/4081115301/9260636/p7230865.jpg_thumbnail1.jpg

The unnamed Bulll's eye is based on the Colt newline
http://images.ha.com/lf?source=url%5Bfile:images/inetpub/newnames/300/5/0/0/7/5007888.jpg%5D,continueonerror%5Btrue%5D&scale=size%5B450x2000%5D,options%5Blimit%5D&source=url%5Bfile:images/inetpub/webuse/no_image_available.gif%5D,if%5B(%27global.source.e rror%27)%5D&sink=preservemd%5Btrue%5D

But the quality isn't as good

[Gunreference1]

Me too, but the best I can take is a gun shaped blur.

The .32 bulldog looks about like this
http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j102/dglockster/Guns-Misc/BritishBulldog005.jpg

The hopkins and Allen is this one but not as nice off shape
http://pics.gunbroker.com/GB/184088000/184088876/pix431318265.jpg

The H&R .32
http://picturearchive.auctionarms.com/4081115301/9260636/p7230865.jpg_thumbnail1.jpg

The unnamed Bulll's eye is based on the Colt newline
http://images.ha.com/lf?source=url%5Bfile:images/inetpub/newnames/300/5/0/0/7/5007888.jpg%5D,continueonerror%5Btrue%5D&scale=size%5B450x2000%5D,options%5Blimit%5D&source=url%5Bfile:images/inetpub/webuse/no_image_available.gif%5D,if%5B(%27global.source.e rror%27)%5D&sink=preservemd%5Btrue%5D

But the quality isn't as good

The top revolver is a Begium copy of a British Bulldog revolver. Very popular during the late 1800's into the early 1900's. Typically there are proofmarks, teo or three letter initials, around the trigger guard that might better define the actual manufacturer.

The second revolver appears to be a Hopkins & Allen .22 RF Pocket Revolver from the late 1800's.

The third revolver could be an H&R American Double Action or Young America Double Action revolver. This should be marked on the top strap and would have been made from about 1900 until WWII. If there is no top strap marking my guess is it's someone's copy of an H&R revolver.

I agree on the bottom revolver being a Colt New Line copy. I just don't have any information on the Bull's Eye name in this application. The original Colt New Line revolvers were made from about 1873-1884. My guess is the copies would have been made about the same time. Hope this helps!

Steve

[Kadmos]

Wow thanks Steve!

Yeah the H&R says American Double Action, guess I should have mentioned that.


There should be a range report in this thread in a few hours, hopefully I'm not typing one handed.

[Kadmos]

They all worked, a few hangups with duds of the old Western ammo...probably 1 in 6 didn't fire

Accuracy was about what one would expect.

[American Rage]

Very cool collection. Personally, I'm leery (sp?) to fire old guns, especially and revolvers. I've been told that modern loads develope more pressure and that old steel wears like any thing else (metal fatigue). But I'm no expert.

The fact that most of that collection is made by lesser brands would concern me even more. But you can judge the quality for yourself.

Still, if I were to shoot them anyway, I'd go for the H&R .32 (they made them forever) and the Allen and Hopkins .22. Speakin' of the A&H, is that a 22 short? I think that pistol will handle a 22 short quite easily, as it looks to be in fine shape. As for the others, I think I'd have them checked first and start with mild loads. But that's just me.

As far as looks go, I really like the Bulldog. It's very Sherlock Holmes.


Rage

[weevil]

I'd worry more about "modern loads" if it were a .38 or a pistol in 9mm or a .45.


I tend to doubt there's any high pressure "modern loads" of .32 S&W ammo.

[Kadmos]

Yeah the Hopkins is a 22 short.

I used CB caps to really keep the pressure down.

That is probably the one and only time I will shoot any of those, but I just couldn't resist putting a couple rounds though each.

I was actually surprised at the power of the 32, not that its a lot or anything but it was more than I expected.

The 22 short cb's are like shooting a cap gun.

I went one handed, gripped real low just in case. The bulldog did shave some lead though.

[mriddick]

Since they lack a modern cylinder stop they are tricky to shoot without shaving lead. Pull the trigger too fast and the cylinder can over spin shaving lead on the leading edge, pull to slow and they will shave on the trailing side. It takes an even smooth pull to get them to fire with minimal shaving most times.

[American Rage]

Yeah the Hopkins is a 22 short.

I used CB caps to really keep the pressure down.

That is probably the one and only time I will shoot any of those, but I just couldn't resist putting a couple rounds though each.

I was actually surprised at the power of the 32, not that its a lot or anything but it was more than I expected.

The 22 short cb's are like shooting a cap gun.

I went one handed, gripped real low just in case. The bulldog did shave some lead though.

Very cool.

Rage

[Kadmos]

Since they lack a modern cylinder stop they are tricky to shoot without shaving lead. Pull the trigger too fast and the cylinder can over spin shaving lead on the leading edge, pull to slow and they will shave on the trailing side. It takes an even smooth pull to get them to fire with minimal shaving most times.

Yeah I was a bit worried about that, so I pretty much stuck to single action, checking to make sure lockup or alignment was as close as I could get.

Thanks Rage, I kinda like them, but I suppose I will probably mess around with them for a bit, then put them on a shelf and eventually trade them off for something else